What Are the Financial Benefits of ETIAS to the European Union?

There are numerous types of financial benefits to the EU through the introduction of the ETIAS. To start with, the application fee of €7 will make a considerable amount of revenue, due to how many applications there are likely to be each year.

There are also other types of financial benefit, for example, by a stricter screening of travellers, countries in the EU can reduce the volume of crime and health issues in the Schengen by refusing entry to criminals and people with infectious diseases. This will help the authorities in the countries and the health services to reduce the costs that would be associated with crime or health treatment.

For example, if an applicant has an infectious disease and brings it into the Schengen Zone, this disease could spread around the area, putting a strain on health resources which comes at great cost. With the health screening process, there is less chance that someone with an infection would be able to enter the Schengen Area.

Similarly, if a criminal entered the Schengen Zone and committed crimes in the area, police resources and the country’s justice system could be required, at a significant amount to charge them, as well as any financial impact of the crime itself e.g. theft. Therefore, by being able to screen ETIAS applicants for people that would potentially commit a crime in the country and denying them travel authorization, the Schengen countries would save the costs of the crime and prosecution.

The border control process should be more streamlined once the ETIAS is launched, which can save the costs of employing staff as it will take less time to screen travellers as they have been pre-screened. Because travellers will have already been screened prior to arriving in the country, the border authority staff will be able to be deployed for other security tasks instead.

There are lots of additional financial benefits for the economy by providing an easy and quick way for business travellers to obtain the required travel authorization for visiting the Schengen, instead of a visa application.

When an ETIAS application is approved, it will be valid for three years (or until the passport expires if this is sooner) and within this period, the ETIAS holder can make multiple visits to Schengen countries. This means that regular business trips and conferences can be attended with an ETIAS, which strengthens business growth opportunities between the ETIAS countries and the countries in the Schengen Area.

If business people were required to apply for a visa every time they visited the Schengen Area, this would take up considerable time and it would also cost them a larger application fee each time, so by making it cheaper and easier, business relations will be stronger. Being able to use the ETIAS multiple times is ideal for business people who need to regularly travel between different offices around Europe for business meetings or to negotiate deals etc.