The European Parliament agreed on Thursday to establish the European Travel Information and Authorisation System (ETIAS), which will screen visa-free travellers from non-EU countries for security and migration risks.

Under the ETIAS system, the travellers will need to request ETIAS authorisation online prior to their visit to the Schengen Area. Automatic approval, which will be valid for three years, is expected to be given in over 95 percent cases, and the applicants will have to pay a one-off €7 fee (for travellers between 18 and 70 years of age), said a press release from the European Parliament.

The travellers will need to have both a valid travel document and an ETIAS authorisation upon arriving at the EU borders.
In cases where authorisation is refused, the relevant national authority will have to inform the applicant of the decision, or seek additional information, within 96 hours. Applicants will have the right to appeal the decision.

The system is expected to become operational in 2021, and will be implemented for travellers from more than 60 countries.

Commissioner for Migration, Home Affairs, and Citizenship Dimitris Avramopoulos said today’s decision was a step towards a “Europe that protects.”

“The new ETIAS will ensure that we no longer have an information gap on visa-free travellers. Anyone who poses a migratory or security risk will be identified before they even travel to EU borders, while the travel of bona fide travellers will be facilitated,” he said.

The legislative proposal for ETIAS, put forward by the Commission in November 2016, was identified as political priority under the Joint Declaration on the EU’s legislative priorities for 2018-2019, the press release said.

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