EU Pushes Back ETIAS Rollout To 2024
Spain News
Published: 01 March 2023 15:37 CET
The European Travel Information and Authorisation System (ETIAS) has been postponed by the European Union once again, without any prior announcement for the media or the public.
Initially scheduled to launch in 2022, the ETIAS launch date was pushed to the end of the same year. Subsequently, the mandatory start date for travellers was set for May 1, 2023.
However, the ETIAS was delayed again to November 2023 without any explanation or prior notice.
The EU Commission's Migration and Home Affairs website has been updated, however, the new launch date of the system is not specified, but has been shifted to 2024 from its previous November 2023 start date.
Under an FAQ regarding the date of the ETIAS entry force, the website simply reads “It is expected that the European Travel Information and Authorisation System (ETIAS) will be operational in 2024.”
According to SchengenVisaInfo.com, they have reached out to the EU Commission's press team to confirm the delay of the ETIAS launch date, but they have not yet received a response.
The Migration and Home Affairs website of the EU Commission now features travel-europe.europa.eu/etias_en and travel-europe.europa.eu/ees_en as the official websites for ETIAS and Entry/Exit System (EES), respectively.
The EES was also scheduled to launch in May 2023 but has been postponed until the end of the year, with no specific date announced yet.
The EU has developed both the ETIAS and EES systems to bolster security within the bloc by monitoring arrivals and departures from the EU and Schengen Area. These systems are expected to revolutionise travel to and from the region.
The ETIAS system is set to impact over 1.4 billion individuals from more than 60 different countries worldwide who currently travel to the 27 Schengen Area countries without obtaining a short-stay visa. This includes Americans, Britons, Albanians, New Zealanders, Canadians, and others.
Sources
https://www.schengenvisainfo.com/news/eu-postpones-launch-of-etias-to-2024/
https://spanishnewstoday.com/new_eu_border_scanners_to_be_rolled_out_in_airports_by_the_end_of_the_year_2030190-a.html
https://www.thelocal.es/20230228/etias-eu-postpones-launch-of-e7-visa-for-tourists/
