Visas & Entry

ETIAS 2026: The EU Travel Authorisation Explained — Who Needs It, the €20 Fee, and When It Starts

Visa-exempt visitors to Europe will soon need an ETIAS before they fly. Here is who it applies to, the €20 fee (free under 18 and over 70), the…

By Laxman Rawal · Aug 21, 2026

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ETIAS — the European Travel Information and Authorisation System — is the EU's new pre-travel screening for visa-exempt visitors to the Schengen area. If you hold a passport that already lets you enter Europe visa-free for short stays (the UK, US, Canada…

Travel Himalaya Nepal · News

Who actually needs an ETIAS

ETIAS applies to travellers from countries whose citizens can currently enter the Schengen area without a visa for short stays. That is the key distinction: if you already need a Schengen visa, nothing changes for you — you keep applying for the visa. If you…

Travel Himalaya Nepal · News

The €20 fee — and who pays nothing

The application fee has been set at €20 , up from the €7 written into the original 2018 regulation. The European Commission confirms the fee "has been set at EUR 20 instead of the previous EUR 7," a change that takes effect once the system goes live…

Travel Himalaya Nepal · News

Validity and the 90/180 rule

One approval lasts three years, or until your passport expires , whichever is sooner. Within that window you can enter as many times as you like — ETIAS is multiple-entry. What it does not do is extend how long you can stay. The Schengen short-stay ceiling of…

Travel Himalaya Nepal · News

ETIAS vs a Schengen visa vs the UK ETA

These three are constantly confused. They are not the same thing: The UK sits entirely outside this system: it left the EU and runs its own UK ETA , which you need separately if your trip includes Britain. For the full picture across every 2026 change —…

Travel Himalaya Nepal · News

When does ETIAS actually start?

This is where honesty matters. ETIAS is not operational yet , and no applications are being collected. Its launch is tied to the EU's Entry/Exit System (EES) — the automated passport-scanning system at the borders — which began its phased rollout in October…

Travel Himalaya Nepal · News

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