ETIAS has no launch date: what travellers to Europe need to know now
The EU has dropped its late-2026 target for ETIAS, the €20 travel authorisation. Do not apply yet: who will need it, what it costs and how to avoid scams.
The essentials: ETIAS, the online travel authorisation that visitors from visa-free countries such as the UK, the US and Canada will need for short trips to most of Europe, no longer has a launch date. The European Union had aimed to start it in the last quarter of 2026, but has dropped that target without setting a new one. Applications are not open, so there is nothing to apply for or pay for yet.
What is ETIAS?
ETIAS stands for European Travel Information and Authorisation System. Once it starts, travellers who do not need a visa will have to apply online before a short stay in 30 European countries: the 29 Schengen states plus Cyprus. According to SchengenVisaInfo, it will concern visitors from 59 visa-exempt countries and territories.
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Who needs it | Visa-exempt visitors, including British, American, Canadian and Australian travellers |
| Where | 30 European countries (Schengen area plus Cyprus) |
| Cost | €20; free for under-18s and people aged 70 and over, who must still apply |
| Validity | Three years, or until the passport expires |
| Length of stay | Up to 90 days in any 180-day period |
| Status today | Not operating; no applications collected |
The European Commission says the fee will rise from the €7 first planned to €20 once the system is running.
Why has it been delayed again?
The Commission has not given an official reason. Its ETIAS page now says only that the system “is currently not in operation”. It adds that the EU “will inform about the specific date for the start of ETIAS several months prior to its launch”.
ETIAS depends on the Entry/Exit System (EES), which introduced biometric border checks for non-EU travellers. The EES was rolled out from October 12, 2025 and has been fully operational since April 10, 2026, according to SchengenVisaInfo. Its first summer caused long queues at some airports. The Financial Times reported that eu-LISA, the EU agency that builds both systems, no longer considered a 2026 launch feasible, SchengenVisaInfo notes.
“There is now no official launch date for the Etias system,” Luke Petherbridge, director of public affairs at the UK travel association ABTA, said on October 13, 2026, according to Travel Weekly. He said an update was expected in the coming months.
A long series of delays
The regulation creating ETIAS was adopted in September 2018, with a start planned around 2021. According to SchengenVisaInfo, the target then moved to November 2023, then 2024, then May 2025, then the second half of 2025, and finally the last quarter of 2026, before that date was also withdrawn.
What should travellers do now?
Nothing, for now. You cannot apply for ETIAS yet, and no payment is due. ABTA has warned that more than 150 websites were already offering ETIAS authorisations, Travel Weekly reports. Any site asking for money for an ETIAS today is not official.
There will also be time to adapt once a date is announced. According to SchengenVisaInfo, the rules provide for a six-month transition during which ETIAS is optional, followed by a grace period for travellers making their first trip after that. Official information will be published on the EU’s travel website, travel-europe.europa.eu.
This article was prepared with the help of AI tools from the sources listed above, then reviewed by our editors before publication. Read our editorial policy