Getting ready for ETIAS: what to do before it opens

ETIAS is not open yet. The EU says it is currently not in operation and will announce the start date several months before launch; press reporting on EU planning points to 2027. There is nothing to submit today. But there are some practical things worth doing now so the authorisation does not become a last-minute problem.

None of these steps involve applying anywhere or paying anyone. They are about being in the right position the moment the official EU portal opens.

Check your passport before you book the trip

ETIAS is tied to the specific passport used at application. Get a new passport after applying and you will need to apply again. So before booking any trip that will need ETIAS, it is worth checking two things about your current passport.

First, expiry. Your ETIAS will be valid for 3 years from the date it is issued, or until the passport it is linked to expires, whichever comes first. A passport expiring in 2027 effectively limits the period your first ETIAS covers. If you are close to expiry, renewing before applying means the authorisation runs for its full three years.

Second, the ten-year issue rule. Under Schengen rules, the passport you arrive on must have a date of issue less than ten years before the day you arrive. This catches some UK passports renewed before 1 October 2018: extra months were often added to their expiry date, so the date of issue can be more than ten years ago even when the expiry date is still some way off. A passport that looks valid on its face may already fail the ten-year test. Check your passport expiry before assuming it will be accepted.

Confirm you actually need ETIAS

ETIAS applies to nationals of roughly 60 visa-exempt countries and territories who currently visit without a visa. If you hold an EU, EEA, Swiss or Irish passport you do not need it at all. The same applies if you hold a valid Schengen visa or national long-stay visa, or a residence permit issued by one of the 30 ETIAS countries other than Cyprus. Residence permits issued by Ireland do not exempt you, although an Irish residence card held as the family member of an EU citizen does.

People from countries that currently require a Schengen visa to visit are not ETIAS travellers either. They will continue to apply for a visa through the usual consular route. ETIAS is specifically for the visa-exempt group: UK, US, Canadian, Australian, New Zealand, Japanese, South Korean and similar passport holders.

Still not sure which side of the line you fall on? The do I need ETIAS checker takes your nationality and intended destination and gives a direct answer.

Know who pays nothing

The standard ETIAS fee is €20 per application. Applicants under 18 or over 70 are exempt, and so are family members of EU citizens who qualify for family-member status.

For everyone else, the fee is a one-off that covers all trips over the three-year validity, or until the passport expires if that comes first. Spread across a few visits, it comes to a few euros a trip. The ETIAS fee guide has the full breakdown, including what the fee does and does not cover.

Understand how EES has already changed your Schengen record

The Entry/Exit System began rolling out at Schengen external borders on 12 October 2025 and, according to the EU’s EES FAQs, has been fully operational at every external border crossing point of the 29 countries using it since 10 April 2026. It records entries and exits digitally against your passport. During the six-month rollout not every crossing was registered, so your record may only start partway through that period.

When ETIAS launches, that travel history is part of what the system can draw on. The ETIAS Regulation has every application checked against EES for current or past overstays, and EES records overstays automatically. Before EES, spotting a brief overstay depended on someone reading the passport stamps. That is no longer the case.

The Schengen 90/180-day rule still caps short stays at 90 days in any rolling 180-day window. ETIAS does not extend or pause that limit. If you are travelling to Schengen this summer or autumn, check your remaining days before you book so a future ETIAS application starts from a clean position.

When to apply and why earlier is better

When the portal does open, most applications clear within minutes. The system checks your passport and personal data against several EU and international databases automatically. No flag, no human review, and the authorisation arrives by email. That is the experience for the large majority of applicants.

A smaller number trigger a flag and go to manual review, which can take up to 96 hours. In rare cases, where additional information is requested, the process can extend to 30 days. If your application happens to fall into that group and you applied the night before departure, you have a real problem. Applying several weeks ahead gives you a margin.

The more detailed picture of what the assessment actually involves is in the ETIAS assessment guide.

Where to apply when the time comes

The official application routes will be the EU ETIAS website at travel-europe.europa.eu/etias and the official ETIAS mobile app. The application form will be available in all 24 official EU languages. Applying directly costs nothing beyond the €20 application fee.

No third-party site or app can process a legitimate ETIAS today, because nothing can be submitted yet. Other websites already offer to apply on travellers’ behalf, and the EU warns that any fee charged on top of the €20 goes to the intermediary. The ETIAS scams guide explains what to watch for and how to tell a fake site from the real one when the portal does open.

What to do right now

In short: check your passport, confirm you need ETIAS, note who in your group is fee-exempt, and keep your Schengen day count clean. Those four things take less than half an hour and mean the application itself will be straightforward.

The ETIAS status page tracks the current launch position and will carry the announcement when the portal opens. Until then, No action is required yet. Applications are not open.