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The main reason for the approval of the ETIAS authorization is security. With the increased risk of travelers worldwide, the EU wants to ensure safe travels in its countries. The ETIAS will decrease security concerns substantially through its information and data gathering systems. What this means, is that the ETIAS will detect if a person is a threat in any way to the security of Schengen countries. This will lead to the person being denied entry and avoiding the threat from being present inside EU borders. It will basically deal with a problem before it is even there.

ETIAS, scheduled to go in effect January 2021, will allow for advance checks and help close the information gap on visa-free travel within the Schengen Area of Europe. If travelers’ country of citizenship is an ETIAS-eligible country, they must apply for an ETIAS visa waiver. Adopted along with ETIAS are tighter regulations within the Schengen Information System (SIS), also scheduled for a complete roll out in 2021. Both ETIAS and SIS will be integrated, giving authorities and other EU agencies the information they need to strengthen security.

ETIAS, the European Travel Information System, provides qualifying visitors a visa waiver when traveling to the Schengen Area, a group of European countries that have agreed upon who can visit and how long they can stay. The Schengen Area was created by the European Union, or EU, in the spirit of harmonious and free travel between borders and has grown to 26 countries – most are in the EU but some are not. Given the influx of international travelers to the Schengen Area, more comprehensive security checks have had to be put in place. ETIAS, much like ESTA in the United States, will create centralized data on who is visiting and why, providing enhanced security for all.

Approved ETIAS applicants can travel in and between countries in the Schengen Area, for up to 90 days within a 180-day period. Qualifying travel purposes include tourism, short-term business reasons such as a conference or client meeting, short-term education such as an internship, and medical procedures. ETIAS approval is valid for 3 years with no travel limit, as long as the traveler has a passport not expiring for 90 days from the day of arrival abroad. However, your ETIAS expires when your passport does.

Europe is a fabulous travel destination, here are a few attractions you can visit. On Vienna’s outskirts, the Baroque Schonbrunn Palace was completed in the early 1700s and was later converted into a summer residence by Empress Maria Theresa. Highlights of a tour through the 40 rooms of the palace that are open to the public are the Royal apartments; the Great Gallery, with its ornate ceiling paintings; the Million Room; Maria Theresa’s salon, with its carved and gilded rosewood panels; and the Hall of Mirrors, with its gold Rococo-framed mirrors. Behind the 1,441-room palace stretch 500 acres of parks and gardens, also in the 18th-century Baroque style. Your visit to Schonbrunn should include the many attractions spread throughout these grounds: formal gardens; a labyrinth; the Palm House filled with tropical and exotic plants and butterflies; an Alpine garden with a farmhouse; Europe’s oldest zoo; and the Classical Gloriette, a grand marble structure crowning a hill above the gardens. A carriage museum in the former Winter Riding School displays dozens of historical state coaches and sleighs. The entire palace and gardens complex is a UNESCO World Heritage Site

To apply for an ETIAS, you must be a citizen of one of 61 ETIAS eligible countries. The United States is on the eligible list. At the very latest, you should apply for ETIAS 5 days before your trip. The sooner, the better. Your approved ETIAS will last for three years, but it will expire when your passport does – whichever comes first. If you have less than 3 years before your passport expires when you apply for ETIAS, you will have to re-apply for ETIAS when you get a new passport. See extra details on ETIAS Visa.