ETIAS postponed to 2024

In late February 2023 the European Union announced that the launch date for ETIAS has been postponed to year 2024.

This is the fourth time the EU is forced to delay the official inception of its Visa Waiver system due to technical delays, to the need for a complete training of all border management authorities in all member states and to the necessity of an uniform upgrade in border management technology throughout all Europe.

Together with ETIAS, EES system’s launch date has also been postponed.

EES is meant to be complementary with ETIAS in creating a digitalized infrastructure to oversee the external borders of the European free travel zone commonly referred to as Schengen Area.

According to Anitta Hipper, the EU Commission’s Spokesperson for Home Affairs, Migration and Internal Security, EES system is due to become operational a few months before ETIAS could finally be launched and EES is now scheduled to be eventually rolling out starting from late 2023.

Why are ETIAS and EES so important?

ETIAS and EES are considered crucial to the modernization and to the security enhancement of the Borders of the European Union.

ETIAS will create a travel pre-clearance for EU bound Visa Waiver visitors while EES will create a digital record of all incoming and outgoing passenger to / from Schengen Area countries.

By the implementation of these appealingly simple systems the Air, Sea and Land Borders of the whole Schengen Area will be better managed, more secure to residents and visitors alike and will facilitate shorter passport control routines upon arrival. 

The ETIAS regulation was passed between 2016 and 2018 and the visa waiver system is now in the final stages of its development. 

What are the reasons behind the delaying of ETIAS launch?

When ETIAS and EES will be fully operational it will not just be a matter of concern for Law Enforcement and Border Patrolling authorities.

As a matter of fact, carriers too will have the responsibility to collect data from their passengers and pre-check their eligibility to enter Europe.

To this extent one of the reasons behind the ETIAS delay is that some carriers have been slowing down their system update process expressing concern with gathering biometric data to feed into ETIAS. 

Moreover, the infrastructures at many entry points are still not ready to cope with such data collection protocols. 

Also there has been remarkable delay, mainly related to the organizational and budgeting aftermaths of covid-19, in completing the training of a sufficient number of ETIAS and EES specialized operators that would support the operations on both systems from a number of national and international teams such as:

  1. ETIAS Central EU Unit
  2. ETIAS National Units
  3. Europol
  4. Eu-LISA
  5. ETIAS Screening Board
  6. European Border and Coast Guard Agency
  7. ETIAS Fundamental Rights Guidance Board

 

ETIAS and UK Eta

An interesting fact is that on 2024 another European country, not being an EU Member nation, will launch its own National Visa Waiver program.

As a matter of fact, the United Kingdom announced in January 2023 that there are scheduled to launch their own “version of ETIAS” within next year.

UK Eta, this will be the British Visa Waiver’s name, will be required to all visa-free visitors such as all EU citizen with the sole possible exception of Irish passport holders.

ETIAS grace period

Once officially launched ETIAS will not be made compulsory, but only optional, for a time lapse of probably six months.

This grace period will be useful for Visa Waiver travelers who will be informed by European Authorities, upon arrival in EU, about the new travel authorization system. 

ETIAS informational pamphlet will be printed dispatched at border crossing points to raise global awareness and help travelers prepare for their future visits to Europe.

ETIAS application process

ETIAS application will be only enabled electronically. Each candidate will have to fill out an online form and to pay, also electronically, the due taxes. The application process is expected to be extremely intuitive and to require each applicant to simply answer, in a complete and truthful way, to a short set of questions about their personal data, their contact details and about their EU-bound travel schedule.