You could knock me over with feather, I really though this was the year...
https://www.schengenvisainfo.com/news/no-etias-wont-become-operational-in-2024-eu-sources-say/
Posted by
Portsmouth
5541 posts
And therein lies one of the biggest problems with the EU......bureaucracy. Trying to get all member states to agree on the ETIAS is difficult particularly those states who rely heavily on tourism and view ETIAS as harmful to the sector.
Posted by
Atlanta, GA, USA
2790 posts
It’s right up there with Real ID.
I’m not shocked 😂
Posted by
Phoenix🌵
3076 posts
Why are you shocked? The ETIAS delays have been posted here for several years.
Posted by
Big Island of Hawaii
757 posts
I took Paul's post as sarcasm.
Posted by
Austin, TX
2253 posts
So there was a whole lot of excitement and confusion for no reason at all. It was reported widely on U S media. I guess it must have been during slow news days.
Posted by
Edmonds, WA 🌨 ☂
11879 posts
Currently, the ETIAS go-live is expected in May 2025 at the earliest.
Swiss State Secretariat for Migration
And at the rate they are going, it may be free by the time it goes into effect
When applying using this official ETIAS website, you will be charged a fee of EUR 7. Applicants who are under 18 or over 70 years of age are exempt from this payment.
Posted by
Wengen
2497 posts
The problem is not getting countries to agree. They have already agreed. The delays are caused by the technical implementation. This is a very, very, very complex software project.
I doubt that countries "heavily reliant on tourism" would be the cause of the delay, given that the system will have advantages for the tourists as well.
Posted by
Magyarország / Rep of Texas
20218 posts
What are the advantages for the tourists?
Posted by
Freedonia
16284 posts
What are the advantages for the tourists?
The hope is that with ETIAS, more countries will open up their egates for us to use. That would save time at immigration.
Posted by
Virginia
879 posts
!!!Surprise!!!
So there was a whole lot of excitement and confusion for no reason at all...
Well yes and there were many posts pointing out that it was much ado about nothing.
...It was reported widely on U S media. I guess it must have been during slow news days.
Yes it was. it's cyclical and the same articles will come around again in another six months or a year with the same sensational gotcha headlines all intended to manipulate one's emotions to rage or panic click on the article, recreating the excitement and confusion all over again.
The best advice is to keep track of the official EU websites --
https://travel-europe.europa.eu/index_en
https://travel-europe.europa.eu/etias_en
Posted by
412 posts
And therein lies one of the biggest problems with the EU......bureaucracy. Trying to get all member states to agree on the ETIAS is difficult
Makes me think of REAL ID =)