Britain’s exit from the European Union means its citizens will soon join other visa-exempt nationals under the EU’s new European Travel Information and Authorisation System (ETIAS). On 28 December 2025, industry portal Travel & Tour World confirmed that the EU has finalised the long-postponed launch schedule: ETIAS is slated to go live in late 2026 with a grace period that ends in 2027. From then on, every UK passport holder heading to any of the 30 Schengen states – including Switzerland – must hold an approved ETIAS before departure and pay a €20 processing fee.
For Swiss inbound tourism and for multinationals that routinely shuttle UK staff to their Alpine hubs, the development is significant. While ETIAS is not a visa, it adds an extra compliance step: travellers complete an online form, answer security questions and, in most cases, receive a two-year multi-entry clearance within minutes. Border experts say the system will function much like the U.S. ESTA but warn that mismatched passport data or security hits can trigger manual reviews lasting up to 30 days.
Travel-management companies are already adjusting booking flows so that the ETIAS reference number is captured alongside Advance Passenger Information. Corporates with large project teams moving between London and Swiss sites in Zürich, Basel and Geneva are being urged to run internal awareness campaigns by mid-2026. Failure to produce proof of authorisation at airline check-in will result in denied boarding – a cost borne by the employer.
![New €20 ETIAS Fee Confirmed – UK Travellers Will Need Authorisation to Enter Switzerland From 2027]()
At this juncture, organisations and individual travellers might find it helpful to lean on specialist visa services. VisaHQ, for example, offers step-by-step ETIAS pre-registration assistance for Switzerland and all other Schengen destinations, centralising passport checks, reminder alerts and secure payment in a single dashboard (https://www.visahq.com/switzerland/). By letting the platform track each employee’s authorisation status, companies can reduce the risk of last-minute boarding refusals and keep travel managers compliant with the new EU rules.
The fee has also crept up. Originally flagged at €7, Brussels has now fixed the charge at €20 for adults aged 18-70. Families and SMEs sending interns will take note: minors and over-70s remain exempt. Payments must be made by credit or debit card at the time of application, and refunds are not available if plans change.
For Switzerland’s hotel and conference sector, the extra step is unlikely to dampen demand, but it may shift last-minute booking patterns. Hoteliers expect an uptick in client requests for flexible arrival windows in case ETIAS approvals are delayed. Meanwhile, the State Secretariat for Migration (SEM) says Swiss border guards will have real-time access to the ETIAS database, speeding up repeat entries and providing a new layer of pre-screening against overstays or security risks.
For Swiss inbound tourism and for multinationals that routinely shuttle UK staff to their Alpine hubs, the development is significant. While ETIAS is not a visa, it adds an extra compliance step: travellers complete an online form, answer security questions and, in most cases, receive a two-year multi-entry clearance within minutes. Border experts say the system will function much like the U.S. ESTA but warn that mismatched passport data or security hits can trigger manual reviews lasting up to 30 days.
Travel-management companies are already adjusting booking flows so that the ETIAS reference number is captured alongside Advance Passenger Information. Corporates with large project teams moving between London and Swiss sites in Zürich, Basel and Geneva are being urged to run internal awareness campaigns by mid-2026. Failure to produce proof of authorisation at airline check-in will result in denied boarding – a cost borne by the employer.
At this juncture, organisations and individual travellers might find it helpful to lean on specialist visa services. VisaHQ, for example, offers step-by-step ETIAS pre-registration assistance for Switzerland and all other Schengen destinations, centralising passport checks, reminder alerts and secure payment in a single dashboard (https://www.visahq.com/switzerland/). By letting the platform track each employee’s authorisation status, companies can reduce the risk of last-minute boarding refusals and keep travel managers compliant with the new EU rules.
The fee has also crept up. Originally flagged at €7, Brussels has now fixed the charge at €20 for adults aged 18-70. Families and SMEs sending interns will take note: minors and over-70s remain exempt. Payments must be made by credit or debit card at the time of application, and refunds are not available if plans change.
For Switzerland’s hotel and conference sector, the extra step is unlikely to dampen demand, but it may shift last-minute booking patterns. Hoteliers expect an uptick in client requests for flexible arrival windows in case ETIAS approvals are delayed. Meanwhile, the State Secretariat for Migration (SEM) says Swiss border guards will have real-time access to the ETIAS database, speeding up repeat entries and providing a new layer of pre-screening against overstays or security risks.
