Americans Traveling to Europe Now Forced to Take a New Step

A new travel requirement for Americans visiting most European countries has been delayed again to sometime in 2025. (U.S. State Department/ travelmaps.state.gov)

A new travel requirement for Americans seeking to visit most European countries has been delayed again to sometime in 2025, officials said.

The requirement, which involves an online travel authorization through the European Travel Information and Authorization System (ETIAS), applies to visitors to 30 European countries, including popular destinations such as France, Spain, Germany, Greece, Italy, and Portugal.

Now, “[the system] will be ready to enter into operation in Spring 2025,” according to a brief statement released after a meeting of the Council of the European Union earlier this month. “The new roadmap for the delivery of the new IT architecture foresees that the Entry/Exit system will be ready to enter into operation in Autumn 2024.”

A recent update to the European Union (EU) website for ETIAS stated that “mid-2025” is when the new travel requirements will go online. No applications are being processed or “are collected at this point,” according to the ETIAS website.

The system, which was supposed to go into effect in 2021, according to multiple reports, has been postponed several times.

It’s not just travelers from the United States who will have to register online. Travelers from the UK, Canada, Australia, South Korea, Japan, Israel, Mexico, and dozens of other countries—including some located on the European continent such as Albania, Montenegro, and Ukraine—will have to adhere to the requirement.

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The new system is being adopted by 27 countries in Europe’s Schengen Area, as well as several other countries.

Passengers walk inside a duty-free shop at Paris Charles de Gaulle airport in Roissy-en-France, near Paris, on Dec. 2, 2021. (Sarah Meyssonnier/Reuters)

The European Commission, the executive decision-making organization for the EU, proposed the system in 2016 in what officials say is a means to strengthen security checks for people from more than 60 countries who can visit Europe’s Schengen Area without a visa. The United States has had a similar system for years.

The new European system, meanwhile, will register the information and biometric data of travelers. That includes face scans and fingerprints, while stamp passports will be phased out.

This system “will replace the current ... manual stamping of passports, which is time-consuming, does not provide reliable data on border crossings, and does not allow a systematic detection of over-stayers,” the EU’s website states.

Travelers will have to fill out an ETIAS application form before traveling and pay a $7 fee. Some applications may take several weeks if additional information is needed from the traveler, while some travelers may have to obtain an interview, according to the EU website.

“We strongly advise you to obtain the ETIAS travel authorization before you buy your tickets and book your hotels,” the EU website states, adding that the authorization is valid for three years.

A European Commission memo sent out this year about the new travel rules described ETIAS as a “largely automated IT system” and said the ETIAS travel authorization “[is] not a visa.”

Concerns?

Some officials have expressed alarm about the new system.

Gareth Williams, a director at Eurostar—which operates trains to France from London—said that “we don’t currently see a practical solution. If we take the peak of August, up to 80 percent of people will have to go through the system,” The Independent reported.

The new system will likely increase processing times at European airports. “If the [biometric] process is added to the entry process, careful logistic planning is crucial to avoid congestion,” Kuan-Huei Lee, associate professor of tourism at Singapore Institute of Technology, told National Geographic.

Would-be travelers to participating countries will have to comply with the mandate to apply under ETIAS, Sofia Markovich, a travel adviser and founder of Sofia’s Travel, told CNBC earlier this month.

“If you forget to do it, you won’t board the plane,” Ms. Markovich said.

“After 9/11, things changed in the world. It’s really about keeping things safe and knowing who comes in and who goes out.”

“It will be a minor hassle, but it’s not unusual for countries to have entry requirements like this one,” Cameron Hewitt, content and editorial director at Rick Steves’ Europe, told The Washington Post. “It certainly shouldn’t cause anyone to rethink a trip to Europe. From what we know, ETIAS looks like it will simply be a manageable bit of red tape.”

The update comes as the U.S. State Department recently sent out a worldwide alert to Americans overseas because of an elevated possibility for terrorist attacks, coming amid heightened tensions in the Middle East.

“Due to increased tensions in various locations around the world, the potential for terrorist attacks, demonstrations, or violent actions against U.S. citizens and interests, the Department of State advises U.S. citizens overseas to exercise increased caution,” the alert states.

The issuance of the rare worldwide caution bulletin came after demonstrations and riots across the Middle East this month in response to the conflict in Israel. The designated terrorist group Hamas attacked multiple areas in southern Israel on Oct. 7, leading to the Jewish state’s response of an extensive bombing campaign in Gaza.