New EU visa rules to be introduced | BBC News

now rules for travelers going to the European Union from non-member countries will be changing over the next 18 months a new 7 Euro visa waiver is being introduced and will cover people from 60 non-eu Nations including of course us here in the UK it means that Brits going on popular holiday destinations like Spain and France are going to have to pay in advance our business presenter Ben bulos has the details there are two main changes coming in the first is an electronic entry and exit system the second is the European travel information and authorization system

a mouthful but it's basically a form for any non-eu passport holders to fill in and pay for before traveling now the first one of those the entry exit system will track where and when people enter and leave the EU that's to make sure that you haven't stayed over the allowed 90 days in a six-month period we'll have fingerprints taken and a face scan for the the first time but we won't need to have passports stamped the biggest change for most of us will be the etas that's the Visa waiver system it'll be an online form

requiring passport details and where you're staying plus a fee of7 or6 and you have to do this before you travel the area covered doesn't include Ireland or Cypress though this whole thing is a bit like the Visa waiver scheme you may may have used if you've been on holiday to the United States the European union says the entry exit system that's the one that needs fingerprints and face scans should be running by this November the etas form and 7ur payment should then Begin by the middle of next year potentially as early as may but don't

fret there will be a six-month transition period at first so you won't be refused entry if you've forgotten but everything else is in order however expect that by November next year you will need to have filled in an etas form and paid that €7 before you go on holiday so the question is what if when all of this is fully in place you were to turn up at an airport or Ferry Terminal having forgotten to complete this new requirement from what I can see etas will be a lot more user friendly than the American esta

first of all it's much cheaper just €7 or £6 it's valid for3 3 years or until your passport expires whichever is the sooner and crucially the expectation is that the vast majority of holiday makers will get an etti house issued within minutes of putting in the online application so if you forget and you turn up at the airport and you've only got a couple of hours before your flight it probably won't be too late we've also been out to ask what potential Travelers think about the changes I think it's typical of the European Union um

and because I voted to leave uh I think now that was a mistake and we should get back in um because otherwise those kind of things are going to happen again and again but it won't stop me going because you can't even get a cup of coffee for for seven euros so doesn't make a lot of difference I didn't want to leave Europe anyway so it's just an extra tax to go on holiday and explore the country and the world so yeah not right I'm not agree with this tax I think it's really unfair with

the Brittanic citizen uh I'm from France so sorry if my English is not perfect but uh for me you should it should stay free for example I I'm there in your country and it's free so why do you have to pay to come in mind to make no sense of course the remaining specific uh dates still need to be confirmed by the European Union but these changes are worth bearing in mind if you're planning a holiday next summer or perhaps a ski trip the following winter so 2025 um I know there's a lot of detail

there there is a full article on the BBC News website if you want to have a look at that it's on the app as well it runs through all those key points the key dates and how it will affect any of us planning summer holidays to the EU next year