ETIAS Fee Confirmed at €20, Not the €7 Originally Proposed

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The ETIAS Fee Is €20, Not €7

The European Travel Information and Authorisation System (ETIAS) will charge travellers €20 per application when it launches. This figure was confirmed following a correction published by the Guardian in July 2025, which noted that earlier articles had cited the original €7 proposal put forward during the legislative process — a figure that was not the final outcome.

The discrepancy between €7 and €20 arose because reporting between 2022 and 2024 frequently referenced the original fee proposed in the ETIAS regulation drafts. That proposal was subsequently revised upward during the finalisation of the legal framework. The €20 fee is now the confirmed and current figure for travellers subject to ETIAS requirements.

To put the amount in context: ETIAS is valid for three years or until the associated passport expires, whichever comes first. Multiple trips into the Schengen Area are permitted without reapplication throughout the validity period. For a traveller who visits Europe annually, the €20 cost amounts to less than €7 per year — broadly comparable to what was originally proposed on a per-trip basis, though the structure differs.

Who Is Exempt from the ETIAS Fee

Not all applicants will be required to pay the €20 charge. Children under the age of 18 and adults aged 70 and over are exempt from the fee, though they are still required to obtain ETIAS authorisation before travelling. The fee applies to the majority of eligible travellers in the 18-to-70 age bracket.

ETIAS is not a visa. It is a pre-travel screening and authorisation requirement for passport holders of countries that currently enjoy visa-free access to the Schengen Area. Travellers who require a full Schengen visa are not eligible for ETIAS and must apply through the standard visa process. Nationals of EU member states and countries with visa obligations are not affected by ETIAS.

The application itself is designed to be completed online in a matter of minutes, with most approvals issued within seconds or minutes. A small proportion of cases require manual review, which can extend the process by up to four weeks. Travellers are advised to apply well in advance of their planned departure date.

When ETIAS Will Launch and Who It Affects

ETIAS was designed to follow the Entry/Exit System (EES) into operation, with a gap of approximately six months between EES going live and ETIAS becoming mandatory. EES launched in a phased rollout beginning in October 2025, with full implementation across all Schengen entry points planned for April 2026. ETIAS is therefore currently expected to become operational in late 2026.

The system applies to nationals of eligible third countries — including citizens of the United Kingdom, the United States, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and many others — who currently travel to Schengen countries without a visa. Once ETIAS is in effect, these travellers will need to obtain an authorisation before each trip, though the authorisation covers the full three-year validity period for multiple visits.

The 30 countries participating in ETIAS include the 27 EU member states that are part of Schengen, plus Iceland, Norway, Switzerland, and Liechtenstein. Ireland and Cyprus are outside the Schengen Area and therefore not subject to ETIAS entry requirements.