The European Commission has quietly confirmed that the European Travel Information and Authorisation System (ETIAS) will not become mandatory until the final quarter of 2026, more than two years later than previously advertised. The clarification, reported on 19 January by The Portugal News and corroborated by Brussels officials, means business and leisure travellers from the United Kingdom, United States, Canada and over 50 other visa-exempt countries can continue to enter Italy without pre-registration throughout 2025 and most of 2026.
Under ETIAS, travellers undertaking short stays of up to 90 days within any 180-day period will complete an online application and pay €20; authorisation will be valid for three years or until passport expiry. Officials say a phased “voluntary adoption” period will precede enforcement to ease pressure at airports and ferry terminals.
![ETIAS start date pushed to late 2026—what UK and other visa-exempt travellers to Italy need to know now]()
For corporate-mobility teams the delay offers breathing space to adapt booking workflows, traveller-tracking tools and duty-of-care briefings. Large Italian inbound markets—especially UK-based contractors in finance and energy—now have extra runway to integrate ETIAS checks into HR and travel-management systems.
Nevertheless, advance planning remains essential. Carriers will be obliged to verify ETIAS approvals at check-in once the scheme goes live; failure will mean denied boarding, a cost often borne by employers under EU261 rules. Travel managers should also budget for the higher €20 fee, triple the originally announced €7, when estimating trip costs for 2027 onward.
Italy’s border police confirm that neither ETIAS nor the separate Entry/Exit System will affect holders of Italian residence permits or national work visas, but recommend that mixed-status families (e.g., one spouse on a residence permit, another visa-exempt) travel with printed evidence of their status to avoid confusion during the transition.
Under ETIAS, travellers undertaking short stays of up to 90 days within any 180-day period will complete an online application and pay €20; authorisation will be valid for three years or until passport expiry. Officials say a phased “voluntary adoption” period will precede enforcement to ease pressure at airports and ferry terminals.
For corporate-mobility teams the delay offers breathing space to adapt booking workflows, traveller-tracking tools and duty-of-care briefings. Large Italian inbound markets—especially UK-based contractors in finance and energy—now have extra runway to integrate ETIAS checks into HR and travel-management systems.
Nevertheless, advance planning remains essential. Carriers will be obliged to verify ETIAS approvals at check-in once the scheme goes live; failure will mean denied boarding, a cost often borne by employers under EU261 rules. Travel managers should also budget for the higher €20 fee, triple the originally announced €7, when estimating trip costs for 2027 onward.
Italy’s border police confirm that neither ETIAS nor the separate Entry/Exit System will affect holders of Italian residence permits or national work visas, but recommend that mixed-status families (e.g., one spouse on a residence permit, another visa-exempt) travel with printed evidence of their status to avoid confusion during the transition.
Source: The Portugal News
