Europe Delays Start of ETIAS Until at Least 2027

The European Union will delay the official launch of its upcoming pre-authorized travel system until at least next year.

The postponement—first reported by the Financial Times—means that the European Travel Information and Authorisation System (ETIAS) will not see a full rollout until 2027.

“The European Union will inform about the specific date for the start of ETIAS several months prior to its launch,” the EU stated on its official portal this week.

The delay is welcome news for international travelers who have already dealt with headaches because of Europe’s broader digital border rollout. It’s also a temporary cost-saving for those visitors—each person needing an ETIAS will eventually have to pay a €20 application fee.

Travelers going through hubs in Spain, France, Italy, and Poland have already reported hour-long waits because of the Entry/Exit System (EES)—the automated biometric framework that requires first-time non-EU visitors to register facial scans and fingerprints directly at the border.

While the EES is a permanent change and is not going away, the hope is that the ETIAS delay will help make that process smoother. EU implementation agency EU-Lisa and member-state officials pushed the ETIAS timeline back specifically to iron out these ongoing EES glitches first.

It’s not the first time the ETIAS rollout has been delayed. The program has suffered consistent timeline shifts and was originally slated to begin back in November 2023.

What Is the ETIAS?

The ETIAS is an electronic travel authorization program—similar to the U.S. ESTA—that will require visitors from visa-exempt nations, including the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom, to obtain pre-travel screening approval before entering 30 European countries.

The program has been in development since 2016 and has already been delayed a number of times, moving from a November 2023 target to 2024, and now ultimately into 2027.

According to the official ETIAS portal, the digital application form should take roughly 10 minutes to complete, with 95% of applicants receiving approval within minutes. Travelers will only need a valid passport and a credit or debit card to pay the €20 fee. Unlike the automated physical kiosks used by the EES at European borders, the ETIAS application process will not collect any biometric data like fingerprints or facial scans.

Once approved, the ETIAS lasts for three years or until the traveler’s passport expires.

For the trade, travel advisors are legally permitted to submit ETIAS applications on behalf of their clients, as long as they complete a formal declaration of representation. However, advisors must keep in mind that the EU does not permit group or family applications; a separate application and an individual signed declaration of representation are strictly required for every single traveler, including children.