The Brussels Post reports on 7 April that the European Commission has endorsed a proposal to increase the fee for the European Travel Information and Authorisation System (ETIAS) from €10 to €20 by late 2026. ETIAS—similar to the U.S. ESTA—will become mandatory for visa-exempt visitors to Belgium and 29 other Schengen/affiliated states once its launch window opens later this year. Commission officials cite higher cyber-security requirements, expanded watch-list vetting and integration with the newly operational Entry/Exit System as drivers of the price hike.
![ETIAS Fee Set to Rise to €20, Doubling Cost for Visa-Exempt Travellers to Belgium and Wider Schengen]()
For organisations or individual travellers looking for a straightforward way to handle ETIAS formalities, VisaHQ can help. Through its Belgium portal (https://www.visahq.com/belgium/), the service offers step-by-step digital applications, payment management and live status tracking—an efficient option for mobility teams and holidaymakers alike.
The fee has remained unchanged since being set at €7 back in 2018 and then adjusted to €10 during the 2025 budget review; inflation and added functionality now justify another revision, the Directorate-General for Home Affairs argues. Industry bodies are split. European Tourism Association (ETOA) fears that doubling the charge could dampen short-break demand, noting that a family of four from the U.S. will pay €80 on top of airfare. Conversely, corporate-travel buyers say the sum remains marginal compared with U.S. or Canadian e-visa fees and will be absorbed into cost-of-doing-business budgets. For mobility teams, the actionable point is budgeting and communications: companies should update travel-policy annexes to reflect the €20 fee, ensure corporate cards used for bulk ETIAS applications have sufficient monthly limits, and remind assignees that an approved ETIAS remains valid for three years or until passport expiry—whichever comes first. The proposal must still clear the European Parliament’s LIBE committee and the Council of the EU, but insiders expect fast-track approval by July, giving the eu-LISA IT agency twelve months to adapt payment gateways ahead of the 2027 multi-annual financial framework.
For organisations or individual travellers looking for a straightforward way to handle ETIAS formalities, VisaHQ can help. Through its Belgium portal (https://www.visahq.com/belgium/), the service offers step-by-step digital applications, payment management and live status tracking—an efficient option for mobility teams and holidaymakers alike.
The fee has remained unchanged since being set at €7 back in 2018 and then adjusted to €10 during the 2025 budget review; inflation and added functionality now justify another revision, the Directorate-General for Home Affairs argues. Industry bodies are split. European Tourism Association (ETOA) fears that doubling the charge could dampen short-break demand, noting that a family of four from the U.S. will pay €80 on top of airfare. Conversely, corporate-travel buyers say the sum remains marginal compared with U.S. or Canadian e-visa fees and will be absorbed into cost-of-doing-business budgets. For mobility teams, the actionable point is budgeting and communications: companies should update travel-policy annexes to reflect the €20 fee, ensure corporate cards used for bulk ETIAS applications have sufficient monthly limits, and remind assignees that an approved ETIAS remains valid for three years or until passport expiry—whichever comes first. The proposal must still clear the European Parliament’s LIBE committee and the Council of the EU, but insiders expect fast-track approval by July, giving the eu-LISA IT agency twelve months to adapt payment gateways ahead of the 2027 multi-annual financial framework.
