The New Travel Fee For Canadians Visiting Europe Has Been Postponed
Over 60 countries will be required to pay a fee.
A person holding up a Canadian passport at the airport, Right: Various EU flags.
Last summer the European Union introduced a new visa waiver system, known as the European Travel Information Authorisation System (ETIAS) that will require certain non-EU travellers who don't require a visa to pay a 7 euro fee.
The system, which will cover travellers from over 60 countries that are not part of the European Union, was originally intended to roll out in May 2023 and was later pushed back to November 1, 2023.
Now the EU has yet again postponed the commencement date — the system is expected to be fully operational as of 2024.
So, those who hoped to travel to Europe and frolic through the streets of Paris or eat their body weight in pasta in Italy don't have to worry about any ETIAS application this year.
What is ETIAS?
ETIAS are being put to use in order to "reduce procedures and wait times, as well as address security concerns," the EU says on the ETIAS website.
"It is a completely electronic system that allows and keeps track of visitors from countries who do not need a visa to enter the Schengen Zone. In a way, it resembles the U.S. Electronic System for Travel Authorization (ESTA), which serves a similar purpose."
Canada, the United States and the United Kingdom are a few of the countries that will be required to pay the ETIAS authorization fee.
Travellers will be required to fill out a form and pay the fee, which is estimated to take only a few minutes. The form will ask questions regarding criminal records, conflict zones and instructions on how to exit the EU.
If approved, your ETIAS can be valid anywhere from three years to whenever your passport expires.
Who will need to pay the ETIAS visitors' fee?
Here's a full list of countries that will need to fill out the form and pay the new EU visitor fee:
- Albania
- Antigua and Barbuda
- Argentina
- Australia
- Bahamas
- Barbados
- Bosnia and Herzegovina
- Brazil
- Brunei
- Canada
- Chile
- Colombia
- Costa Rica
- Dominica
- El Salvador
- Georgia
- Grenada
- Guatemala
- Honduras
- Hong Kong
- Israel
- Japan
- Kiribati
- Macao
- Malaysia
- Marshall Islands
- Mauritius
- Mexico
- Micronesia
- Moldova
- Montenegro
- Nauru
- New Zealand
- Nicaragua
- North Macedonia
- Palau
- Panama
- Paraguay
- Peru
- Saint Kitts and Nevis
- Saint Lucia
- Saint Vincent
- Samoa
- Serbia
- Seychelles
- Singapore
- Solomon Islands
- South Korea
- Taiwan
- Timor Leste
- Tonga
- Trinidad and Tobago
- Tuvalu
- Ukraine
- United Arab Emirates
- United Kingdom
- United States of America
- Uruguay
- Vanuatu
- Venezuela
This article's cover image was used for illustrative purposes only.
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