Does ETIAS Apply to Indian Citizens? What Changes in 2026 and 2027

Short answer: no. ETIAS is a travel authorisation for people who can enter the Schengen area without a visa. Indian passport holders need a Schengen visa, and that visa already does everything ETIAS is designed to do. You will never be asked for an ETIAS at check-in or at the border, in 2026 or after it launches.

What has confused a lot of Indian travellers this year is that two different EU systems were announced together, and the headlines rarely separate them. One of them, the Entry/Exit System, does affect you. The other, ETIAS, does not. This guide explains both, what the current launch dates are, and what to actually prepare for.

What is ETIAS, exactly?

ETIAS stands for European Travel Information and Authorisation System. It is the EU’s version of the American ESTA or Canada’s eTA: an online pre-screening for travellers who do not need a visa. Before travelling, a visa-exempt visitor fills in an online form, pays €20, and receives an authorisation linked to their passport, usually within minutes. It is valid for three years or until the passport expires.

The purpose is security screening of people who would otherwise arrive with no advance check at all. That is the whole point: it exists because those travellers don’t go through a consulate. You do. When a consulate in India examines your bank statements, itinerary, employment letter and travel history before issuing a Schengen visa, that examination is far more thorough than anything ETIAS does. Requiring both would be redundant, and the regulation explicitly excludes visa holders.

Who needs ETIAS, and who doesn’t

Traveller	Needs ETIAS?	Needs a Schengen visa?
Indian passport holder	No	Yes (Type C)
Indian citizen with a valid EU residence permit	No	No (the permit covers short stays)
Indian citizen with a UK, US or Canadian passport (dual national)	Yes, when travelling on that passport	No, on that passport
OCI card holder travelling on an Indian passport	No	Yes
Child of Indian parents born abroad with a visa-exempt passport	Yes, after launch	No

The one situation where an Indian family will meet ETIAS in practice: a family member who holds a visa-exempt passport. If your spouse or child travels on a British, American, Canadian, Australian or Singaporean passport, they will need an ETIAS once it goes live, while you travel on your Schengen visa. Plan for both.

Why the ETIAS launch keeps moving

ETIAS was originally announced for 2021, then 2023, then 2024, then late 2026. In July 2026 the EU removed the 2026 date altogether. The reason is the Entry/Exit System: EES launched in October 2025 with a phased rollout and caused long queues at several airports. Officials decided not to add a second new system on top of it until EES is stable, and there were reported IT issues with ETIAS itself. The EU now says it will give several months’ notice before ETIAS starts, which points to 2027 at the earliest.

For you this is academic, but it matters for one reason: many Indian travellers have been sold “ETIAS assistance” by websites that charge a fee for a form that does not apply to them. If a site asks an Indian passport holder to pay for ETIAS, it is either mistaken or a scam. Close the tab.

The system that does apply to you: EES

The Entry/Exit System replaced passport stamping at the external Schengen border. When you first arrive after its rollout, the border officer takes your fingerprints and a facial image and creates a record linked to your passport. On later trips, the check is faster because your biometrics are already on file. Each entry and exit is logged centrally, which means:

• Your 90-day limit in any 180-day period is counted by the system, not by an officer flipping through stamps. Overstays are flagged automatically.
• Border checks on your first entry take longer. Budget extra time at your first arrival airport, especially in summer.
• Children under 12 give a facial image only, not fingerprints.
• Your EES record is separate from the fingerprints you gave at VFS for the visa itself. Both exist; they serve different databases.

We cover EES in depth, including what happens at the kiosk and how it interacts with your visa validity, in our EU Entry/Exit System guide for Indian travellers.

What does change for Indian applicants in the next two years

ETIAS is a non-event for you, but three real changes are worth tracking:

1. Multi-entry visas are easier to get. Since April 2024, Indians who have obtained and lawfully used two Schengen visas in the previous three years are eligible for a two-year multiple-entry visa, normally followed by a five-year one. Details in our cascade visa guide.
2. The EU online visa platform is scheduled to begin rolling out in 2028. Applications will move to a single EU website and the sticker in your passport will be replaced by a digital visa. First-time applicants will still visit a centre for biometrics. We explain what this means for Indians in our digital Schengen visa guide.
3. Refusal rates remain high. 181,111 Indian applications were refused in 2025, a 15.8% rate. The reasons have not changed, and neither has the fix: a complete, consistent file. See why Schengen visas get refused for Indians.

A quick way to remember it

ETIAS is a substitute for a visa. If you already need a visa, you are already covered. EES is a substitute for a passport stamp. Everyone gets it, visa or not. The Schengen visa itself is unchanged until the digital platform arrives in 2028.

Chat on WhatsAppMessages only · no free calls