The European Commission is expected next year to introduce its European Travel Information and Authorisation System (ETIAS) to control travel and staying in EU countries, including Spain.
The Commission states: “All-in-all, the ETIAS authorisation will make travelling in the EU less of a hassle and a much safer experience.”In particular, a successful ETIAS application will enable Brits to stay in a country such as Spain for 90 days in each 180-day period. This will be especially beneficial for Brits who wish to buy, or already own, a Spanish property. Unlimited EU travel for Brits ended with Brexit.
Brits will apply on-line for a fee of just €7. Ten minutes will be allowed for each on-line application and renewal will generally be every three years. There will be no fee charged for under-18s.Detailed security checks will be applied to each application, the EU warning that false answers to questions will lead to rejection.
An ETIAS application “will be simple, fast and visitor friendly, which will in more than 95% of cases result in a positive answer within a few minutes.”
Developing ETIAS has been a major task for the EU due to the huge number of applications this electronic system will have to deal with and maintain. First expected to launch in 2022, ETIAS was put back to May 2023, then November 2023. Now it is expected to be operational sometime in 2024.
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