Important Note: The EES response solely confirms the validity of the held visa; it does not determine whether the passenger should be allowed to board. The final decision rests with the carrier. Additionally, entry requirements for a country encompass various components, including travel documents, visa regulations, health protocols, and customs guidelines. Thus, even if a passenger receives an “OK” from the EES, it does not guarantee ultimate entry. Carriers must also verify other requirements specified by the destination EU country
Schengen visa verification and online check-in
Given the extra EES check and the limited coverage of the EES for visas, airlines are likely to face an increased need for manual checks to verify visa types and validity. Consequently, this could lead to check-in congestion. Currently, the standard method for identifying a multiple-entry Schengen visa involves examining the “Number of entries” indicated on the Schengen visa sticker or scanning the machine-readable zone of the visa.
Transition and grace periods for ETIAS
Another challenge lies in ETIAS. After its launch, all visa-exempt non- EU nationals, such as those from the US and Canada, will be required to obtain a travel authorization valid for three years. This is similar to the ESTA for the USA and the ETA for Canada. While this transition promises to streamline processes in the long run, it introduces immediate challenges. are not included by ETIAS agreements, which requires separate checks for them.
Additionally, during the six-month transition period, the ETIAS simply returns an OK response to all ETIAS eligible travellers, without the ability to verify the ETIAS. This will be followed by a six-month grace period, where first-time entries are also exempt from holding an ETIAS. The transitional and grace phases will require carriers to continue checking the European visa regimes alongside ETIAS, complicating the compliance process, and emphasizing the need to continue to rely on their existing document checks.
Preparing for the introduction of EES and ETIAS
Be sure to follow the official updates of EES and ETIAS developments.
Source link : https://www.iata.org/en/publications/newsletters/iata-knowledge-hub/getting-ready-for-europes-travel-authrorization-scheme/
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Publish date : 2024-02-27 08:00:00
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