ETIAS: new EU travel requirements for visa-exempt travelers

The year 2024 will see the entry into force of new EU travel requirements for nationals of countries in respect of which visa-free travel has been established, to be introduced in compliance with Regulation 2018/1240 establishing a European Travel Information and Authorisation System (ETIAS). Thus, said requirements will affect countries like the USA, Canada, Brazil, Argentina, Australia, Israel, Japan, South Korea, Taiwan and others.
Pursuant to ETIAS, nationals of those countries are required to register prior to being allowed to take advantage of the provided opportunities for visa-free travel to the EU. Upon registration, the applicant must provide certain personal information, including their international travel document, the intended purpose of their stay in the EU, their educational status and occupation, and whether or not they have been expelled from another country’s territory. The applicant’s travel document must have a remaining term of validity of more than 3 months and a date of issue not earlier than 10 years previously. The application procedure carries a EUR 7 fee.
Based on the filed application, the relevant authority issues a travel permit with a 3-year term of validity that is expressly tied to the travel document specified in the application. Therefore, following any change in, or replacement of, that document, its holder is required to apply anew for a travel permit for the EU.
For the time being, no exact effective date has been determined for the ETIAS requirements, but the relevant website says that they will come into effect some time in 2024. In any event, these additional requirements render more difficult the visa-free travel privileges agreed with a number of countries, so their nationals should inquire whether ETIAS already applies when planning a journey to the EU. For more information in that respect, you can visit the following address: https://travel-europe.europa.eu/etias_en