From November next year, the European Union (EU) will introduce European Travel Information and Authorisation System (ETIAS) for travel to the Schengen zone for travelers who do not need a visa to enter the EU. This was confirmed by the Delegation of the EU in Sarajevo and the European Commission based in Brussels.
”ETIAS does not introduce the obligation to have a visa for travelers from countries for which visa-free travel to the EU is possible, including Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH). Citizens of third countries who do not need a visa to travel to the Schengen zone will need to apply for a travel authorization before their trip using a simple procedure using the ETIAS website or mobile application and for that, a fee of seven euros will have to be paid, and the obtained ETIAS approval will be valid for three years,” the EU Delegation in Sarajevo stated.
The European Commission states that some of the benefits of ETIAS are more efficient and faster border control procedures, less bureaucracy, fewer hold-ups and delays for travelers, better security, improved prevention of illegal migration as well as more efficient border management procedures.
Signing up for the application should not take more than 10 minutes and should not require any documentation other than a travel document (passport or another equivalent document). In case of impossibility of application due to age, level of literacy, access, and competence of information technologies and the like, the application can be submitted by a third person.
The automatic assessment process will begin once the fee collection is confirmed.
The European Commission states that the number of automatically approved applicants will be over 95 percent, and they will receive the approval within a few minutes after payment.
”If there is a disapproval in any of the searched databases or an indecisive outcome of the automated process, a unit in the European Border and Coast Guard Agency or the relevant institution will carry out a manual review of the entry request,” the European Commission said.
Upon arrival at the border crossing in the Schengen zone, the border guard will electronically upload data on travel documents. If there is no valid ETIAS travel permit, the border guard will refuse entry and register the passenger and the refusal of entry in the Entry-Exit System.
Travel authorization will be refused if the applicant poses a security risk, a risk of illegal immigration, or poses a high risk for the epidemiological situation, the European Commission clarified, BHRT writes.
E.Dz.
