As we all know the rules for travelling to the Europe-Schengen space will soon change. 2024 will finally be the year of  implementation and we are about to welcome this new year. Travellers from 59 countries will have to be able to show this new travel authorization before  boarding their plane to Europe.

Recently, we learned what the timeline for the implementation of this requirement will be, keeping in mind that there will be a transition period during which travellers will have to get used to and be aware of this new way of entering the Schengen space. At this point in time, security is becoming increasingly important due to the current conflicts in some countries, immigration problems, etc, and that is why the European Union has set up IT systems to fight crime and protect the EU borders.

The Schengen Council discussed a solution to combat cross-border crime, in particular migrant smuggling. Migrant smuggling continues to pose major challenges for the European Union. In this context the Schengen Council has asked for a global, coordinated and operational response to be defined.. This response is based on four actions: enhancing the situational awareness, reinforcing the legal framework, more operational cooperation and maximising synergies with EU external action.

The strategy to achieve this objective is therefore to deploy a new IT architecture such as EES (Entry/Exit System) and ETIAS, which should be operational by mid -2024, with ETIAS becoming operational shortly thereafter. The timetable for ETIAS is then as follows:

• Transition period: after the lauch of ETIAS there will be a period of six months during which all travellers entering 30 European countries SHOULD apply for their ETIAS – SEIAV travel authorization, if they are nationals of the 59 countries that require this authorization.
• Grace period: nationals of 59 countries MUST have ETIAS – SEIAV travel authorization to enter 30 European countries. Only those travelling for the first time after the end of the transitional period will be allowed to cross the border without an ETIAS – SEIAV; this grace period applies to them. All other travellers will be denied entry. This period will last al least 6 months.

After the end of the grace period, no one can cross the Schengen space without the ETIAS – SEIAV travel authorization if you are a national of 59 countries.

Europe is preparing for this drastic and imminent change, aligning itself with the security measures already in place in countries such as the United States, Canada and Australia.