The Schengen countries are facing the biggest change in the area of tourism entry traffic. Airports, ports and land borders are preparing for this important change, which is the new entry requirement ETIAS – SEIAV, Electronic Travel Information and Authorization System.

With a valid ETIAS – SEIAV travel authorization, you can enter the territory of the European Schengen states as often as you like for short-term stays – up to 90 days within a period of 180 days. However, it is not a guarantee of entry.  When you arrive at the border, the authorities will ask for your passport and other documents and check whether you meet the entry requirements. This means that even if you have your ETIAS – SEIAV permit in hand, it always depends on the border official whether you meet the requirements for entry into the Schengen area under the ETIAS – SEIAV conditions, so remember that entry may be refused.

The vast majority of tourists will cross the border without any problems whatsoever. Those who have a hit in the European security databases have already been turned away when they applied for an ETIAS – SEIAV permit before starting their journey. However, in order to implement ETIAS – SEIAV, all of the following systems need to be working properly so that the databases can be checked each time a traveler applies for ETIAS – SEIAV, and this is precisely the reason for the numerous delays in the implementation date:

• Existing EU systems:
  • * Schengen Information System (SIS)
  • * Visa Information System (VIS)
  • * Europol
  • * EURODAC database
• Future EU IT systems:
  • Entry/Exit System (EES)
• Interpol databases:
  • Interpol database of lost and stolen travel documents.
  • Interpol Travel Documents Associated Advisory Database (TDAWN)
• ETIAS specific database containing a list of suspects or with special risk
  indicators.

Although we are talking about a whole series of systems, most of them are already functional and running in test mode. There is still time before the launch date, but time goes by quickly!