EU preparing to push up price of short-stay visas

The European Union plans to nearly triple the entry fee for short-stay visa-exempt visitors to the bloc, with travelers facing an increase from 7 to 20 euros ($8.15 to $23.3).

The proposed fee hike comes as part of a broader push by Brussels to increase revenue streams, or "own resources" amid discussions over the EU's ambitious new 2-trillion-euro budget plan, which was put forward last week.

The visa-fee increase would affect visitors from countries including Australia, Brazil, Canada, Japan, the United Kingdom, and the United States who are planning short-term stays of up to 90 days in the region.

The new fee structure, reported by Euronews on Monday, will be implemented through the European Travel Information and Authorization System, or ETIAS "euro-visa", which is set to launch in late 2026.

The system will cover 30 European countries, including most EU member states except Ireland, plus Iceland, Norway, Liechtenstein, and Switzerland.
Travelers under 18 and older than 70 will remain exempt.

European officials defended the fee increase as a necessary alignment with similar international systems, and cited the UK's Electronic Travel Authorization, or ETA, and the US Electronic System for Travel Authorization, and say the rise in the cost of a visa reflects increasing operational expenses.

EU visitor visa-fees have previously raised concerns among tourism stakeholders and traveler advocacy organizations, who say tourists might be deterred from visiting Europe.

The UK's ETA costs 16 pounds ($21.5) and is valid for two years, while EU's 20-euro ETIAS will be valid for three years.

The EU's digital Entry Exit System, or EES, is scheduled to launch on Oct 12 and will connect all Schengen area borders to a central database. It aims to digitize and enhance border monitoring for non-EU citizens and to identify suspected criminals and to police the limit on stays of 90 days in any 180 days.

Following the EES implementation, ETIAS is slated to start operations in the last quarter of 2026. The proposed visa-fee increase must undergo a two-month review by both the European Council and the European Parliament, who can request changes or extend the review timeline, according to the Etias.com website.

If approved without delays, the new fee will be implemented alongside ETIAS's full launch.

The proposal comes alongside the presentation of the EU's long-term budget, the Multiannual Financial Framework, which covers the period 2028-2034. The framework anticipates a substantial increase in "own resources", which are taxes collected at the EU level.

The commission's plans to raise the ETIAS fee are expected to generate an extra 300 million euros annually, complementing five new "own resources" proposals announced last week.