ETIAS for UK citizens
Founding member and part of the EU until late 2020 the United Kingdom recently left the European Union.
Despite this, it has been confirmed in 2019 that UK citizens will maintain their Visa Waiver rights to the EU and therefore, starting from 2025, they will also need to obtain an ETIAS Visa Waiver to enter any EU/Schengen Area country with the sole exception of the Republic of Ireland.
ETIAS for UK Nationals: main facts
British Citizens have been confirmed to be eligible for ETIAS starting from 2025
British Nationals (overseas), British Overseas Territories Citizens (BOTC), British Overseas Citizens (BOC), British Protected Persons (BPP) and British Subjects (BS) are also eligible to apply for ETIAS
All candidates, regardless of their UK citizenship status, must have a valid UK passport
Electronic application and delivery system
ETIAS can be used for business, leisure, transit and medical care journeys towards the 34 ETIAS Member Countries
Duration of stay in the ETIAS Member Countries must never exceed 90 days within 6 months.
ETIAS eligibility standards for UK Nationals
Holders of Uk passport are deemed to be eligible for ETIAS even if they do not have the full British Citizen status on their passport. For instance, ETIAS can be applied for even from subject with one of the following status: British Nationals (overseas), British Overseas Territories Citizens (BOTC), British Overseas Citizens (BOC), British Protected Persons (BPP) and British Subjects (BS).
ETIAS Visa Waiver is suitable for United Kingdom travelers with ordinary passport whose stay in the ETIAS Area will not exceed 90 days within 6 months and whose purpose of the trip will be either:- Commerce
- Tourism
- Transit
- medical treatment
The UK passport used for the ETIAS application must have a remaining validity long enough to cover for the whole duration of the trip planned to the ETIAS Area plus 3 additional months.
Travelers in possession of UK residence permits can only apply for ETIAS only if they have nationality and passport from one of the sixty ETIAS eligible countries. Holders of passports from a country that is not included in the EU Visa Waiver program must than apply for a Consular Visa even though they hold a valid UK residence card. Click here to view the full list of ETIAS eligible countries.UK, Ireland and the Common Travel Area
The Republic of Ireland (EIRE) is not part of the ETIAS System and is actually part, together with the United Kingdom and the Channel Islands of the so-called Common Travel Area. Hence British passport holders are not asked to have an ETIAS when travelling to Ireland. For details about the regulations and rights connected to travels in the Common Travel Area between UK and Ireland please click here.
How and when to apply for ETIAS?
The ETIAS application process to UK Nationals is electronic exclusively and has been designed to be easy to handle and should not require more than ten minutes for each traveler to input their data.
The application itself is merely a form that each candidate, including minors, through the assistance of a parent and/or legal guardian, must fill out with all the necessary information.The required data for ETIAS application include:
- Full name and surname
- Surname at birth
- Date of birth
- Place of birth
- Birth country
- Passport number
- Passport’s authority and place of issue
- Passport’s issue and expiry date
- Contact details including current address, phone number and valid e-mail address
- Scheduled arrival date in ETIAS Area
- First country of intended stay in ETIAS Area
- Background and general eligibility questions
When the ETIAS request is sent through the EU institutions and Security Databases will be controlling all the relevant information and provide an outcome, that will be sent via e-mail only, to each applicant in usually no longer than 72 hours.
If for any reason applicants are in need to urgently receive feedback to their ETIAS application, they are invited to flag the “urgent procedure” button in the application form.ETIAS validity
Once granted ETIAS is valid for multiple travels and for an overall validity of maximum 3 years or until passport expiry date.
Each and every journey carried out on a valid ETIAS must always comply with the general prescription concerning purpose and duration.
ETIAS validity is linked to the traveller’s identity and passport but not to the place of origin of the travel nor to the mean of transportation used to reach the Schengen Area.
As a matter of fact, British short-term visitors are allowed to travel on a valid ETIAS, provided they respect all the aforementioned conditions, even if they are coming to the Schengen Area from a Visa Waiver Non-Eligible Country and whether the reach the Area’s external borders by air, land or sea.Additional documents
Travellers coming to EU / Schengen Area from Great Britain must remind that they might always be demanded, upon arrival, to present additional documents to assess the genuine purpose of their trip and that they do not plan to overstay in the ETIAS Area. Such additional documents may include:
- return ticket to country of residence
- travel health insurance
- proof of sufficient funds to support themselves during the whole stay