ETIAS won't start this year. What Europe-bound travellers need now: EES and the UK ETA

ETIAS, Europe’s electronic travel authorisation, is now unlikely to start this year.

Around July, the EU quietly removed “last quarter of 2026” from the official ETIAS website.
All it says now is that the start date will be announced a few months in advance.
The Financial Times also reported that eu-LISA, the EU agency running the system, admitted a launch this year was no longer realistic.

That does not mean nothing has changed.
What applies right now is the Entry/Exit System (EES), fully live since April, and if London is on your route, the UK ETA.

The names are confusingly similar, so here are all three in one place.

Row of EES registration kiosks in the arrivals area at Valencia Airport, Spain — EES registration kiosks at Valencia Airport, Spain, October 2025. Photo: Mike Peel / CC BY-SA 4.0

At a glance

System	Where	Status	Cost
ETIAS	30 European countries	Not started, no date	€20 (planned)
EES	29 Schengen countries	Fully live since April 10, 2026	Free
UK ETA	United Kingdom	Required for many nationalities, including South Koreans since January 8, 2025	£20

ETIAS: nothing to apply for yet

ETIAS is a pre-travel online authorisation, like the US ESTA, for visitors who do not need a visa.

The plan so far:

Item	Planned
Fee	€20 (free under 18 and over 70, but you still apply)
Validity	Three years or until your passport expires
Countries	30, including the Schengen area
Where	Official EU site, travel-europe.europa.eu/etias

The official site is not taking applications.
Search for it and you will find plenty of “ETIAS application” services.
The system does not exist yet, so there is nothing to pay for.

The EU says it will announce the date months ahead. The industry expects 2027, but nothing is confirmed.

The delay is tied to EES.
ETIAS runs on the EES database, and after EES went fully live, long queues at several airports made it hard to stabilise both systems at once, according to multiple reports.

EES: applies the moment you arrive

EES replaces passport stamps with an electronic record of when you enter and leave.
As the European Commission announced, it has been in full use at every Schengen external border since April 10, 2026. No more stamps.

Traveller passing through an automated border gate at Munich Airport — Automated border gate at Munich Airport, Germany, 2015. Photo: Subhashish Panigrahi / CC BY-SA 4.0

Item	Details
First entry	Passport scan + face photo + four fingerprints
Under 12	Face photo only
Record kept	Three years after your last visit; return within that and it is just a face or fingerprint check
Days in Schengen	The 90/180 rule is counted automatically

That extra step means longer immigration queues on your first trip.
Since full launch there have been reports of multi-hour waits at some airports, including in Greece.
If you are connecting to a train or domestic flight after landing, leave a generous buffer.

And because your days are now counted automatically, check that long multi-country trips stay within 90 days in any 180.

UK ETA: required for London

The UK is not in Schengen, so it runs its own Electronic Travel Authorisation separate from EES and ETIAS.
According to the Home Office factsheet, the fee went up from £16 to £20 on April 8, 2026.

Passport control and UK Border signs in a British airport arrivals hall — Passport control signs at a UK airport, 2018. Photo: Eric Fischer / CC BY 2.0

One ETA covers multiple trips over two years (or until your passport expires), up to six months each time.

The rules for airside transit without going through UK border control have changed before and depend on the airport.
If you are only connecting, check your itinerary on gov.uk before you fly.

What does your trip need?

Trip	What to do now
Schengen only (Paris, Rome, Switzerland…)	No ETIAS. Allow time for EES on first entry
Includes London	UK ETA before you travel (£20)
London → mainland Europe	ETA + EES at your first Schengen check (on Eurostar, that is in London)
Europe next year or later	Watch for the ETIAS start date

If I did my January 2024 route again (London, Paris, Switzerland, Italy), it would look like this:
a UK ETA before leaving, then EES registration at the first Schengen border check.
On Eurostar, that check happens at the French border control at London St Pancras, not in Paris.
No ETIAS yet.

Sources: European Commission – EES fully operational · Official EU ETIAS site · Home Office ETA factsheet (April 2026) · AFAR on the ETIAS delay
Checked September 26, 2026

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