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Australians travelling to Italy, Spain and France will be slugged next year with a new fee which appears to be part of a trend making overseas travel more expensive.
Australians will need to pay €20 ($35.44) per application to visit the bloc of 30 EU states in the Schengen visa-free travel zone, once the European Travel Information and Authorisation System (ETIAS) becomes operational for visitors next year.
The town of Monopoli in Italy’s region of Puglia. Europe is hiking its fee for entry to the Schengen zone.Credit: Getty Images/iStockphoto
The travel authorisation fee was originally slated to cost €7 ($12.40), but the EU settled on a higher cost.
“Taking into account the rise in inflation since 2018 and additional operational costs related e.g. to new technical features integrated into the system, the fee will be adjusted to €20 per application, valid for a period of three years,” the European Commission said this month.
“It will also bring the cost for a travel authorisation to the EU in line with similar travel authorisation programmes such as the UK Electronic Travel Authorisation (ETA) and the US Electronic System for Travel Authorisation (ESTA).”
The ETIAS fee will capture most Australian visitors to Europe …. “Travellers will need to fill out an online application before their trip, providing personal information,” the EU said.
“The application will be processed automatically, and the traveller will receive a decision within minutes.”
Establishing the fee higher than originally planned for Europe-bound travel will be unwelcome news for Australia’s intrepid international travellers.
The EU announcement comes days after the US government unveiled a new $US250 ($383) fee on applications for visits to the US by Australians ineligible for the ESTA visa waiver program. The change was contained in US President Donald Trump’s “big beautiful bill”.
In making its announcement, the EU said the fee will cover the operational costs of ETIAS and “align the EU fee to the ones of other countries that have similar travel authorisation programs”.
European travel industry groups have expressed “deep concern” over the additional cost on travel to the region. Lobby group Airlines for Europe said: “While the fee may represent a small fraction of overall travel expenses, the cumulative impact on families is not negligible.”
The cost of visiting attractions like Baden-Baden in Germany (pictured) is going up for Australians.Credit: iStock
The EU “referencing other travel authorisation schemes (UK ETA and US ESTA) as benchmarks for pricing sets a concerning precedent”, the group said.
The ETIAS will begin in the last quarter of 2026, the EU said. At this point, the EU advises Australian travellers that they don’t need to do anything.
“The European Union will inform about the specific date for the start of ETIAS several months prior to its launch,” the EU said on its site.
Complex Travel Group director Mark Trim said: “When you are travelling somewhere it’s a significant investment for flights, insurance, hotels and more. We all know that, so another $20-40 here or there means very little.”
“While there is a general ‘cost of living crisis’ in most major economies, if $20-30 is a dealbreaker to you then really you shouldn’t be travelling anywhere,” said Adelaide-based Trim.
Australia has had an inbound “ETA” which has been in place since 1996 and costs $20.
“If we’ve been slugging tourists to Australia, it’s only reasonable to expect that other countries will charge us to travel to their shores too and that over time those costs could increase,” said Trim.
To date, bottomless demand for European travel has shown little sign of weakening, even as Australians increasingly travel on shoulder seasons.
Travel booking company Webjet data shows that increasingly the busy EU summer period is no longer limited to the northern summer, running from June to August.
May 2024 departures accounted for 11.3 per cent of all flight bookings to Europe that year, while September departures made up 12.6 per cent of all flight bookings to Europe that year.
This was comparable to 2024 flight bookings for travel in the peak season July of 12.6 per cent and August at 12 per cent.
Bookings this year remaining at similar levels in May and September versus last year, showing a longer Euro summer is still proving popular this year.
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