Europe to introduce the electronic travel authorization by 2021

The electronic travel authorization is not a new concept. The United States of America, Canada, Australia, they all have such a system. Even Sri Lanka has one for nationalities that are eligible for a visa on arrival. It seems that Europe wants to implement a similar measure, but it is not called an ETA or ESTA. The European version of an electronic authorization is called ETIAS, and it will go live in 2021.

What is ETIAS?

ETIAS stands for European Travel Information and Authorization system. Let’s begin by mentioning that it is not a control measure. It is a simple but efficient information tool. What is its purpose? To notify European governments who visit their countries and how long they plan to stay. We all know about the freedom of movement promoted by the Schengen Area. As a result of Schengen, people can move between countries as they please with nobody knowing about it. Schengen does not have border patrols or checkpoints. The ETIAS is supposed to change that lack of knowledge.

Who must obtain an ETIAS?

Now, we must not go on thinking that everyone needs an ETIAS before traveling to a European country. The authorization is not required for citizens of the European countries. They enjoy freedom of movement without any limitation, just as is stated by the treaty. However, that does not apply for citizens of visa-waiver countries. As you may already know, the European Union contains in its visa policy a list of countries whose citizens can travel to any EU state and stay there for up to 90 days. The list can be found in Annex II. If, at the moment, those nationalities need only a passport to enter an EU country, from 2021, they will also need an ETIAS.

ETIAS – the application process

As you can imagine, the ETIAS will be available online. Many travel documents are available online these days. To better explain the application process, we will give you an example. Let’s say that you are a Brazilian citizen and you wish to travel to Germany. According to today’s policy, you need a passport, and you can be on your way. However, starting 2021, you will need to apply for an ETIAS as well.

What you must do is as follows. An official website is created where you can apply. You need to insert your personal information such as full name, address, passport info, and so on. Your data is passed through an international database. If nothing comes up, you are given the ETIAS. Possibly in a matter of minutes. However, if red flags come up attached to your information, the ETIAS will be denied. You will need to contact the nearest embassy for more information, and you may be compelled to apply for a visa.

We all know what happened in Europe in the last few years. We are referring to conflicts in which immigrants were involved. The ETIAS comes as a beneficial tool that is supposed to help prevent tragedies. Thanks to this tool, the government of all European countries will be more aware of who is crossing their borders. It worked in the United States and in Australia. There is no reason to believe that the system will not work in Europe as well.

Autor: Drafting