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Brits travelling to Spain and other EU countries will need an ETIAS permit this year
The European Travel Information Authorization System will be required for entry to Spain from November
Another side-effect of Brexit will begin to impact UK tourists later this year as they will no longer enjoy free travel within the Schengen zone. From November 2023, Brits aged between 18 and 70 will need to pay to apply for a permit, the European Travel Information Authorization System (ETIAS), to enter any of the 27 EU member states.
According to the authorities, the ETIAS will be very similar to the ESTA scheme required for entry into the United States.
The good news is that the permit is cheap and relatively simply to apply for: Britons will need to register on the ETIAS website before their trip and pay the fee, which hasn’t been made official but will likely be around 7 euros. All UK citizens must have an ETIAS, but there is no charge for minors under 18 and those over the age of 70. The permit will remain valid for three years.
Once the ETIAS comes into play, UK visitors will have to scan their passport and other documents, including the permit, at the self-service machines at the border.
Currently, visitors from Britain are subject to the 90-days-in-180 rule, meaning they can visit Spain and other EU countries visa-free for 90 days out of every 180-day period as long as they have a valid passport that has at least six months remaining on it.
However, the law states that holidaymakers may be asked to produce a return ticket, proof of funds and evidence of where they plan to stay before being granted entry.
The Spanish government has emphasised that the ETIAS shouldn’t be viewed as a kind of visa, given its cost and the speed of application. EU residents and those on long-term visas will be exempt from the new permit requirements.
While people initially feared this process would cause back-ups at the airport, many industry insiders believe the ETIAS will actually speed up non-EU security queues.
“Having an ETIAS means that Britons will be able to skip some of the checks they undergo now, as all their information will be available in their ETIAS,” a source from SchengenVisaInfo.com has predicted.
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