IN A move designed to address rising operational costs, the European Commission has proposed to hike the European Travel Information and Authorisation System (ETIAS) fee from 7 (A$12.50) to 20 (A$36).
The hike means visitors from visa-exempt countries may pay nearly triple the current cost to enter the European Union from late next year.
The fee, which was originally set to be introduced at the end of this year, will help pay for new technical features, ongoing maintenance, and staffing.
It will apply to non-EU nationals from visa-free countries such as Australia, and is payable before boarding a plane, ferry, or bus to any Schengen-zone country (TD 04 Apr).
The United Kingdom Government is also planning to raise the cost of its own recently introduced Electronic Travel Authorisation (TD 20 Jan).