Which Nationalities Need to Apply for ETIAS?

Currently, there are 60 countries whose citizens will need to apply for ETIAS if they want to enter the Schengen Area. These are:

Each of the countries listed above has been assessed against a set of criteria to determine that security authorities are happy for them to be visa exempt. The European Agency manages and has developed the system and they will continue to monitor any security risks and other criteria to remove countries from the ETIAS list if necessary. The system’s key purposes are to improve border management and prevent cross-border crime and terrorism, so the criteria is designed with these purposes at the forefront.

Leading up to the intended roll out of ETIAS in 2022, the European Agency is working with IT providers to ensure that the system is fully prepared for smooth operation, with much of the application process being automated and therefore there is the minimal human effort required in the ETIAS application processing.

ETIAS application processing will be completely online and will be operational 24 hours a day, checking against the relevant databases to determine whether an ETIAS should be approved or not. In the lead up to the launch of ETIAS, stringent testing will take place to ensure that it is all working correctly and that it is quick and easy for applicants to submit their ETIAS applications.

The checks will be made through the Schengen Information System, the Visa Information System, Europol data, Interpol and there will also be new EU systems including the Entry/Exit System and Eurodac database. Whenever an application is submitted, the system will check through all of these relevant databases for any information that would impact the result.

If an ETIAS is approved, the applicant should get a response within 96 hours but in the majority of cases, it will be much quicker and could be less than 10 minutes for many applicants with straightforward applications. It is advised that the traveller applies for their ETIAS a few weeks in advance of travelling so that if any issues emerge, they will have some time to try and obtain their travel authorization.