Brits Will Have To Pay Fee To Enter The EU Without A Visa From Next Year

The EU Commission has confirmed plans to charge British holidaymakers €7 (£6.20) to enter mainland Europe as part of a new travel system.

Under the new rules, travellers will be subject to visa-style fees, and will have to also fill out an online form.

After a passenger is asked to answer a number of security questions and provide personal information, their name will be checked against police databases.

They will have to pay a charge to submit the form, before waiting for an approval or denial 'within minutes', receiving the results via email.

The EU Commission's European Travel Information and Authorisation System (ETIAS), based on the US' Electronic Travel Authorisation (ESTA), is due to be introduced before the end of 2022.

PA

According to the Independent, the changes will apply to any tourists coming from visa-exempt countries (such as the UK) who wish to travel to EU states and any other countries in the border-free Schengen region.

The fees and application forms had been set to be brought into force by the end of 2021, but the EU pushed plans back by a year.

The EU Commission has promised the new ETIAS system will be 'simple, fast and affordable'.

Outlining the plans, a spokesperson said: "ETIAS will not change which non-EU countries are subject to a visa requirement and will also not introduce a new visa requirement for nationals of countries that are visa-exempt."

The statement continued: "Visa-exempt non-EU nationals will only need a few minutes to fill in an online application which in a vast majority of cases - expected to be over 95 per cent - will result in automatic approval.

"The system will cross-check travellers against EU information systems for internal security, borders and migration before their trip, helping to identify ahead of time people who may pose a risk to security or health, as well as compliance with migration rules."

Brits Will Have To Pay Fee To Enter The EU Without A Visa From Next Year

The spokesperson added: "The process will be simple, fast and affordable: the ETIAS authorisation will cost €7, which will be a one-off fee, and will be valid for 3 years and for multiple entries."

The EU Commission said that in 'limited cases', authorisation could take up to 30 days - such as when further checks on a traveller are required.

The UK government has said it has no plans to bring in a reciprocal fee for those arriving from the EU and countries in the Schengen.

Speaking to LBC today (Wednesday 4 August), Junior Education Minister Michelle Donelan said: "I believe we have no plans to do that.

"We have our visa plans already outlined."

Topics: World News, News, holidays, travel

Jess Hardiman

Jess is a journalist at LADbible who graduated from Manchester University with a degree in Film Studies, English Language and Linguistics - indecisiveness at its finest, right there. She also works for FOODbible and its sister page Seitanists, which are both a safe haven for her to channel a love for homemade pasta, fennel and everything else in between. You can contact Jess at [email protected].

@Jess_Hardiman