The launch of ETIAS is imminent with the arrival of the new year 2026, and it is normal for many questions to arise about how to fill out the form and, above all, how to answer certain questions that we will surely have to address when we submit our application. The sequence and process are very similar to other travel authorization forms that are already fully established, such as ESTA for entering the US, eTA for entering the UK, and eTA for entering Canada.

Typically, the following will be requested:

• • Passport details.
  • Personal and family details (email, telephone number, home address, parents’ names).
  • Work details (company, position, estimated salary).
  • Country or countries to be visited in the Schengen area.
  • Length of stay.
  • Criminal record/criminal history and security questions.
  • Payment of fees.
  • Receipt of digital travel authorization/denial.

It is very important to have all the information available in order to answer all the questions correctly. However, we will undoubtedly have doubts about how to answer some of them. For example, if we are visiting several Schengen countries on our trip, what should we put? The first, some of them, or the last? The authorities indicate that the correct answer is to put the first country to be visited, as the application will be sent to the committee of that country for approval.

Although the information is shared among all Schengen countries, especially but not only through the EES, the first country visited will be responsible for the applicant’s file. Afterwards, the information on the approval and the visits to be made by the traveler will be digitally recorded for consultation from any of the member countries. All information on each traveler with an ETIAS-SEIAV form will be recorded in European systems, and entries and exits will be added to monitor the stay, which must never exceed 90 days (note that not all months have the same number of days; it is NOT three months).

Another question that will be included in the form is the address of your stay in the Schengen area destination country. Although it will not be mandatory to answer this question, it is always advisable to provide as much information as possible, as this will help speed up the approval of your application. In any case, if you are traveling for tourism and short stays, and you only have a hotel reservation, it will be more than enough to provide the details of that hotel and that’s it.

More information and details about the ETIAS – SEIAV form will gradually become available, which we will be happy to share with you.