ETIAS
The EU's paid pre-travel clearance scheme for visa-exempt visitors, set at EUR 20 and expected to take effect in the last quarter of 2026.
Last refreshed: 2 July 2026 · Appears in 1 active topic
How much will the EU's new pre-travel authorisation cost from late 2026?
Timeline for ETIAS
Confirmed at EUR 20 ahead of a last-quarter-2026 launch
Nomads & Communities: Europe automates its 90-day nomad clockHow much does ETIAS cost?
When does ETIAS launch?
Is ETIAS the same as the Schengen 90-day rule?
Background
ETIAS, the European Travel Information and Authorisation System, is a paid pre-travel clearance the European Commission has confirmed at EUR 20, up from a planned EUR 7, with under-18s and over-70s exempt. The Commission expects it to launch in the last quarter of 2026.
For Visa-exempt nomads, ETIAS adds a pre-authorisation step before they even reach the Entry/Exit System's biometric day-count at the border, layering a second checkpoint onto the Schengen 90/180-day rule. It follows the same automation logic as EES: a database check that no consulate or national Visa can bypass.
The fee increase from the originally planned EUR 7 to EUR 20 lands as EES has already closed the informal tourist-day arbitrage nomads used by hopping to Georgia or the United Kingdom, making Schengen entry both more tracked and more expensive at once.