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15th Aug 2022

Brits will be charged to enter Spain, Greece, France and Portugal

Charlie Herbert

UK holidaymakers will have to pay to get into EU countries

The charge is part of a system to ‘increase security’ across Europe

UK holidaymakers will soon be charged to enter Spain, Greece, France and Portugal, the European Commission has confirmed.

The fee will be part of the new European Travel Information and Authorisation System (ETIAS). This is an IT system that will pre-screen travellers who want to enter any countries in the Schengen area.

The ETIAS had been due to be up and running by next month, but the launch has now been delayed until November 2023.

Twenty-six countries are part of the Schengen area, including France, Germany, Spain, Netherlands, Belgium, and popular holiday destinations such as Greece and Portugal.

Several non-EU countries are in this group such as Iceland, Norway and Switzerland.

From next year, travellers will need both their passport and a valid ETIAS check to enter any Schengen area countries.

According to Schengenvisainfo.com, the ETIAS targets citizens of countries who can enter the EU zone visa-free. As such, these 63 countries will need to get the ETIAS authorization.

This will then be linked to your passport.

It will cost €7 (£6) to apply for an ETIAS security check. However, once you’ve paid for the check it will last for three years or until your passport expires.

The ETIAS says the system is being introduced to “increase security across the Schengen Area” and that it is expected that most applications made by UK nationals will be approved at this stage.

The EU Commission said: “Non-EU nationals who do not need a visa to travel to the Schengen area will have to apply for a travel authorisation through the ETIAS system prior to their trip.

“The information gathered via ETIAS will allow, in full respect of fundamental rights and data protection principles, for advance verification of potential security, irregular migration of high epidemic risks.

“After filling in an online application form, the system will conduct checks against EU information systems for borders and security and, in the vast majority of cases, issue a travel authorisation within minutes.

“In limited cases, where further checks on the traveller are needed, the issuing of the travel authorisation could take up to 30 days.

“The ETIAS travel authorisation will be a mandatory pre-condition for entry to the Schengen States.

“It will be checked together with the travel documents by the border guards when crossing the EU border.”

You can find out more about the ETIAS, when you need it and why it is being introduced by clicking here.

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