Breaking: ETIAS Pushed Back to End of 2026

In a meeting yesterday (Wednesday, March 5, 2025), the EU announced that ETIAS (the anticipated European Travel Information and Authorisation System) now won't be launched until the last quarter of 2026. This comes after it had already been pushed back in 2024.

ETIAS is a new pre-authorization system (much like the US's ESTA) that will require millions of travelers to receive authorization before traveling to Europe. This includes US citizens. ETIAS was expected to begin in 2025.

The pushback of ETIAS isn't the only piece of information decided on in this meeting. EES (the new Entry/Exit System) will also be pushed back. It is set to be operational in October of 2025 with a progressive roll out.

Member states will have a 6 month transitional period to become fully operational, meaning EES may be fully functional in some member states before it is in others.

Originally, ETIAS was supposed to launch 6 months after EES. However, with this breaking news and the progressive roll-out of EES, this is no longer the case.

We will update this report as information comes in. Make sure you follow Insurte for the newest European travel news.

When will ETIAS start?