Nationals of four European Microstates, three of which do not even maintain border checks with the EU Members States they share land borders with, will not need to apply for the new Travel Authorization called the ETIAS, before stepping out of the territory of the country they live in.

The ETIAS, which stands for European Travel Information and Authorization System is a new scheme of the European Union, set to come into effect by 2022. Its main function is to permit and keep track of visitors from countries that do not need a visa to enter the Schengen Zone.

The main reason behind the purpose of the introduction of a scheme as ETIAS by the EU is the enhancement of security for both EU nationals and travelers to the Member states.

According to information provided by the Europe Direct Contact Center, the nationals of Andorra, Monaco, and the Vatican City will not need to obtain ETIAS in order to travel to the rest of Europe.*

Despite that in the past, there have been speculations that the ETIAS will be required for nationals of these four non-EU and non-Schengen microstates, European Commission’s confirmation leaves no room for doubts that the nationals of these Microstates will not need the ETIAS.

Currently, Monaco, San Marino, and Vatican City are considered de facto within the Schengen Area, as they have open borders with their Schengen neighbors. On the other hand, Andorra, which does not have an airport or seaport, maintains border controls with both France and Spain.

*UPDATED on 10.02.2020:

An earlier version of this text read: “Asked through the Europe Direct Contact Center whether the nationals of Andorra, Monaco and the Vatican City will need to obtain ETIAS in order to travel to the rest of Europe, an official of the European Commission, confirmed they will need the travel authorization, providing a list of all countries that will need an ETIAS.”

Upon the publishing of this article, we were contacted by the Europe Direct Contact Center who confirmed the information previously provided to us was incorrect, explaining that the Nationals of these four microstates remain in fact unaffected by the ETIAS regulation.