ETIAS grace period

North Americans planning to travel to Europe in 2021 must apply for authorization through the European Travel Information & Authorization System (ETIAS) [May ’19, pg. 50]. However, the European Commission reported in March that for the first six months of its implementation, the ETIAS will be “optional,” and only regular travel documents will be required.

After the end of those six months, for the next six months travelers may still be allowed to cross land borders without ETIAS authorization, though they will still be subject to the discretion of border officials.