Tui corrects misleading ‘Brexit advice’ on website for travel to Europe

Exclusive: The region’s biggest holiday company incorrectly claimed the Etias scheme started in 2022

Schengen land: Croatia’s Istrian peninsula (Simon Calder)

Tui has corrected misleading “Brexit advice” about travel to Europe after The Independent pointed out key errors.

Europe’s biggest holiday company said the EU “Etias” scheme has been in operation since 2022 – though the pre-registration system will not start until next year at the earliest.

Tui also mistakenly added that Bulgaria, Croatia, and Romania are outside the Schengen Area area.

On the company’s web page headed “Will Brexit affect my holiday?” Tui asserted: “From 2022, the EU introduced a European Travel Information and Authorisation System (Etias).

“This is a bit like an Esta that you’d apply for when travelling to the USA.

“This is not a visa, but you’ll need to register your details before you travel via a quick and easy online form.”

The Electronic Travel Information and Authorisation System (Etias) will not begin until April 2025 at the earliest. The European Union intends to roll out the Entry Exit System in autumn 2024, with Etias following six months later.

Etias is broadly modelled on the US Esta scheme, with prospective visitors being obliged to register online and make payment before they can visit the European Union and wider Schengen area.

The fee will be €7 (£6) for a permit valid for up to three years.

Etias has been planned since 2016; the UK was involved early on in the project while still an EU member.

The European Union claims it will be a “simple, fast and visitor-friendly system” that will “save travellers time and hassle”.

The EU plan to introduce a European Travel Information and Authorisation System (ETIAS) from April 2025 at the earliest.

When The Independent pointed out the error, Tui updated the information to say that Etias will not be ready until that date.

Tui also claimed: “You can take a holiday of up to 90 days in any 180-day period if you’re travelling to a country in the EU, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway or Switzerland.

“That’s with the exception of Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, and Romania – these countries have different rules.”

Were this true, it would mean travellers who had already spent their 90 allotted days in other Schengen Area countries could go to one of these countries and “reset the clock”.

But Croatia joined the Schengen Area in 2023, while Bulgaria and Romania are now part of the border-free zone for arrivals by air and sea.

The only EU nations that remain outside Schengen are Ireland and Cyprus.

Tui has now corrected the information.