A spokesperson for the European Commission announced today that starting next year, all visitors from the United Kingdom will have to pay €7 ($7.92) visa fee to enter Schengen EU nations.
The executive branch of the European Union confirmed today that the British travelers will be charged the visa fee, in line with the bloc’s existing scheme for non-EU nations and will have to pre-register their details before being allowed to enter EU.
The European Travel and Information and Authorization Scheme (ETIAS) currently allows residents of 61 non-EU countries to enter the Schengen zone with pre-authorization. Rather than needing a visa, the scheme charges a levy, which permits holders to stay in, and travel around, Schengen-signatory EU states for up to 90 days.
From late 2022, as part of post-Brexit arrangements, the UK will be added to ETIAS, covering all Schengen area nations as well as a number of non-Schengen ‘micro-states’ such as Vatican City.
The ETIAS scheme was first unveiled by the EU in 2016, as part of an effort to bolster security by allowing immigration officials to track visitors through the bloc, while not needing to impose a laborious visa scheme when traveling between member states.
When it was introduced, then-President of the European Commission Jean-Claude Juncker praised the scheme as improving the management of EU borders, helping to decrease crime and terrorism, and reinforcing the bloc’s visa liberalization policy.
