From November 2023 (now postponed to 2024), under the new European Travel Information and Authorisation System (ETIAS), non-EU citizens travelling to the European Schengen area will need to pay for a €7 entry fee. This means that British citizens will need to apply for the visa waiver when visiting popular holiday locations such as Portugal, Spain, and France! Once you arrive in the EU, border security will verify your travel documents and ETIAS.
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New Europe visa waiver rules | How can I get a Europe visa waiver? | European countries you’ll need a visa waiver for in 2024 | Travel news and updates
New Europe visa waiver rules and terms
Read up on the following useful, terms, conditions, and rules:
- The form will be filled out online and should only take 10 minutes to fill out.
- The visa waiver will cost €7 (around £6.20) and approval will only a couple of minutes for most applicants. However, we still recommend you complete this in advance as some applications may take up to 30 days to be processed if further investigation is required.
- The ETIAS visa waiver entitles you to stay in the European Schengen area for up to 90 days within any 180-day period.
- Once purchased, the waiver will be valid for a 3-year period and can allow an unlimited number of entries.
- The ETIAS visa waiver will not apply for UK-Ireland travel.
For more information, head over to the ETIAS website.
How can I get a Europe visa waiver?
You do not currently need a visa waiver for travel in Europe as a non-EU citizen! Once the ETIAS is in place, you will need the following for your application:
- Full name (as it appears on the passport)
- Gender
- Nationality
- Date and place of birth
- Address
- Passport details (passport must be valid beyond the intended stay)
- Email address
- Debit/credit card for payment
From 2024, you will have to apply for an ETIAS visa waiver online.
European countries you’ll need a visa waiver for in 2024
If you’re travelling to European Schengen area in 2024, you will need to apply for the ETIAS visa waiver in the following countries:
We’ve got you covered for the latest travel new and updates!
For more information on how Brexit will affect your holiday plans, we suggest you read up on our Brexit and Travel blogs. Also check out our blogs on travelling in 2023 tips and the top holiday destinations to visit in 2023.
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Hi Jake, this is interesting. My wife and I travel to Portugal regularly and stay for more than the permitted 90 days as we have Portuguese residency and, in fact, on our last visit which we’ve just returned from, we both secured Portuguese Residency cards which replaced the old paper residency documents.
My question is therefore do we need to complete a ETIAS Visa Waiver under the circumstances?
I look forward to your thoughts.
Cheers.
Colin
Hi Colin,
According to Gov.uk, the Portuguese residency card exempts you from having to apply for the European Travel Information and Authorisation System (ETIAS). However, the introduction of the ETIAS visa waiver has been delayed until an unspecified date in 2024, so at the moment, the complete details aren’t set in stone and this exemption could potentially change.
Hope this helps,
Jake