ETIAS is a new visa waiver system introduced by the European Union for visitors entering European nations for business, vacation, medical and transit purposes. ETIAS is short for European Travel Information and Authorisation System. They will be in action from the year 2021. But they will only be applied to you if you belong to any of the 61 countries in the world including New Zealand, The United States, Canada and Australia that allowed the citizens to visit Europe without a visa.

European Union has introduced the concept of ETIAS into the world that will be mandatory for you if you are planning on visiting any of the European countries as well as the countries falling on the Schengen Border Area.

The citizens who always needed a visa to travel to Europe will remain unaffected with the introduction of this new travel authorization system. ETIAS is not a visa but it is a visa-waiver system that will require visitors to undergo some security checks before boarding any flight to Europe.

There are a total of 26 countries in the world that comes under the Schengen Area Border.  The Schengen Border has a population of 400 million. The 26 countries including, Spain, Denmark, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Italy, Sweden, Germany, Hungary, Iceland, Finland, Austria, Poland, Portugal, Slovakia, Slovenia, Belgium, Czech Republic, Estonia, France, Greece, Latvia, Norway, Sweden, and Switzerland.

You will not have to apply for Schengen Visa separately if you want to travel in these 26 countries. ETIAS will work for you if you visit any of the 44 countries in the European continent.

Along with these 26 Schengen Area countries, you can also visit other countries with your ETIAS. falling on the map of Europe like Russia, the United Kingdom, Ukraine, Serbia, Bulgaria, Moldova, Albania, North Macedonia, Monaco, San Marino, Holy See, Malta, etc. There are a total of 44 European countries in the world right now.

The reason behind the introduction of this new visa waiver system is multiple. It is also to ensure the safety of the borders of the European Nations and to deal with the immigration issues. It was first brought into the world in 2008, but now the European Union is finally launching the ETIAS from 2021. From the 1st of January 2021, this new travel regulations will be applied to you if you belong to any of the US countries that did not require a visa to stay in the European nations.

ETIAS are also required for minors. The charge of filling out an application form is seven euros for adults but for children below the age of 18 and old age people above the age of 70, they are absolutely free. Generally, 95% of the population applying for ETIAS will receive a decision within minutes.

The ETIAS will be valid for a period of three years. And it will permit you to stay in the European Nations for three months one at a time. You must acquire a valid passport in order to apply for ETIAS.