Special cases

ETIAS special cases

The general rule is simple: visa-exempt nationals need ETIAS for a short stay. These are the situations where the answer changes or needs explaining. Each section gives the rule, then what to do.

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Based on official EU sourcesLast fact-checked 9 November 2026Last updated 9 November 2026

Children and teenagers

Every traveller needs their own ETIAS, including babies. There is no family or group authorisation. A parent or legal guardian fills in the application on the child’s behalf and gives their own details as the person responsible. Applicants under 18 pay no fee.

Children under 12 are also exempt from giving fingerprints at the border under the Entry/Exit System, but their photo is taken.

Dual nationals

If you hold the nationality of an EU country, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway or Switzerland, you do not need ETIAS, provided you travel with that country’s passport or identity card. If you travel with your other passport, for example as a US–Italian citizen entering on your US passport, the border guard will treat you as a US national. Carry your European document.

If you hold two non-European nationalities, both visa-exempt, apply with the passport you will travel with: the authorisation is linked to it.

Residence permit or long-stay visa holders

You do not need ETIAS if you hold a valid residence permit, residence card or national long-stay (D) visa issued by one of the 30 countries. This includes UK nationals who are beneficiaries of the Brexit Withdrawal Agreement and live in an EU country with the corresponding card. If your permit expires while you are abroad, you are back to the general rule.

Family members of EU citizens

Non-EU family members of an EU citizen (or of a national of Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway or Switzerland) who benefit from EU free movement rules still need ETIAS if they are visa-exempt and have no residence card, but they pay no fee, and their application is not assessed for illegal immigration risk. This covers in particular a spouse or registered partner, children under 21 or dependent, and dependent parents, travelling with or joining the EU citizen in another EU country. If you hold a residence card as a family member of an EU citizen, you do not need ETIAS at all.

Airport transit

If you only change planes and stay in the airport’s international transit area, you do not need ETIAS. If you have to go through passport control, for example to change terminals, change airports or reach a domestic connection inside the Schengen area, you need a valid ETIAS. On many routes via a Schengen hub to another Schengen city, you will clear passport control at the hub: plan for ETIAS.

New or renewed passport

ETIAS is linked to the passport used for the application. It ends when that passport expires, and it does not transfer to a new passport. If you renew or replace your passport, including after a loss or theft, apply for a new ETIAS with the new passport before your next trip.

Criminal record

The form asks whether you have been convicted, in the last ten years, of certain serious criminal offences listed in the regulation, such as terrorism, trafficking, serious drug offences, murder or rape (twenty years for terrorist offences). Minor offences such as traffic fines are not concerned.

Answering yes does not mean an automatic refusal: your file is reviewed manually by a national unit, which may ask for more information or invite you to an interview. Answering falsely is risky: the authorisation can be revoked and entry refused. See what happens if ETIAS is refused.

Second-home owners and long stays

Owning property in Europe does not change the rules. A visa-exempt owner without a residence permit or long-stay visa will need ETIAS like any visitor and remains subject to the limit of 90 days in any 180-day period, which is now recorded at the border by the EES. To stay longer, you need a national long-stay visa or residence permit from the country concerned.