ETIAS is not running, no applications are being accepted, and the EU has removed its target launch date. Anyone being asked to pay for an ETIAS right now is being sold something that cannot be bought.
The European Commission’s page on the system states: “ETIAS is currently not in operation and no applications for travel authorisations are collected at this point.”
On timing, it says only that the EU will announce a start date several months before launch. Applications will go through an official website, a mobile app, or both.
The terms are settled in law. Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2025/1411, published in the Official Journal on Oct. 29, 2025, sets the fee at €20, replacing the €7 written into the 2018 ETIAS regulation.
The Commission cited inflation since 2018, added operating costs from new technical features, and alignment with the U.S. ESTA and the UK ETA. The fee takes effect only once ETIAS is operational.
Applicants under 18 or over 70 are exempt, as are family members of EU citizens and of non-EU nationals with free movement rights.
An authorization will be valid three years or until the passport expires, whichever comes first, and covers short stays of up to 90 days in any 180-day period across 30 European countries.
The launch target has been withdrawn.
The Commission’s July 17, 2025 announcement expected operations in the last quarter of 2026; that target no longer appears on the official ETIAS site.
The Financial Times reported that eu-LISA, the agency building the system, had concluded a 2026 launch was no longer feasible, citing unresolved IT problems and an argument for stabilizing the Entry/Exit System first, with a revised timeline expected after eu-LISA’s September board meeting. Euronews reported on Aug. 12, updated Aug. 17, that the launch had slipped toward 2027.
Status: adopted in law, not in operation, no start date. This is not a proposal awaiting a vote. It is a working system that does not yet work.
For a reader planning fall or winter travel to Europe, this is a non-event, and that is the useful part. There is nothing to apply for, nothing to budget for on this trip, and no document to add to the file.
The Schengen 90-in-180 limit is still the constraint that governs a long stay, and ETIAS will not change it when it arrives. An authorization is permission to seek entry, not extra days.
The one thing worth doing right now is recognizing and avoiding a fee mill. Sites charging an “ETIAS application” or “pre-registration” fee today are collecting money for a service that does not exist.
When the system opens, the official portal is travel-europe.europa.eu/etias.
Sources
European Commission, Migration and Home Affairs — European Travel Information and Authorisation System (ETIAS), page dated Oct. 6, 2025.
Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2025/1411 of 16 July 2025 — amending Regulation (EU) 2018/1240 as regards the ETIAS fee, OJ L, 2025/1411, Oct. 29, 2025.
European Commission — European travel authorisation (ETIAS) will cost €20, July 17, 2025.
Euronews Travel — Europe has officially delayed the roll out of the ETIAS travel permit indefinitely, Aug. 12, 2026, updated Aug. 17, 2026.
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