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

The EU has published no start date. Launch timing is on the launch status tracker and on no other page here.

The wrong mental model, and why it matters

Singapore's own requirement for arriving travellers is the SG Arrival Card, and every Singaporean has filled one in. It is submitted Within three days, including the day of arrival, before arrival in Singapore. And Submission of the SG Arrival Card is free and should only be done via the Immigration and Checkpoints Authority own channels.

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

That is a good habit for Singapore and a bad one to export. The arrival card is free, filed in the last few days before a flight, and decides nothing. An authorisation carries a fee, runs for years, and produces a decision that can go against the applicant. Treating it as a last minute formality is the single most likely way for a Singaporean traveller to arrive at a gate without one, and airlines will verify it at boarding.

Point of comparisonETIAS, before travelling to EuropeSG Arrival Card, before arriving in Singapore
Cost EUR 20 Free.
When it is done As early as you like, well before travel. Within three days, including the day of arrival, before arrival in Singapore.
How long it lasts Three years, or until the travel document used in the application expires, whichever comes first. One arrival.
Is it a decision Yes, and it can be refused. No. It is a declaration, and it is not a visa.

For someone who travels to Europe often

The good news for a frequent traveller is the shape of the cost. One application will cover 30 countries with no limit on the number of trips, and it will run for Three years, or until the travel document used in the application expires, whichever comes first. Over three years of quarterly business travel that is one form, once.

The constraint that does bite on that pattern is the stay limit: 90 days in any 180 day period, pooled across every participating country rather than counted per country or per trip. Short frequent visits accumulate. A week in Frankfurt, a week in Paris and a long weekend in Zurich are one running total, and since 10 April 2026 that total has been recorded digitally by the Entry/Exit System rather than reconstructed from stamps. The 90 in 180 day rule sets out the counting.

Note also that a connection through London does not touch any of this. The United Kingdom is outside the area and runs its own separate requirement for visitors, so days there do not count against the European allowance.

Your passport

Your travel document should not expire in less than three months and it should not be older than 10 years.

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

Both conditions attach to the document. The second is about the age of the passport rather than the time left on it, so the date to check is the issue date. One further point of sequencing: an authorisation belongs to one specific passport, so replacing the passport cancels it in effect.

Permanent residents and dual nationality

Singapore permanent residents travel on the passport of their nationality, so whether this requirement reaches them depends on that nationality and not on their residence status here. A Singaporean who also holds an EU passport travels on the EU passport and falls outside the requirement entirely, since free movement is a different legal basis and the stay limit does not apply to it.

The pattern Singapore already documents

Singapore is unusually well placed to recognise what is coming, because it is already happening here. The Immigration and Checkpoints Authority maintains a public advisory about commercial operators charging for the arrival card, and the advisory runs to dozens of imitation sites for a submission that costs nothing.

Expect the same behaviour around ETIAS, with better material to work with, because there is a real fee to hide a markup inside. We name the pattern rather than individual sites, which is a deliberate rule on this site, and the recognisable signs are on avoiding ETIAS scams.

Common questions

Is one application enough for a multi-country trip?

Yes. One authorisation will cover every participating country. Which countries those are, and which of them operate the Entry/Exit System, is on countries and territories.

Can I put this on a corporate card and expense it?

The fee is charged per application and the authorisation belongs to an individual passport, so it is a personal document however it is paid for. What it will and will not permit is on what ETIAS is.

How early should I obtain one?

Earlier than feels necessary, and certainly not in the way you would file an arrival card. What happens to an application that is not decided immediately is set out in how the application will work.

Guides for other nationalities

Each of these covers the same requirement from a different starting point, because the comparison that makes it clear is different in each country.

Nationalities without a guide are listed in the data table on countries and territories. We would rather list a country once, accurately, than write a thin page about it.

Last verified 10 September 2026. How we verify