Foreign travellers who are permitted visa-free entry to the EU will not be required to obtain a travel authorisation – ETIAS (European Travel Information and Authorisation System) – until April 2027, at the earliest.
According to the EU’s Directorate-General for Migration and Home Affairs, ETIAS is expected to follow in the last quarter of 2026. However, since there will be a transitional and grace period, the requirement to apply for an ETIAS before travel to the bloc will not become mandatory until 2027 as informed by a news report in Schengen.News.
The implementation of ETIAS is tied to that of the Entry/Exit System (EES). Following multiple delays, the EU has agreed to gradually roll out the EES in October of this year.
The gradual implementation of the EES means that the member states will be able to progressively launch the new border system across a six-month period.
If the EU decides to roll out the EES in October 2025, the member states will need to register ten per cent of travellers crossing the border after the first month.
During the first 60 days, the system can be operated without biometric functionalities. However, after three months, in January 2026, all member states should operate the EES with biometric functionalities and in April 2026, the roll out of the EES should be completed.
Once the EES is fully implemented, ETIAS will come into play. As the EU authorities have explained, ETIAS will be implemented six months after the EES, meaning around October 2026.
While ETIAS may follow in October 2026, ETIAS will be optional for the first six months, which represents a transitional period.
During the transitional period, which lasts from October 2026 until April 2027, visa-exempt travellers should apply for the ETIAS, but they will be permitted entry to the Schengen Area during this period even without a travel authorisation provided that they meet other entry criteria.
After the six-month transitional period, in April 2027, the ETIAS will become compulsory for everyone, except for those entering the EU for the first time since the ending of the transitional period. This group of travellers will have a grace period of six months, until October 2027.
Taking into account these calculations, it means that the ETIAS will become compulsory for a majority in April 2027 and fully compulsory for all visa-exempt travellers in October 2027.
