Americans Will No Longer Need A Travel Permit To Enter Europe This Year

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Last Updated 1 min ago

For many years now, Europe has been mulling over the introduction of a new travel permit that would make Transatlantic travel considerably more bureaucratic for U.S. tourists.

Their aim is to impose an Electronic Travel Authorization (ETIAS) requirement on all visa-exempt foreigners, and this includes Americans, essentially barring them from boarding EU-bound flights unless they’ve been approved for travel in advance.

As previously reported, the ETIAS was set to come into force later this year, but as it turns out, it seems unlikely this will materialize, and this is why:

What Exactly Are Travel Authorizations?

Though Americans have largely avoided Electronic Travel Authorizations, commonly shortened to ETAs, for many years, they’re not exactly a novelty.

Australia was a pioneer in launching one as early as 1996, and the United States itself followed suit in 2008 when it was established that citizens coming from visa-waver countries would only be authorized to travel to the U.S. when holding a valid U.S. ‘ESTA.’

Canada introduced its own in 2016, with a special provision for U.S. passport holders exempting them from applying, and as the years passed, a growing number of countries joined the list of ETA-requiring destinations.

This January, the United Kingdom was the latest to bring in a similar mandate, refusing entry to Americans and other foreign nationals should they not present a valid U.K. ETA––it was truly a matter of time until mainland Europe followed suit.

How Hard Is It To Get An ETA For Travel?

Contrary to popular belief, ETAs, or ESTAs, or ETIAs are not exactly visas:

In countries that require them, you cannot indeed enter without holding a travel authorization, but in comparison to full visas, which are typically issued on passports by a consulate, they are far easier to obtain.

Usually, an ETA application will involve filling out a simplified form, where you’ll be asked to give your passport and personal information and answer a series of security questions pertaining to your purpose of travel.

Once the form is submitted, the ETA approval typically follows suit within the next few minutes or a couple of days, and it generally allows you to travel an unlimited number of times to the country in question until it or your passport expires, whichever comes first.

Travel authorizations have a mandatory fee, ranging from $10 to $117 (in New Zealand’s case, where a whopping $100 International Visitor Levy is added to the $18 fee), and if you’re wondering about their validity, they are valid usually between 2 and 5 years.

Europe’s ETIAS Is Delayed… Again

Europe’s version of an Electronic Travel Authorization, named ETIAS, applies to all travelers who are currently exempt from requesting a visa to travel to the European Union member states,

It will cost $7.40 and remain valid for three years.

Once approved, an ETIAS will allow you to travel freely to 29––soon to be 30––countries that are part of the border-free Schengen Area, so long as your presence in the combined territories of these countries does not exceed 90 days out of any 180-day period.

The ETIAS has been postponed a number of times over the years, and the last time a launch date had been set was November 2024.

Naturally, authorities didn’t move forward with the plan, as tourists have been able to fly to Europe without additional restrictions since.

At the time, they simply stated it would be released instead in the course of 2025, without a specified date––for the umpteenth time, it seems European leaders will not follow up on their promise, as more information released recently points to an ETIAS launch much, much later.

As local media reports, the ETIAS will start being implemented 6 months after the EES system is operational.

We know that’s a lot of acronyms for a single article, so we’ll make it simple: EES refers to Europe’s equally long-delayed Entry-Exit System, which will involve visitors getting fingerprinted upon arrival to ensure they comply with entry and stay regulations.

The EES has faced a series of postponements as a result of the unpreparedness of European countries to set up the necessary ID checks at their many entry points, from airports to ferry ports to land crossings, and as it stands, it is not set to be formally in place until November 2025.

Considering the ETIAS, which depends on the EES to be effective, can only be rolled out six months after November, you can see how digital entry permits might not be a concern for Americans going to Europe this year.

Unless, of course, there’s a major development.

ETIAS In 2026?

In sum, it is unlikely Americans will need to obtain a permit to visit Europe’s 29-country-strong Schengen Area this year.

For now, they are simply required to present a valid passport for boarding, as well as proof of outbound or return journey within 90 days of entry into the Schengen territories.

It is important to note that, when flying into London or any other U.K. destination, ETAs are already a ‘thing’, and you will no longer be permitted to board Britain-bound flights (or ferries or buses, if coming from mainland Europe), without getting approved for travel first.

Based on the available details, it is possible that the ETIAS (applying to mainland Europe) will not start being enforced until November 2025 at the earliest––if you’re asking us, it’s highly likely the official start year won’t be until 2026.

That is subject to change should European officials speed up procedures, but hey, worry not!

We’ll be sure to keep you in the loop.

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