Permit and EUR 7 fee to be required for entrance to Schengen Zone from 2021

Citizens of the countries of the Western Balkans will need to request a permit for entrance to the Schengen Zone online in the future, even though they don’t need a visa, as well as to pay a fee of EUR 7 as part of the measures carried out by the EU to the end of establishing a stricter outer border control, the EU sources from Brussels confirmed for Beta.

This decision, which was agreed on by ambassadors of EU countries, now needs to be confirmed by the European Parliament and then adopted by the EU Council of Minister. These new measures within the ETIAS system are then to come into effect in January 2021.

This will encompass the citizens of all countries outside the EU who don’t need entry visas for the Schengen Area, including the countries of the Western Balkans, officials from the EU Council of Ministers told Beta.

After the request is filed, the traveler who intends to visit the Schengen Area will be given a response within 96 hours, that is, 96 hours after the ETIAS system registers the request, if additional data verification is needed.

The permit is valid for three years, or until the validity of the travel documents expires, as pointed out in the explanation of the measures within the ETIAS system.

As stated in the explanation, “ETIAS will allow for advance checks and, if necessary, deny travel authorization to visa-exempt third-country nationals travelling to the Schengen area”.

The information submitted in each application will be automatically processed against EU and relevant Interpol databases to determine whether there are grounds to refuse a travel authorization.

It is also pointed out that “the travel authorization will not provide an automatic right of entry or stay; it is the border guard who will take the final decision”.

EUROPEAN COMMISSION Bruxelles

European Commission

European Parliament

EU Council of Ministers

traveling to the European Union

permit for entrance to the European Union

traveling to the Schengen Area

permit for entrance to the Schengen Area

visa

visas

ETIAS

entry permit

Schengen Area

Interpol

passport