After years of ongoing delays, it looks like there’s another update for European’s intended ETIAS fees and forms.
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Here’s a quick catch-up: The EU has plans to launch a new entry-exit system for its borders, known as the European Travel Information and Authorization System (ETIAS). The goal is to make it easier to track, log, and regulate movements in and out of the Schengen Zone by citizens of visa-free countries.
Additionally, the ETIAS will include a small fee, which covers the setup and ongoing operations of the new, expanded digitized system.
But ongoing delays have set ETIAS back years from its original launch date in 2021. Those delays are thanks to the various states involved; each has had to create and launch a digital entry-exit system (EES) before the EU can integrate operations into a single, unified ETIAS system.
In short: no EES, no ETIAS.
Since I’ve been covering ETIAS, it’s been pushed back to 2022, then 2023, and then to early 2025. Now, it’s slated to launch in the last quarter of 2026. (If I were a betting woman, I’d say we have a few more years to wait still.)
There’s now a new fly in the ointment—it’s not another delay but instead a price hike.
Originally, the ETIAS form would cost around $8 (or €7). Now, it’s up to $23 (or €20), almost three times the original announcement.
Why is the ETIAS more expensive all of a sudden?
Let’s compare visa fees in the US, UK, and EU. The US has an ESTA fee (Electronic System for Travel Authorization) of $21, and the UK recently launched a new ETA (Electronic Travel Authorisation) form that costs around $25. Viewed side by side, the EU’s ETIAS fee isn’t high.
Still, tripling the price for a travel fee that’s already been delayed for four years has rightfully raised some eyebrows.
What’s with the sudden up-charge?
First, the price hike isn’t official; it still needs to be approved by European Parliament sometime within the next two months.
Second, it likely accounts for the big tech that’s going behind the new EES. Similar to the US, which has a similar program that cross-references huge portions of data, the EU’s new ETIAS system will cover the entirety of the Schengen Zone—which includes countries that aren’t in the European Union.
This region comprises the world’s most active tourist zone, which welcomed over 2.5 billion visitors last year. That’s compared to the US’s 73 million visitors in 2024. That’s a huge gap in visitor numbers compared to the price points, which is almost the same for someone who wants to visit the US or EU.
In other words, the ETIAS (and EES) is a much larger and more complex operation than originally anticipated, which is why the project has seen delays and, more recently, a new (higher) price.
