Dear MEL Topic Readers,
Everything you need to know about ETIAS and Europe’s city taxes
In 2009, the US introduced the Electric System for Travel
Authorization, ESTA, an automated system that determines the eligibility of
visitors to travel to the United States for 90 days or less under the Visa
Waiver Program, which allows citizens of 41 countries including the UK, Japan,
and Singapore. The travelers who are eligible for ESTA do not need to apply for
a visa but still have to pay $21 for two years. Now, the European Union is launching
its own visa waiver program called the European Travel Information and
Authorization System, ETIAS, starting next year. It’ll allow visitors from 61
non-EU countries to apply for a visa waiver program. The process should take
less than 15 minutes online for most applicants while visas generally take up
to two weeks to process with an application fee of €7, roughly $7.70 for three years.
So, compared to the US’s ESTA, the European visa waiver program costs less and
lasts longer. However, there are other tourist taxes in popular destinations in
continental Europe, such as Paris, Venice, and Amsterdam, and more to come.
Indeed, there are variable costs incurred by visitors to the local community,
such as traffic control, trash collection, toilet maintenance, and street cleaning.
Those who visit popular places in Europe to enjoy themselves there seem to pay
more from next year and beyond.
Enjoy reading the article and learning about Europe’s visa waiver
program.
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