The long-awaited European Travel Information and Authorisation System (ETIAS) has been pushed back once again, giving British holiday-makers and business travellers extra breathing space before they must apply for the new €20 permit.
According to an update published on 9 January and confirmed on 13 January, ETIAS will now launch only in the final quarter of 2026, followed by a six-month soft-implementation period. During that window, applications will be voluntary and border guards will focus on traveller education rather than enforcement. As a result, ETIAS will not become mandatory until at least April 2027.
![ETIAS Postponed: UK Travellers Won’t Need the €20 Schengen Authorisation for Spain Until at Least April 2027]()
The latest delay is tied to technical hurdles in linking the EU-wide ETIAS platform to the new biometric Entry/Exit System (EES). Spain began pilot-testing EES hardware at Madrid-Barajas in late 2025 and expects nationwide deployment by April 2026. Officials in Madrid welcomed the reprieve, noting that front-line staff will have more time to train on both systems and avoid a repeat of last autumn’s bottlenecks when EES kiosks were first rolled out.
Tourism leaders, particularly on the Costas and in the Balearics, also breathed a sigh of relief. They had warned that launching two complex border programmes in quick succession risked sowing confusion during the high-season rebound. Hotels groups now plan joint information campaigns for 2026–27 so that guests arrive prepared once ETIAS does go live. Airlines, meanwhile, gain an extra year to adapt departure-control software so they can verify a passenger’s ETIAS status before boarding, as required by EU law.
For corporate mobility managers the message is clear: ETIAS compliance has slipped down—but not off—the agenda. Companies should still budget for the €20 fee per non-EU assignee and ensure that travel-booking tools can capture ETIAS reference numbers well ahead of the final switch-over date in 2027.
According to an update published on 9 January and confirmed on 13 January, ETIAS will now launch only in the final quarter of 2026, followed by a six-month soft-implementation period. During that window, applications will be voluntary and border guards will focus on traveller education rather than enforcement. As a result, ETIAS will not become mandatory until at least April 2027.
The latest delay is tied to technical hurdles in linking the EU-wide ETIAS platform to the new biometric Entry/Exit System (EES). Spain began pilot-testing EES hardware at Madrid-Barajas in late 2025 and expects nationwide deployment by April 2026. Officials in Madrid welcomed the reprieve, noting that front-line staff will have more time to train on both systems and avoid a repeat of last autumn’s bottlenecks when EES kiosks were first rolled out.
Tourism leaders, particularly on the Costas and in the Balearics, also breathed a sigh of relief. They had warned that launching two complex border programmes in quick succession risked sowing confusion during the high-season rebound. Hotels groups now plan joint information campaigns for 2026–27 so that guests arrive prepared once ETIAS does go live. Airlines, meanwhile, gain an extra year to adapt departure-control software so they can verify a passenger’s ETIAS status before boarding, as required by EU law.
For corporate mobility managers the message is clear: ETIAS compliance has slipped down—but not off—the agenda. Companies should still budget for the €20 fee per non-EU assignee and ensure that travel-booking tools can capture ETIAS reference numbers well ahead of the final switch-over date in 2027.
