Martin Lewis issues ‘don’t be taken in’ warning for Brits travelling to Europe this summer

After the festivities of Christmas and New Year comes peak wanderlust season, with more than 35% of holidaymakers booking trips in January.

But before you get swept up in the planning process, Martin Lewis has issued a warning to avoid an increasingly-common new travel scam.

In the latest edition of his Money Saving Expert (MSE) newsletter, he urged those jetting off to Europe this summer: ‘Beware online shyster firms saying get a European Travel Information & Authorisation System visa waiver – you don’t need it yet.’

While the ETIAS pass, a new identity requirement for entry into EU Schengen Area countries, was due to launch last year, it now isn’t likely to come into force until at least October 2026.

Repeated delays to the scheme, which was first announced in 2018 and is separate to the new EES border system, have caused confusion for travellers — and this lack of clarity is being fully taken advantage of by some.

‘The application system isn’t even up and running yet,’ explained Martin. ‘But some shyster firms are already setting up to try and charge you for it.’

Noting that ‘any firm offering to sell or fast-track an ETIAS for you is a fake,’ the consumer finance guru then begged readers: ‘Don’t be taken in!’

It’s an issue previously highlighted by the Association of British Travel Agents (ABTA), which uncovered over 60 fake websites claiming to sell them.

ABTA’s director of communications, Graeme Buck, told MSE: ‘In short, if you try to buy one now, it’s a scam. However, once it does go live, using an unofficial site could also see you run the risk of being overcharged, not getting an ETIAS at all, or potentially mean the theft of personal information.’

At present, there’s no requirement to purchase an ETIAS, so if you’re visiting Europe between now and October, there’s no need to do anything — and anyone suggesting otherwise is likely looking to scam you.

If you’re travelling after this, you should only ever use the official ETIAS site – travel-europe.europa.eu/etias – to apply. And be aware if you go through Google, you may be directed to fraudulent pages pretending to be legitimate.

What is the ETIAS?

ETIAS passes will soon be an entry requirement for citizens of 60 countries where citizens currently enjoy visa-free travel to European Union and Schengen Area countries — including those from the UK.

Much like the US ESTA system, this visa waiver program links authorisation to your passport, allowing you to enter the area as many times as they want for short-term stays (albeit with a limit of up to 90 days in any 180-day period).

Similarly, an ETIAS does not guarantee entry into the country you plan to visit, and a border guard will still need to see your passport and other necessary paperwork on arrival.

Applications for these are currently expected to cost €20 (£17) per person, although they’ll be free for anyone under the age of 18 or aged 71 and over.

After approval, they’ll remain valid for three years, or until your passport expires. If your passport runs out first, you’ll need to apply for a new ETIAS too.

When does ETIAS come into force?

After being proposed in 2016 and formally established in 2018, the authorisation scheme was initially expected to be implemented from January 2021.

After a series of delays, the EU website has now confirmed that ETIAS ‘will start operations in the last quarter of 2026,’ and said it ‘will inform about the specific date for the start of ETIAS several months prior to its launch.’

After this, reports have suggested there may be a ‘transitional period’ of around six months, during which time applications will be accepted, but it will not be mandatory to hold an ETIAS in order to travel.

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