Visa requirements for Australians?

[1elantra]

Hello fellow Australians. Travelling to France on Aussie passport, is it still current NO VISA required as exempt travelling in the Schengen area please

 

[Lindsay53]

No need for a visa if staying less than 90 days.

 

[pjacobi]

For US citizens, there is no need for a visa to visit the Schengen area if staying less than 90 days.

It could be different for Australian citizens! For example, Australia requires a visa for US citizens which is really just a tax. In retaliation, may countries require a visa/tax for Australian citizen. Check authoritative sources in Australia.


-Paul

 

[Tincatinker]

Hello fellow Australians. Travelling to France on Aussie passport, is it still current NO VISA required as exempt travelling in the Schengen area please

Visas and entry requirements in Europe and the Schengen area

This page has general information on visa waiver agreements with European countries.

www.smartraveller.gov.au

 

[Lucy_lou]

Hi fellow Australian, no visa required, you have 90 days in the Schengen countries. Buen Camino

 

[trecile]

For example, Australia requires a visa for US citizens which is really just a tax.

A visa isn't required, but a type of visa waiver, an Electronic Travel Authorization is required, just like citizens of many countries need an ESTA to travel to the US.

 

[GraemeHall]

A visa isn't required, but a type of visa waiver, an Electronic Travel Authorization is required, just like citizens of many countries need an ESTA to travel to the US.

I believe the ESTA is a coming requirement for ALL nationalities but the requirement has not yet commenced. 2024 rings a bell?

 

[Roe]

I better check on that. Travelling from Australia June 28th

 

[Former member 107684]

I better check on that. Travelling from Australia June 28th

Think you're OK according to this link...

Do You Need a Schengen Visa to Visit Europe? - Find Out If You’re Required to Apply

Find out if you need a Schengen visa to travel to Europe. Learn about visa requirements, exemptions, and visa-free countries.

www.schengenvisainfo.com

And ETIAS has been pushed back to 2024

ETIAS News & Information for Visitors coming to the EU

News and information about ETIAS (European Travel Information and Authorisation System). The ETIAS is similar to ESTA and will be required for many EU visitors.

etias.com

 

[trecile]

I believe the ESTA is a coming requirement for ALL nationalities but the requirement has not yet commenced. 2024 rings a bell?

The ESTA has been a requirement for most Europeans for quite some time. Pretty much the same for a Canadian ETA visa waiver. The EU will have the ETIAS starting in 2024 (unless they delay it again).

 

[Gendall]

Hello fellow Australians. Travelling to France on Aussie passport, is it still current NO VISA required as exempt travelling in the Schengen area please

Australians with Commonwealth passports are treated the same as UK passport holders. No visa requirement but can only spend 90 days in Shengen areas which includes most of Europe

 

[Lindsay53]

I will put my ex Border Force pedant hat on here and say that every traveller, without exception, requires a visa. The difference is that in many cases the visa is granted on arrival without needing to apply beforehand, as is the case we are discussing here.

 

[Sminn]

We just flew into Madrid with no issues. Immigration just asked if we were from Australia after looking at passport and that was it. Straight through.

 

[Goyo]

I will put my ex Border Force pedant hat on here and say that every traveller, without exception, requires a visa. The difference is that in many cases the visa is granted on arrival without needing to apply beforehand, as is the case we are discussing here.

“The ETIAS must be applied for online prior to arrival to the EU. Each eligible traveller, regardless of age, will require an ETIAS to visit EU member countries.”

I dunno. Sure sounds like you have to apply before arriving…

 

[Gendall]

“The ETIAS must be applied for online prior to arrival to the EU. Each eligible traveller, regardless of age, will require an ETIAS to visit EU member countries.”

I dunno. Sure sounds like you have to apply before arriving…

No you don’t have to apply. You may or maybe given a visa upon entering Shengen areas. Different types of visas are required if you intend to work or live in those areas. If your Camino/travel is completed within the 90 day period NO visa needs to be applied for if you have a UK or Commonwealth Passport.

 

[goldie from aus]

We just flew into Madrid with no issues. Immigration just asked if we were from Australia after looking at passport and that was it. Straight through.

Hi, did they ask for covid vaccination proof - ie International COVID-19 Vaccination Certificate.

 

[Sminn]

No they didn’t. I had it in the myGov app just in case. We flew emirates through Dubai with no issues.

 

[trecile]

“The ETIAS must be applied for online prior to arrival to the EU. Each eligible traveller, regardless of age, will require an ETIAS to visit EU member countries.”

I dunno. Sure sounds like you have to apply before arriving…

No you don’t have to apply. You may or maybe given a visa upon entering Shengen areas. Different types of visas are required if you intend to work or live in those areas. If your Camino/travel is completed within the 90 day period NO visa needs to be applied for if you have a UK or Commonwealth Passport.

When ETIAS goes into effect next year you will have to apply online prior to travel, just as those traveling to the US from many countries have to apply for an ESTA prior to travel.

 

[Kathor1]

Erm … just for info: One poster opined (wrongly) that the conditions for entering the Schengen area could be different for Australians and US Americans. It isn’t. Same conditions - no visa required for a stay of up to 90 days.

But then someone mentioned ESTA - the USA’s Electronic System for Travel Authorisation for their own foreign visitors. Someone else understood it to mean ETIAS - the EU’s future Electronic Travel Information and Authorisation system for their own foreign visitors.

It can get confusing with so many countries and so many nationalities and so many conditions for entry and stay in a foreign country. So in short: for the EU Schengen countries, American and Australian visitors are the same, they don’t need a visa and can stay for up to 90 days in Spain or any other country of the Schengen area. And ETIAS is not operational and there will be information campaigns when it is eased into operation one day in the future.

And then there are old bilateral agreements about visa free longer stays (more than 90 days a go) for some nationalities in some EU countries. If you want to make it more complicated …

 

[dougfitz]

Let me assure Oz travellers and others familiar with getting a 90 day visa on arrival into the Schengen zone that there is no need for an ETIAS approval at present. I cannot tell when that will change, but others better informed about EU and Schengen changes than I am are likely to let give us ample warning when it gets close.

 

[Gendall]

When ETIAS goes into effect next year you will have to apply online prior to travel, just as those traveling to the US from many countries have to apply for an ESTA prior to travel.

Next year

 

[Kathor1]

Next year

We had the first announcement in March 2019 about ETIAS being put into operation, “starting in 2021“ (click here).

It’s now four years later and there is still only a vague starting date. Since then other threads informed us every few months or so about a postponement and a newer starting date. When it does happen, there will be information campaigns and a long period of phasing in. We will know soon enough when ETIAS becomes obligatory and we won’t be able to buy a plane ticket without being informed about it and knowing what to do.

 

[Kathor1]

FWIW, the EU’s future ETIAS system is part of a huge overhaul of their IT infrastructure and laws for managing tourist and migrant influx. It involves 27 different countries with different technical infrastructure and also different views. Considerable issues on technical and legal levels - hence the continued (and, frankly, predictable) repeated delays of ETIAS being put into operation.

The first thing you are likely to notice of the coming big change: no more Schengen entry/exit stamps in your Australian and US passports.

 

[dougfitz]

The first thing you are likely to notice of the coming big change: no more Schengen entry/exit stamps in your Australian and US passports.

Pity. My wife and I were quite excited this morning to get our Schengen entry stamps at CDG.

 

[pjacobi]

Erm … just for info: One poster opined (wrongly) that the conditions for entering the Schengen area could be different for Australians and US Americans. It isn’t. Same conditions - no visa required for a stay of up to 90 days.

...

The visa requirement might happen be the same for US and Australians citizens at this time, but it is certainly possible that this could change. That's why you need to consult an authoritative source and not depend on social media for this type of question that might get you deported.


-Paul

 

[Kathor1]

Pity. My wife and I were quite excited this morning to get our Schengen entry stamps at CDG.

Oh sorry, I was perhaps not clear in my post: the abolition of the entry/exit stamps is also not yet for today or tomorrow (although an initial deadline had been scheduled for this spring if memory does not fail me). I find them quite cute. I envy you third country nationals - my passport is so empty and even the UK does not stamp it for me.

And Buen Camino!!!

 

[Bradypus]

I envy you third country nationals - my passport is so empty and even the UK does not stamp it for me.

I wouldn't be too envious of the third country Brits at the moment. Our passport service has just gone on strike for five weeks. So if your passport is filled up with stamps you might have to wait a long time for a new one.

 

[pjacobi]

Your passport is a legal document of citizenship. Please do not use it like a scrapbook!

-Paul

 

[Lindsay53]

Before I retired there was talk at Border Force of the way ahead for passports. Most likely the passport of the not so distant future will be a plastic card the same as a drivers licence or credit card with all your information contained on a chip. No more booklet of stamps to reminisce over. Sad in a way.

 

[WGroleau]

I will put my ex Border Force pedant hat on here and say that every traveller, without exception, requires a visa. The difference is that in many cases the visa is granted on arrival without needing to apply beforehand, as is the case we are discussing here.

One can argue semantics and say the entrance stamp is effectively the same as a visa, but officially, it is "visa-exempt" or "no visa required" for those of us from countries on that list.

 

[WGroleau]

Oh sorry, I was perhaps not clear in my post: the abolition of the entry/exit stamps is also not yet for today or tomorrow (although an initial deadline had been scheduled for this spring if memory does not fail me). I find them quite cute. I envy you third country nationals - my passport is so empty and even the UK does not stamp it for me.

I lost my credencial and can't find my diary. But I know exactly where my passport is, so I value the stamps in it. Not just for memory, but also for a record of my travels. USA CBP allegedly has a record of every entry or exit, but when I requested mine, they took half a year to send me a list of about half of them, and some of those were wrong. Even had me leaving twice without coming back.

 

[SarahPC]

Hello fellow Australians. Travelling to France on Aussie passport, is it still current NO VISA required as exempt travelling

Hi 1elantra,
I'm a long time reader, first time poster on this forum - I agree with Lindsay53, for Australians, it is an exemption to the visa and you have to meet the requirements for that exemption. Check smart traveller for latest requirements
(https://www.smartraveller.gov.au/before-you-go/the-basics/schengen?)
It also depends on country of entry to the EU and the border guard that is reviewing your entitlement to enter the schengen zone. I had a flight from Sydney to Lisbon where I had to change at Frankfurt and go through passport control there. In addition to my passport, they wanted to see proof of purpose for travel, that I had sufficient funds for 90 days (which are required for schengen visa), and my return ticket (it's at the guard's discretion to ask for other documents before approving entry).

 

[dougfitz]

One can argue semantics and say the entrance stamp is effectively the same as a visa, but officially, it is "visa-exempt" or "no visa required" for those of us from countries on that list.

I must admit I assumed that the Schengen entry stamp just indicated the place and date of one's arrival, and didn't have anything to say about one's visa status. One might infer from the absence of a visa in a passport that it was under a visa-exempt category. This is in contrast to the UK practice before the implementation of smart gates where the passport stamp made some statement about what category of entry was being granted.

 

[Kathor1]

One can argue semantics and say the entrance stamp is effectively the same as a visa, but officially, it is "visa-exempt" or "no visa required" for those of us from countries on that list.

Or, instead of arguing semantics on social media, one can read what the Schengen Border Code (=law) says about stamping. Note: third-country national is anyone who presents a passport that has not been issued by an EU country or by Iceland, Norway, Switzerland and Lichtenstein; travel document means passport. In short, all your passports get stamped at the external Schengen border, whether you had to apply for a visa or whether you benefit from the visa waiver option. Quote:

The travel documents of third-country nationals shall be systematically stamped on entry and exit. In particular an entry or exit stamp shall be affixed to:​

1. the documents, bearing a valid visa, enabling third-country nationals to cross the border;
2. the documents enabling third-country nationals to whom a visa is issued at the border by a Member State to cross the border;
3. the documents enabling third-country nationals not subject to a visa requirement to cross the border.

Happy travelling to all!