The introduction of the European Travel Information and Authorisation System may make trips to continental Europe more difficult for those with a criminal record.
Following in the footsteps of the UK’s Electronical Travel Authorisation (ETA) and other, similar schemes from around the world, the EU is set to introduce its European Travel Information and Authorisation System (Etias).
At the time of writing, it is now expected that Etias will launch sometime in 2026, though this may be subject to further delay. You can read more about Etias, and the general application process and requirements, here.
As part of obtaining an Etias travel authorisation, applicants will need to provide information regarding their past criminal convictions. The full list of relevant convictions can be found here. As would be expected, the most serious of offences (such as murder, rape, child-related offences) must be reported, but this list also includes:
- illicit trafficking of certain drugs;
- corruption and fraud;
- money laundering;
- cybercrime;
- grievous bodily injury; and
- racism / xenophobia,
- among others.
For most criminal offences, any convictions from the past ten years will be relevant. For terrorism-related offences, the relevant period goes back twenty years.
If an applicant has a relevant conviction from within these time periods, then they must answer “Yes” to the question “Have you been convicted of any criminal offence listed in the Annex over the previous 10 years and in the case of terrorist offences, over the previous 20 years, and if so when and in which country?” on the Etias application form, confirming the date of the conviction and the country in which they were convicted.
If an applicant confirms that they have a relevant criminal offence in the first instance, then their application will immediately be flagged for manual inspection. However, all Etias applications will be automatically checked against international security databases. Where an applicant’s details are found to match those on one of these databases, then they will also be flagged for manual inspection, even if they have not reported an offence on their application.
Our understanding is that reporting a relevant criminal conviction will not necessarily result in the automatic refusal of Etias authorisation. Instead, decisions will be made on a case-by-case basis, with the decision-maker considering the seriousness and date of the offence to assess the risk of granting the authorisation.
As explained, all applications will be automatically cross-referenced against international security databases, meaning that any attempt to conceal a conviction is likely to be fruitless. While a conviction itself may not necessarily result in the refusal of authorisation, a failure to mention a conviction may be indicative of dishonesty and is therefore likely to prejudice the application and put future applications at risk. If you are unsure as to whether a conviction needs to be reported, we would recommend erring on the side of caution and reporting it, to avoid any allegations of dishonesty.
If you have any questions regarding the Etias, please get in touch at [email protected]
