Starting 2021, visitors to Malta and Cyprus from visa waiver countries will need register for electronic travel authorization prior to boarding air and sea carriers.
EU is imposing electronic travel authorization on 60 visa waiver passports to visit EU member states area starting early 2021. The system is known as ETIAS which is similar to ETA for US/Canada. This applies to all schengen and schengen-acquis 30 countries.
The ETIAS travel authorization will apply to all EU Member States (including Malta) that are part of the Schengen area, including those which do not yet fully apply the Schengen acquis, i.e. Croatia, Cyprus, Bulgaria and Romania.
| Schengen states | Schengen-Acquis |
| The 26 Schengen countries are: Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Italy, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, and Switzerland. | Croatia, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Romania (4 states) |
- ETIAS is not a visa just a travel authorization
- ETIAS system will charge €7 fee for each application.
- ETIAS is valid for 3 years for unlimited entries
The ETIAS system checks against relevant security databases and issues a decision within ten minutes.
ETIAS will bring several benefits such as:
- Improved internal security
- Better prevention of illegal immigration
- Reduced public health risks
- Reduced delays at the borders
More than 60 countries that have visa waiver agreement with EU including US, Canada, Japan, Australia, Singapore are required to obtain Electronic travel authorization before commencing their trip
| ALBANIA ANDORRA ANTIGUA AND BARBUDA ARGENTINA AUSTRALIA BAHAMAS BARBADOS BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA BRAZIL BRUNEI DARUSSALAM CANADA CHILE COLOMBIA COSTA RICA DOMINICA EL SALVADOR MACEDONIA GEORGIA GRENADA GUATEMALA |
HOLY SEE (VATICAN CITY STATE) HONDURAS ISRAEL JAPAN KIRIBATI MALAYSIA MARSHALL ISLANDS MAURITIUS MEXICO MICRONESIA MOLDOVA MONACO MONTENEGRO NEW ZEALAND NICARAGUA PALAU PANAMA PARAGUAY PERU SAMOA SAN MARINO SEYCHELLES SERBIA |
SINGAPORE SOLOMON ISLANDS SOUTH KOREA ST KITTS AND NEVIS ST LUCIA ST VINCENT AND THE GRENADINES TIMOR-LESTE TAIWAN TONGA TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO TUVALU UKRAINE UNITED ARAB EMIRATES UNITED STATES OF AMERICA URUGUAY UNITED KINGDOM AND OVERSEAS TERRITORIES VANUATU VENEZUELA HONG KONG S.A.R. MACAO S.A.R. |
EU has confirmed previous after Brexit, UK citizens will be under ETIAS and pay 7 euro fee
ETIAS does not apply to
- EU citizens
- Schengen visa holders or
- Residence permit holders issued by EU member states.
All visitors to Malta, Cyprus from visa waiver countries (see below) will need electronic travel authorization before commencing their trip. They also must pay 7 euro fee.
Tourist Arrivals
Tourist arrivals in Malta reached 2.6 million in 2018 , while Cyprus welcomed 3.9 million tourists for the same year.
Tourist arrivals to Malta and Cyprus by country in 2018
| Malta | Cyprus |
| United Kingdom – 640K
Italy – 290K Germany – 143K France – 125K Spain – 42K |
United Kingdom – 1.3M
Russia – 783K Israel – 232K Germany – 189K Greece – 186K |
Read more about ETIAS here
