ETIAS and elders
It is very likely that with the launch of ETIAS in October of this year, 2026, travelers will have many questions about how, when, and who must submit the ETIAS—SEIAV application to travel to any of the Schengen Area countries, and that it will be submitted online. Older adults, despite advances in support to help them stay up to date, still face challenges with technology. The relationship between technology and older adults, however, has changed significantly in recent years. More and more older adults are using digital devices to communicate, manage their health, entertain themselves, and maintain their independence.
The requirements for applying for an ETIAS – SEIAV are slightly different from those for other online applications needed to travel to other countries. Specifically, for people aged 70 and older, there is no fee to obtain the authorization. It is important to know what information the ETIAS – SEIAV will require so that we can determine whether it will be easy for older adults to complete the application correctly. In principle, it will consist of the following information:
Personal information: all passport details, including a photo of the main page and a selfie with a white background that is different from the one in your passport.
Contact information: address, phone number, and email address.
First destination in the Schengen Area: the first country in the Schengen Area where you cross the border, usually the country where the flight taking you to Europe lands.
Contact in Europe: Information on where you can be reached within the Schengen Area, including your address and phone number, as well as the name of the hotel or contact person living in the Schengen country you are visiting.
Security questions: questions regarding criminal history, visits to countries with ongoing conflicts, immigration and border history, whether you have been expelled, deported, or denied entry to any country, or whether you have a history of immigration violations in Europe.
Pay the fee: most credit and debit cards are accepted.
In principle, providing all this information shouldn’t be complicated; only the part about uploading photos can be tedious, since sometimes the systems don’t accept certain file sizes or the shading in the photo, and you may need to make a few minor adjustments to complete that step correctly. Be very careful not to pay exorbitant fees—that just means you’re on the wrong website.
To complete and submit the form, you can access it through the official website and via the app that will be made available later, so that travelers can meet the ETIAS-SEIAV requirement more conveniently.
The launch date remains the last quarter of 2026, specifically October.