- You need ETIAS if you hold a passport from one of 59 visa-exempt countries — including the US, UK, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Japan, and most of Latin America.
- Your passport must be issued within the last 10 years and valid for at least 3 months beyond your planned exit from Schengen.
- You need an email address, a payment method, your parents' first names, and your first country of intended entry.
- You do not need ETIAS if you're an EU citizen, dual citizen entering on an EU passport, long-stay visa holder, or a national of a visa-required country (those need a full Schengen visa instead).
- Every traveler needs their own application — including children. Under-18s and over-70s are exempt from the €20 fee but still need an approved ETIAS.
01Who is eligible for ETIAS
ETIAS is designed for nationals of countries that already enjoy visa-free short-stay access to the Schengen Area. If your passport today gets you into France, Germany, Italy, or Spain without pre-applying for anything, from Q4 2026 you'll use ETIAS instead. If your passport already requires a Schengen visa (a consulate-issued document), ETIAS doesn't apply to you — you continue with the visa route.
The 59 visa-exempt countries and territories whose citizens will need ETIAS include:
- North America & Oceania: United States, Canada, Australia, New Zealand
- UK & British territories: United Kingdom, Hong Kong SAR, Macau SAR (British National Overseas holders have a different route)
- Developed Asia: Japan, South Korea, Singapore, Taiwan, Israel, UAE, Brunei
- Latin America: Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Uruguay, Venezuela
- Caribbean: Antigua and Barbuda, Bahamas, Barbados, Dominica, Grenada, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent, Trinidad and Tobago
- Europe (non-EU): Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Georgia, Moldova, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Serbia, Ukraine
- Pacific: Kiribati, Marshall Islands, Micronesia, Palau, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Timor-Leste, Tonga, Tuvalu
- Africa & Indian Ocean: Mauritius, Seychelles
The full list is maintained by the European Commission and changes occasionally — the visa-waiver status of specific countries can be suspended or added. For example, Vanuatu's visa-waiver status is currently suspended, which means Vanuatu passport holders need a full Schengen visa, not an ETIAS.
You do not qualify for ETIAS if: you hold an EU or EEA passport (Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, Switzerland) — your free-movement rights are unchanged; you already need a Schengen visa; you hold a valid long-stay visa or residence permit issued by a Schengen country; or you're a dual citizen entering Europe on your EU passport.
02Passport requirements
Your ETIAS is electronically linked to one specific passport number. Two rules govern passport validity:
- Issued within the last 10 years at the time you enter the Schengen Area. This is measured from the issue date, not the expiry date.
- Valid for at least 3 months beyond your planned date of exit from the Schengen Area.
The 10-year rule catches more British travelers than almost any other post-Brexit change, because the UK Passport Office historically added up to 9 months of leftover validity from the previous passport. A UK passport's expiry date can be more than 10 years after its issue date. Border officers check issue date, not expiry — and refuse entry if the passport is more than 10 years old regardless of what the expiry says.
US passports are simpler: issued for exactly 10 years of validity with no carry-forward. The 3-month-beyond-exit rule is the main trip-up for Americans.
03Documents and information checklist
The ETIAS application is an online form, not a paperwork submission — but you need specific information on hand before you start, or the session will time out. Gather this before opening the portal:
From your passport
- Full name exactly as it appears on the data page (including middle names, hyphens, diacritics)
- Date of birth, place of birth, sex
- Current nationality — plus any other nationalities held
- Passport number, country of issue, date of issue, date of expiry
Personal information
- Home address (street, city, postcode, country)
- Email address you actually read — the decision arrives here
- Phone number
- Both parents' first names as they appear on official records (this is one of the most common causes of manual review when entered inconsistently)
Trip information
- Your first country of intended entry — you can still visit others, this is for border-logging
- Occupation and employer (basic details only)
- Education level
Background information
- Honest answers to yes/no questions about prior convictions for specific serious offenses
- Travel to conflict zones in the last 10 years
- Any past EU deportation orders
Payment
- A working Visa, Mastercard, American Express card, or Apple Pay / Google Pay. Fee is €20 per applicant (see our cost breakdown).
One thing the form does not require: proof of flights, hotel bookings, travel insurance, or funds. ETIAS is a pre-travel security screen, not a visa application. The things a Schengen visa consulate would ask for — bank statements, invitation letters, return ticket — are not part of ETIAS.
04Requirements for families and children
Every traveler needs their own ETIAS, regardless of age. There's no umbrella family application. Practical implications:
- Children under 18 apply the same way adults do, under their own passport. The €20 fee is waived, but the form must still be completed and approved. Parents or guardians fill out the child's application.
- Seniors over 70 similarly file their own application and pay nothing — but still must be approved.
- Infants traveling on their own passport (required for international travel) need their own ETIAS from birth onward.
- Family members of EU citizens exercising free-movement rights have a specific fee-exempt track, but it requires supporting documentation — that category is narrow and typically used by non-EU spouses of EU nationals.
If you're traveling as a family of four — two adults and two children — you'll file four separate ETIAS applications, two of which are free but still require approval. All four authorizations are checked independently at airline boarding.
05Where ETIAS is required
ETIAS applies to 30 European countries — the 29 Schengen Area members plus Cyprus (which is in the EU but not in Schengen yet):
Notable exclusions from the ETIAS zone: the United Kingdom (left the EU; has its own UK ETA system), Ireland (in the EU but not in Schengen), and European microstates like Monaco, San Marino, Vatican City (which use the surrounding country's border regime).
06The 90/180 stay limit still applies
Having an ETIAS does not change your stay limit. The Schengen 90/180 rule remains in force: you can stay in the Schengen Area for a maximum of 90 days in any rolling 180-day window. With EES (Entry/Exit System) now live since April 2026, this is tracked automatically — every entry and exit is timestamped against your passport, and the count is enforced at the border.
If you expect to exceed 90 days, ETIAS is not the right instrument. You need one of:
- A long-stay national visa (D-type) issued by a specific Schengen country
- A residence permit for work, study, family reunification, or retirement
- Multiple separate short-stay trips spaced out enough to respect the 90/180 window
If you're close to your Schengen stay limits on past trips, use our 90/180 calculator before booking.
Frequently asked questions about ETIAS requirements
Do I need ETIAS if I'm only transiting through Europe?
Yes, if your transit involves passing through passport control — for example, changing planes at Frankfurt, Amsterdam, or Paris with a connection that leaves the international transit area. Airside-only transit generally does not require ETIAS, but check with your airline, as many routings do cross the Schengen border.
What if I don't know my parents' first names?
Enter what you have, and use the comments field to explain. The form does not refuse you for missing this information, but inconsistent answers across applications can trigger manual review.
Do I need a return ticket to apply?
No. ETIAS does not ask for flight bookings, hotel reservations, insurance, or proof of funds. Those are Schengen-visa requirements, not ETIAS requirements.
Does my passport need to be biometric?
It needs to be machine-readable (with the standard MRZ at the bottom of the data page). Biometric passports with a chip are strongly preferred — they speed up the EES biometric enrollment at the border. Non-biometric passports may work for ETIAS itself but will add border delay.
Do children need ETIAS?
Yes. Every traveler needs their own ETIAS, regardless of age. Applicants under 18 are exempt from the €20 fee but must still have a completed and approved application.
What countries require ETIAS?
30 European countries: the 29 Schengen Area members plus Cyprus. See the full list in the Countries section above, or our dedicated ETIAS countries page.
Can I apply for ETIAS if I have a criminal record?
Yes — a criminal history does not automatically disqualify you. You're required to answer honestly on the background questions. A "yes" triggers manual review by the ETIAS Central Unit, where the specific nature and date of the offense are considered against the regulation's criteria.
What happens if my passport is close to the 10-year cutoff?
Renew it first, apply for ETIAS second. Your ETIAS is tied to one specific passport number — if you renew mid-validity, the ETIAS becomes invalid and you need a new one tied to the new passport. Applying for ETIAS on the new passport is the clean path.
Sources
European Commission — official ETIAS portal, travel-europe.europa.eu · Regulation (EU) 2018/1240 establishing ETIAS · European Commission list of visa-exempt third countries · HM Passport Office — UK passport validity guidance · US Department of State — passport information.
Last updated April 21, 2026 · Editorial review: ETIAS Guide Newsroom · Corrections: corrections@etiasapply.eu.com