US green card holders: ETIAS depends on your passport

Living in the United States, or holding a US green card, does not decide whether you need ETIAS. Your passport does. A Canadian or British citizen with a green card will need ETIAS once it is in operation. An Indian or Chinese citizen with a green card will not, because they need a Schengen visa instead.

Does a US green card mean I need ETIAS?

No, and it does not exempt you either. The official ETIAS FAQ says you will need ETIAS as a general rule if you meet all of its criteria: you are “not an EU national”, you are “a citizen of a country whose nationals are not required to have a visa for short-term stay” in the countries requiring ETIAS, and you hold neither a residence card under Directive 2004/38/EC nor a residence permit under Regulation (EC) No 1030/2002 from one of those countries.

Every test in that list is about nationality or a European residence document. A US green card is none of those things. It tells the EU where you live, not which visa rule applies to you.

Which passport decides: where you live or where you are from?

The passport you travel on. The EU’s visa regulation sorts countries into two lists. Under Regulation (EU) 2018/1806, nationals of the countries in Annex I “shall be required to be in possession of a visa when crossing the external borders”, while nationals of the countries in Annex II are exempt for stays of no more than 90 days in any 180-day period. The Commission’s visa policy page points to the same two annexes. In the text I read, India and China are in Annex I, and Canada and the United States are in Annex II. The annexes have been amended since, so check the current list for your own passport.

ETIAS only exists for the Annex II group. That gives a simple split for people who live in the US on a green card:

• Passport from a visa-exempt country (a Canadian, Australian or Mexican citizen, for example, or a British one, as the FAQ confirms UK nationals need ETIAS): you will need ETIAS once it starts, the same as someone living at home.
• Passport from a visa-required country: ETIAS is not your route. The FAQ says that “travellers with a valid visa do not need an ETIAS travel authorisation”, and you need that visa before you travel.

Where does a visa-required green card holder apply for a Schengen visa?

The EU’s Visa Code says an application “shall be examined and decided on by the consulate of the competent Member State in whose jurisdiction the applicant legally resides”. In practice, a green card holder in the US should generally apply through the consulate that covers their US home, not one back in their country of citizenship. The Visa Code text also lets a consulate take an application from someone legally present but not resident, if they give a reason for applying there. Which country’s consulate is competent depends on your trip, so check it with the country you are visiting.

Are there cases where a visa-required person can still use ETIAS?

Narrow ones. The FAQ notes that “some visa-required travellers may also apply” and gives two examples. Pupils on a school group trip can apply if they are nationals of a listed country, reside in a visa-exempt country and meet the visa-exemption conditions in the regulation. Recognised refugees and stateless persons who live in a visa-exempt country and hold a travel document issued by it “may need to apply”. If neither describes you, do not assume you qualify.

Does EES apply either way?

Yes. The EES portal says the system applies to a non-EU national who either needs a short-stay visa or does not need one. So a green card holder with a visa-required passport is registered at the border just as a Canadian is. EES is already running. ETIAS is not.

What is the status of ETIAS now?

ETIAS is not in operation and no applications are being taken. The EU has announced no start date and says it will give several months’ notice. Press reporting points to 2027, but that is reporting, not an official date. When it opens, the fee will be EUR 20 for adults, with under-18s and over-70s exempt. Our status page tracks the position.

To see which side of the line your passport falls on, use the ETIAS checker. The guide for US citizens covers American passports. If you hold a European residence document, see residence permits and ETIAS. Any site claiming to process an application today is a scam, as our scam guide explains.