How to apply for ETIAS

What ETIAS is

ETIAS is designed to assess, before travel, whether a visa-exempt visitor poses a security, illegal immigration or high epidemic risk. [3] The regulation describes the authorisation as a decision that there are no factual indications or reasonable grounds to consider that the person's presence poses those risks. [3] It is distinct from a visa and is not meant to require more information or place a heavier burden on applicants than a visa does. [3] The regulation sets holding a valid authorisation as a new entry condition, but mere possession does not give an automatic right of entry. [3]

Applications are compared by automated means with records in EU systems including SIS, VIS, EES and Eurodac, with Europol data, Interpol's SLTD and TDAWN databases, the ETIAS watchlist and specific risk indicators. [3] A match is processed manually by the responsible ETIAS National Unit. [3] No refusal, annulment or revocation may rest only on automated processing. [3] The regulation expects the vast majority of applications to receive a positive answer automatically. [3]

EUR-Lex lists Regulation (EU) 2018/1240 as in force and shows a consolidated version dated 12 June 2026. [3]

Who it covers

ETIAS applies to third-country nationals who are exempt from the visa requirement. [3] The regulation also covers visa-exempt family members of EU citizens, or of third-country nationals with equivalent free movement rights, who do not hold a residence card under Directive 2004/38/EC or a residence permit under Regulation (EC) No 1030/2002. [3] For those family members, the authorisation is issued free of charge, and their application is examined only against security concerns, not migration risks. [3] Applications may be submitted by a third party authorised by the traveller or legally responsible for them, and travellers may authorise commercial intermediaries to apply on their behalf. [3] For a minor, the form includes details of the person responsible. [3]

How the application works

The application is made through an online form covering identity, travel document, residence information, contact details, education and job group, any family-member status, and answers to background questions. [3] Before the fee is paid, an admissibility check is meant to preclude a travel document that will expire in less than three months, has expired, or was issued more than 10 years earlier. [3] Applicants must pay a travel authorisation fee, handled by a bank or financial intermediary; payment data is not stored in ETIAS. [3] Most authorisations are expected within minutes, but a smaller number may take longer, with additional information or documents and, in exceptional cases, an interview. [3] The regulation says interviews should be a last resort and expects fewer than 0.1% of applicants to be invited. [3] An applicant who is refused has a right of appeal in the Member State that made the decision, under that state's national law. [3]

Validity and passport linkage

After the validity period, applicant data is stored only with explicit consent and only to facilitate a new application, while data tied to a refusal, annulment or revocation is kept for five years from the decision. [3] The authorisation is linked to the travel document used in the application: carriers and border guards query the system using travel document data. [3] If the document is reported lost, stolen, misappropriated or invalidated in SIS, or lost, stolen or invalidated in SLTD, the national unit manually processes the file. [3] Air and sea carriers, and international carriers transporting groups overland by coach, are to verify before boarding that travellers hold a valid authorisation; they do not get access to the ETIAS file itself. [3] At the border, border guards read the travel document electronically; a query showing no valid authorisation leads to refusal of entry. [3] Even a valid authorisation leaves the entry decision to the border guard. [3] For the separate passport-validity rules applied at entry, see passport validity and entry checks.

Exceptions and limits

• In exceptional circumstances, a Member State may issue an authorisation valid only for a limited territory and period on humanitarian grounds, for national interest or because of international obligations. [3]
• An authorisation is to be annulled or revoked if the conditions for issuing it were not met or are no longer met, including after a new refusal-of-entry alert or a lost/stolen document alert; it can also be revoked at the applicant's request. [3]
• The regulation refers to a transitional period during which no travel authorisation is required and a grace period in which border guards may exceptionally allow entry without one. [3]
• ETIAS is not a visa and applies to visa-exempt travellers; a person who needs a visa is outside the scope described in the regulation. [3]

Related pages

Entry permission types · Passport validity and entry checks · Schengen 90/180-day rule · Travel authorisation systems compared · Frequent flyer glossary

Sources

Sources accessed on 18 October 2026. Not covered here: national ETIAS unit procedures, carrier implementation, Schengen visa applications, non-EU travel authorisation schemes and the operational status of the application service.

1. Regulation (EU) 2018/1240 establishing ETIAS (EUR-Lex CELEX 32018R1240), checked 18 October 2026
2. Regulation (EU) 2018/1240 establishing ETIAS (EUR-Lex ELI), checked 18 October 2026