A trip to Europe will require more travel planning in 2025. While passport holders from the United States currently can visit the Schengen Area — covering much of continental Europe — without a visa for up to 90 days within a 180-day period, a new requirement will soon come into effect. The European Travel Information and Authorisation System (ETIAS), adopted by the European Parliament, will require most non-European travelers to complete an online application before entry — even for connecting international flights. Applicable to citizens from over 60 visa-exempt countries, ETIAS screens visitors and supports assessments, including high epidemic risks posed, but is not a new passport or visa.
Once implemented, Americans and other visa-exempt visitors traveling to European countries must complete an online form, have a passport that is valid for more than three months but not older than ten years, have an email address and pay a small fee — around 7 euros or slightly more than $7. As of press time, the ETIAS travel authorization should take effect in mid-2025; that is, six months after Europe's automated Entry/Exit System (EES) starts to document biometric data of non-EU citizens every time external borders are crossed. (Europe's ETIAS also should not be confused with the UK Travel ETA, a travel authorization system for the United Kingdom, that began in January 2025. Such travel documents are becoming more common, with Australia even having its own Electronic Travel Authority.) Both an ETIAS and ETA will be required if American citizens are touching down in Europe's Schengen Area and the United Kingdom.
The official ETIAS website estimates that some 1.4 billion individuals from more than 60 nations who do not require a visa will need this authorization system to guarantee entry to the best places to visit in Europe. Teaming up with a travel agent is a smart move to stay current with the latest procedures or changes. In the meantime, here are some answers to a few questions about ETIAS, including special cases like traveling with kids or seeing Europe after a student visa expires.
1. Who needs an ETIAS application?
Citizens from non-EU, visa-exempt countries like the U.S., Japan and Commonwealth realms such as Canada and Australia, including tourists, people traveling for medical reasons, crew members and businesspeople, must apply for ETIAS for short-term visits to Europe's Schengen Area and Cyprus. (The Schengen Area includes European nations that have eliminated passports and other border controls at their shared borders.) As of press time, this travel authorization permits non-visa holders to enter at least 30 European countries requiring ETIAS.
Member nations include the following countries — Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Italy, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden and Switzerland. (Vatican City by default will require ETIAS since one must travel through Italy first.)
2. Do dual citizens need ETIAS?
Travelers should always bring a passport electronically linked to their ETIAS when entering Europe. For dual citizens, entry requirements will vary by passport. An ETIAS isn't needed if a passport from an EU country is held.
3. How much is an ETIAS application fee?
According to the European Commission, fees may increase over time to keep up with operational costs, but in 2025, most applicants from ages 18 to 70 should budget €7 — or slightly more than $7 per individual — payable by debit or credit cards authorized for international transactions. Those under age 18 or older than age 70 require ETIAS but are deemed exempt from fees, as are family members of EU citizens or non-EU nationals who already have the freedom to travel within the EU.
All ETIAS fees are nonrefundable regardless of application success.
4. How long is ETIAS valid, and what's the application process like?
Travelers from countries not requiring a visa, such as American citizens, should get ETIAS at least three days before departing for their trip, and although most applications are approved within a day, ETIAS delays or requests for more travel documents are possible. After one's travel authorization is processed, multiple entries are allowed within the Schengen Area for up to 90 days in any 180 days. ETIAS remains valid for three years or up until a passport expires, whichever comes first.
An ETIAS application will take about 20 minutes and requires personal information, including contact information, intended first entry, education, profession, passport and/or residence permit, and other eligibility details. ETIAS applications can be submitted through the ETIAS mobile app — available in app stores — or at the official website managed by Directorate-General for Migration and Home Affairs. Though dozens of unofficial websites offer information on what's needed for the new European travel authorization, caution is advised due to potential scams.
5. What about ETIAS for kids?
For individuals under age 18, a valid passport with the proper ETIAS approval will be required, but an application by itself may not always be enough in some European countries. Children traveling alone or with someone other than an assigned guardian may require additional materials, such as a consent to travel letter signed by a parent or legal guardian; it often can be notarized in places such as a AAA office in the United States. A letter of consent attesting to both parents' approval of the child's travel arrangements may also be necessary in some situations, such as when parents are divorced or separated.
6. Do students need ETIAS? How can American students studying abroad travel afterward?
In Europe, students attending short programs or conferences in Europe from visa-free countries would not need a Student Schengen visa or other visa in that specific case but would need an ETIAS travel authorization. For programs longer than 90 days in which a visa would be needed, students from non-visa countries can extend their stay in ETIAS-required nations for up to 90 days, according to the European Union's tips for students. For example, American students would have to ensure they are registered in the EES and their ETIAS would be valid when their student visa expires.
7. When should someone request an ETIAS with limited validity, and what does it allow them to do?
If an individual anticipates their ETIAS application to be denied (or it's previously been denied, revoked or annulled) — yet they have important obligations or humanitarian reasons, such as medical procedures, a family illness or a court appearance — they may avoid being denied entry by applying for an ETIAS travel authorization with limited validity instead. This authorization permits travel to specific European countries for up to 90 days. To apply, they must submit a standard ETIAS application, specify the purpose of limited validity and travel destinations, and include any additional information requested.
8. Do you need an ETIAS, ETA or both? What about Ireland?
While entry from the vast majority of non-EU nations will require an ETIAS inside the Schengen member states and Cyprus, travel for citizens between member states in the European Union is freely permitted. Citizens of the EU do require a UK ETA to visit places in the United Kingdom. Following the implementation of the ETIA, citizens of the UK will require an ETIAS to enter the EU (unless they have residence rights under the EU-UK Withdrawal Agreement, aka Brexit). For Americans, an ETIAS and an ETA both will be needed, even if they are only being used for connecting flights, while traveling to the United Kingdom and most Schengen Area destinations (except the Republic of Ireland).
A UK ETA is required for entry into Northern Ireland, as it is part of the United Kingdom due to historical and political agreements from the early 20th century. However, neither a UK ETA nor an ETIAS is needed to enter the Republic of Ireland. That country is not part of the U.K. or the Schengen Area, so an ETIAS application for short visits to Ireland won't be required.