Does ETIAS require travel insurance? What the rules say

ETIAS does not require travel insurance. The application form asks about your identity, passport, travel history and security background, but not about medical coverage. No insurance policy needs to be attached, uploaded or purchased as a condition of applying. Some sites suggest otherwise. They are wrong, and the confusion is worth clearing up before it costs travellers money they do not need to spend.

What the ETIAS application actually asks for

The contents of the ETIAS form are fixed by Article 17 of EU Regulation 2018/1240, which established the system. The form asks for your name, date and place of birth, nationality, parents’ first names, home address, email and phone number; your passport details; your level of education and current occupation; your intended travel and stay; details of any EU family member you rely on; and three background questions, about criminal convictions, time spent in war or conflict zones, and any past decision requiring you to leave a country.

Travel insurance appears nowhere on that list. The regulation does not ask for a policy number, a certificate of coverage or a minimum sum insured. You can read the full breakdown of what the form collects in the ETIAS data guide.

Where the confusion comes from

Schengen visa applicants are required to hold travel insurance. Article 15 of Regulation (EC) No 810/2009, the Schengen Visa Code, sets the rule: minimum coverage of €30,000 for emergency medical treatment, hospitalisation and repatriation, valid across the whole Schengen area for the duration of the stay. That requirement has applied to visa-required nationalities for years.

ETIAS covers a completely different group: travellers from countries that already enter the Schengen area without a visa, including the UK, the US, Canada, Australia, Japan and dozens of other countries and territories. Those nationalities do not apply for Schengen visas, so the visa code insurance rule has never applied to them, and the ETIAS regulation does not add one.

The mix-up happens because ETIAS is often described as a “travel authorisation” that functions like a pre-cleared entry permission, which leads some to assume it imports all the conditions that apply to a Schengen visa application. It does not. The ETIAS regulation is a separate legal instrument with its own, shorter list of requirements.

UK travellers and the Global Health Insurance Card

British visitors to EU countries and the rest of the EEA (Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein) can use a free Global Health Insurance Card (GHIC), and British nationals can also use it in Switzerland. The card gives access to state-provided healthcare on the same terms as local residents during a trip, covering emergency treatment and conditions that cannot reasonably wait until you return home.

What the GHIC does not cover: private hospitals, medical repatriation back to the UK, cancellation or curtailment costs, or any travel disruption. Many Schengen countries have both public and private hospitals; in a serious emergency, you may not get to choose. The Foreign Office puts the uninsured cost of a broken leg in Spain, with hospital care and a possible evacuation, at £25,000 or more.

The GHIC reduces what you pay. It does not eliminate the risk. NHS guidance is clear that the GHIC is not a substitute for travel insurance and that travellers should hold both.

US, Canadian and Australian travellers

Cover from home is thin. Medicare usually does not cover health care while you are outside the US, apart from a few narrow exceptions. Canada’s own travel advice says provincial and territorial health plans rarely cover any of the cost of medical care outside Canada, and when they do it is usually a small part. Australia has reciprocal healthcare agreements with a handful of EU countries, including Italy, the Netherlands, Belgium and Sweden, but none with France, Spain, Germany or Greece.

None of that changes because ETIAS does not require insurance. The absence of a formal requirement is not a signal that insurance is unnecessary. It simply means you are not obliged to prove coverage when you apply.

The practical bottom line

ETIAS costs €20 per adult and is free for under-18s and over-70s, who still need an ETIAS but pay no fee. Applications will open on the official ETIAS website and app when the system launches. The EU has not announced a date; press reporting on EU planning points to 2027. No action is required yet. Applications are not open.

When you do apply, travel insurance will not be part of the form. Whether you buy a policy is a separate decision. For most visitors to the Schengen area, particularly those from the US and Canada, where home cover abroad is minimal, a comprehensive policy is a sensible precaution regardless of what ETIAS does or does not ask for.

For a full picture of what the ETIAS application involves and how it compares to the Entry/Exit System biometric registration at the border, the EES vs ETIAS guide sets out both systems side by side. Current ETIAS status and the expected launch timeline are on the ETIAS status page.