ETIAS Visa Waiver for Travelers from Samoa

The Oceanian nation of Samoa will become one of the 60 ETIAS countries. The European Travel Information and Authorisation System is the new visa waiver coming for travelers from selected ETIAS countries. All travelers from these nations, including Samoa, will need to arrange an ETIAS visa waiver when travelling to the Schengen area.

Travelling with an ETIAS visa waiver is simple, as it will be emailed to all successful applicants. They will only need to show this electronic document and their passport to be granted entry.

This article will detail everything Samoans have to know about the ETIAS visa waiver system. If you require more information or want to keep up with the latest ETIAS news, head over to ETIAS.org.

In the depths of a year where the nice truck attack alone killed almost 90 people, the European Commission decided to take action. They created ETIAS at the end of 2016 and planned that it would change the way that people make short-term travel of fewer than 90 days to the Schengen area. They hoped that vetting all travelers would make the EU safer.

A new launch date of ETIAS is now in place because of the delays the COVID-19 crisis brought. The EU now plans to have its system in place by 2023, allowing administrative workers to catch up from their time away.

The EU is looking good to meet this new target with all the technology systems already in place. There have been some staffing issues but most commentators are predicting this will not change the launch date of ETIAS. Instead, it might lead to longer queues on the border. Samoans should consider this likelihood when making their travel plans.

Holding an ETIAS visa waiver means that a Samoan will have unlimited access to the 26 countries under ETIAS across a three-month period. They include Schengen and EFTA nations, as well as states part of these agreements through defacto status. These ETIAS nations are…

When Samoans apply for ETIAS, they must answer questions that prove they will not make the EU a more dangerous place. They must state that they are not a criminal threat because they have had no criminal convictions in the past 15 years. More pressingly, Samoan’s need to show that they are not a terrorist threat by stating they do not have any terrorist convictions in the past. Finally, they must show they don’t have affiliations with radical militias by stating they have not travelled to conflict areas.

Proving that Samoans have behaved appropriately while in Europe is crucial, and Samoans should detail any past travel to Europe. This will allow the system to check if the Samoan had any contact with authorities while in Europe. Similarly, a detailed travel itinerary will show that the Samoan plans to behave well once in Europe. Samoans must be honest when creating their travel itinerary, as breaking from it could void their ETIAS visa waiver.

Requirements for ETIAS applications is very simple and only serves to prove Samoan’s residency, and right to travel. A passport, proof of address, and debit or credit card will suffice. Rarely, some additional documentation is needed in specific circumstances. Showing relations with people the Samoans are travelling with may be necessary.

The COVID-19 pandemic has shown the international community that they must consider the public health risks of global travel. The ETIAS visa waiver system has the potential to mitigate the risks by asking travelers to prove they do not carry any infectious diseases, and therefore will not pass deadly pathogens onto EU residents. This means that Samoans may find it near impossible to travel to the EU while carrying a serious disease.

Some Samoans will have their ETIAS application initially rejected. This could be because they falsified information, applied with outdated documents, pose a security risk, or are likely to use their ETIAS visa waiver as an opportunity for illegal immigration.

When a Samoan is emailed confirmation that their application has been rejected, they will be given information on how to appeal. This will be in the language of the nation they applied to travel to. Having received the email, the Samoan will have 96 hours to fulfill the requirements of the appeal. After that, the appeal is sent to administrative staff in the Samoan’s destination nation, who will respond in around four weeks.