Look-alike websites are charging Americans for a European travel permit that the EU says is not running and cannot be applied for yet.
Websites are charging Americans for a European travel permit that does not exist yet. The permit is called ETIAS. The European Union says it is not operating and is not accepting applications, so any site asking for payment right now is not offering what it claims.
ETIAS stands for European Travel Information and Authorisation System. It will eventually be required for certain visa-exempt travelers visiting participating European countries. But it has not started. The EU says it will announce a launch date several months before the program begins.
Even so, more than 150 third-party websites have reportedly appeared offering ETIAS-related information or services, according to The Guardian. Bobby Laurie, a Pennsylvania-based travel expert and former flight attendant, told Fox News Digital that some of these sites are designed to look like official government pages.
The risk is both money and personal data. The EU has warned about excessive fees and the possible misuse of personal or financial information. It has also flagged websites that make themselves look like the official application channel. A passport number in the wrong hands is hard to take back. "You don't know where that information is going to end up," Laurie said.
Laurie said the scammers count on speed. "They're just banking on you not reading and trying to do something in a hurry," he said. His simplest test is the payment request. The program has not started, so there is no fee to pay, "period."
If you are not planning a trip to Europe, there is nothing to do. If you searched for entry rules but never paid or typed in any details, nothing was lost. Later on, the picture will change. Once ETIAS launches, legitimate third parties will be allowed to apply on a traveler's behalf, and travelers can also apply themselves on the official EU website.
The steps are in the alert box above. One more tip from Laurie: before you travel, check the official entry requirements for each country on your route. That matters most if you connect through a country with its own separate rules.
No launch date has been announced. Fox News Digital reached out to the EU for more information and comment. Until the EU names a date, any site selling an ETIAS approval is selling something that is not available.
Do not pay anyone for ETIAS now, because the program has not launched and the EU is not taking applications.
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