Countries and territories

European countries that will require ETIAS

30 countries will require a travel authorisation from visa-exempt travellers.

Official source Checked 10 September 2026 EU or national government source. Source

Ireland is not on this list. It is an EU member state but operates its own immigration arrangements, and travel there will not require an ETIAS travel authorisation.

Countries operating the Entry/Exit System

29 countries operate the EES, which has been running since 10 April 2026.

The one country on one list but not the other

Cyprus will require an ETIAS travel authorisation but does not operate the EES. Passports are still stamped by hand there, and time spent there is counted separately from the short-stay allowance for the other countries. Ireland stamps manually too, but sits outside both systems.

Visa-exempt countries and territories whose nationals will need ETIAS

Nationals of these 59 countries and territories will need a travel authorisation. The list includes territories as well as states, which is why we say countries and territories rather than countries.

Official source Checked 10 September 2026 EU or national government source. Source

If your nationality is not on this list, ETIAS will not be your route. You will either need a visa, or you will be exempt for another reason such as holding the nationality of a country requiring ETIAS. You can check eligibility to see which applies.

Exemptions that are not about nationality

Several categories of traveller will not need a travel authorisation even though their nationality appears above. They include holders of a residence permit or residence card issued by a country requiring ETIAS, holders of a uniform or long-stay visa, and holders of diplomatic, service or special passports. UK nationals who are beneficiaries of the Withdrawal Agreement and hold a Withdrawal Agreement residence document in the uniform format are exempt as well.

These exemptions have conditions attached, and some of them have exceptions of their own. Where a document was issued matters: a residence permit or Withdrawal Agreement document issued by Cyprus or by Ireland does not carry the same exemption for travel to the other countries.

Common questions

Why is the visa-exempt count different from what I read elsewhere?

Because the number moves and most pages do not. Our figure is taken by counting the list on the EU's own page, and the count on this site is generated from that list rather than typed, so the two cannot disagree. The previous version of this site said 60.

Is the list the same as the Schengen area?

Not exactly, and it is worth not assuming. The lists above are the ones that govern ETIAS and the EES specifically, and they differ from each other by one country.

I hold two nationalities. Which one counts?

If one of them is from a country requiring ETIAS, or Ireland, you are exempt and should travel on that country's passport. If both are visa-exempt third countries, you will need a travel authorisation linked to whichever passport you travel on.

Last verified 10 September 2026. How we verify