The European Union has delayed the introduction of travel authorisation into the block, plus Norway, Iceland and Switzerland, for citizens of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia and all other third-country visa-exempt nationals until at least 2024.
The so-called ETIAS system, which was to be implemented from this November, will require nationals from non-EU countries that enjoy visa-free travel to the block to register online once every three years prior to travelling and pay a small fee.
ETIAS, which will be linked to a traveller’s passport, will be valid for up to three years or until the passport expires, whichever comes first.
It will involve filling up a form online and paying a seven euro fee after which authorisation should be issued within minutes.
The EU has now delayed the introduction of the system until next year at the earliest, without specifying a month or date. The travel authoritarian system was initially to be introduced back in 2019 but has been constantly delayed.
The EU has said ETIAS is not a visa and will impact some 1.4 billion people from over sixty countries, including passport holders from the United Kingdom, United States and Australia as well. The block maintains the system is being introduced to improve safety, Ex-Yu Aviation news portal reports.
