ETIAS Visa Waiver for Travelers from Peru

The South American Nations that will join ETIAS (European Travel Information and Authorisation System) visa waiver have been confirmed. They are Peru, Paraguay, Argentina, Brazil, and Columbia. They have been defined as safe enough to allow travellers from them into the Schengen area without them requiring a full visa. This change for short-term travel under 90 days will begin in January 2023.

The European Commission created ETIAS in 2016, following nations like the USA as a means to make Europe a safer place. They were concerned by the rising terrorist threat in a year that killed 135 people in the EU and felt that any unvetted travel was no longer sustainable.

The ETIAS visa waiver system is under fire in the UK, but little will change for most travellers, despite needing this new piece of documentation. Learn everything you must know to enter the EU from 2023 below.

ETIAS will be made possible through advances in both technology, and the creation of a larger border force workforce.

Artificial intelligence technology will make up the bulk of the innovation, with the system being designed to process vast amounts of traveller data without manual interference. The only point at which a human worker will be required, is if a traveller is flagged as a potential risk.

These systems have been in place since August 3rd, but securing the extra workforce has proved to be harder. The EU sees this as only a minor hiccup and expect the January 2023 launch date to remain.

Even if the launch is smooth, Peruvians should expect delays. They must leave plenty of time for their application to be processed, and must factor longer airport queues into their plans.

The visa gives Peruvians the right and ability to go to all counties in the ETIAS program which are listed below.

Just having Peruvian citizenship is not enough to prove to the EU that a traveller is safe. This is determined by the extensive safety questions on the ETIAS application form. They are fivefold.

Documentation will also be gathered that will allow the EU to run cross-references of the Peruvians answers with Interpol databases. AI will make these cross-references highly accurate and for that reason, Peruvians must avoid falsifying information.

Entering the EU by train will mean the Peruvian does not need to arrange an ETIAS visa. This is a quirk found rarely amongst visa waiver systems. However, Peruvians must not take these as a path into the EU if they have been denied an ETIAS visa waiver. It is likely they would need a full visa for the nation that borders the Schengen area that they wish to travel by train from.

The ETIAS visa waiver also comes with limits that cannot be ignored. There are strict period and spacial limits in place through the ETIAS visa waiver. All travel must be under 90 days and within the Schengen area. If these rules are broken, the ETIAS visa waiver will have no validity. Full visas must be arranged if the Peruvian cannot avoid doing so.

ETIAS will have a high success rate if its predecessors are anything to go by. Other examples like that of the USA have seen a success rate of 95%. The 5% whose applications fail still have the potential to achieve a successful application through the appeals process. The Peruvian must use the given 96 hours to appeal well, supplying any additional documentation and information that can clear the issues raised by the EU in their application. The appeals process is lengthy. While successful applications can usually be achieved within a couple of business days, a successful appeal can take up to four weeks.