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11-11-2020, 10:50 AM
I came across this article describing an electronic visa system from 1 Jan 2021 . Has anyone seen this elsewhere? I have not seen it on the UK FCO website.
Is it fake news??
https://www.schengenvisainfo.com/news/ri...cember-31/
ETIAS – Getting A Travel Authorization to Enter Spain Will Soon Be Obligatory
On the same day, Britons become non-EU citizens, the block will launch a new scheme called ETIAS, (European Travel Information and Authorization System), which is a new travel system established in a bid of the EU to control who enters its territory.
Citizens of more than 60 world countries that so far have benefited from visa-free entry to the Schengen Zone for short-term stays, including UK passport holders, will be obliged to apply for and obtain authorization before showing up at the borders of the EU.
While the ETIAS will come into force in 2021, an official of the European Commission has confirmed for SchengenVisaInfo.com that the date the ETIAS regulation is launched and the date it becomes obligative for visa-free travellers are two different dates.
The source explains the ETIAS won’t be compulsory, for at least the first 12 months of its implementation for most of the travellers as Britons, in order for border checks and travellers to adapt to the new requirement.
“For a period of six months from the date on which ETIAS starts operations, the use of ETIAS will be optional, and the requirement to be in possession of a valid travel authorization will not apply,” the official said.
This period can be extended for at most another half a year. Once it ends, a grace period which also lasts six months follows. During the grace period, also extendable by another half a year, those entering the EU for the first time since the end of the first period can enter without the ETIAS authorization.
In their next trip, the ETIAS will be mandatory, even if the trip takes place just a few days later.
Is it fake news??
https://www.schengenvisainfo.com/news/ri...cember-31/
ETIAS – Getting A Travel Authorization to Enter Spain Will Soon Be Obligatory
On the same day, Britons become non-EU citizens, the block will launch a new scheme called ETIAS, (European Travel Information and Authorization System), which is a new travel system established in a bid of the EU to control who enters its territory.
Citizens of more than 60 world countries that so far have benefited from visa-free entry to the Schengen Zone for short-term stays, including UK passport holders, will be obliged to apply for and obtain authorization before showing up at the borders of the EU.
While the ETIAS will come into force in 2021, an official of the European Commission has confirmed for SchengenVisaInfo.com that the date the ETIAS regulation is launched and the date it becomes obligative for visa-free travellers are two different dates.
The source explains the ETIAS won’t be compulsory, for at least the first 12 months of its implementation for most of the travellers as Britons, in order for border checks and travellers to adapt to the new requirement.
“For a period of six months from the date on which ETIAS starts operations, the use of ETIAS will be optional, and the requirement to be in possession of a valid travel authorization will not apply,” the official said.
This period can be extended for at most another half a year. Once it ends, a grace period which also lasts six months follows. During the grace period, also extendable by another half a year, those entering the EU for the first time since the end of the first period can enter without the ETIAS authorization.
In their next trip, the ETIAS will be mandatory, even if the trip takes place just a few days later.