Starting from April 2027, citizens who can travel to the Schengen Area visa-free will need to get an online authorization known as ETIAS. This authorization is obtained online and will be valid for three years from the date of issue.
The application process for ETIAS is quick and straightforward, and you will be notified almost immediately of your application status (approved/denied).
Can ETIAS Be Denied?
Although most ETIAS applications will be approved almost immediately, there is still a chance that your ETIAS application can be denied. This can happen if the system finds something wrong with your application. For example, if, while checking your information, eligibility, or your risk factors, the system reports one or several hits, your application will be rejected.
Travellers not meeting the conditions for getting an ETIAS travel authorization (European Travel Information and Authorization System), will be rejected by the ETIAS National Unit of the Member State responsible for processing the application.
Reasons for ETIAS Denial
While so far, the reasons for ETIAS rejection have been blurry, an official of the EU Commission has provided SchengenVisaInfo.com with a list of the main reasons why an ETIAS may be rejected.
According to this list, the main reasons why an ETIAS application may be rejected, are as follows:
- Your passport is invalid. The ETIAS applicant used a travel document that is reported as lost, stolen, misappropriated or invalidated in SIS.
- You are considered a “risk.”
- He or she poses a security risk to the Schengen Area countries, their citizens and travellers.
- The applicant poses an illegal immigration risk, which means the Member State responsible for issuing the ETIAS to the applicant believes that he/she intends to remain in the Schengen Area illegally, upon arrival with an ETIAS.
- The applicant poses a high epidemic risk, i.e. he/she comes from an area or has recently been to one where an epidemic outbreak has occurred.
- You have an SIS alert. An applicant is a person for whom an alert has been entered in SIS for the purpose of refusing entry and stay.
- You submit an incomplete application. The applicant fails to reply to a request for additional information or documentation within the deadlines after he/she is required to do so.
- You do not attend the interview. The applicant fails to attend an interview after he/she is required to do so.
You Submitted an Incomplete Application
When completing the ETIAS application, it is important that each applicant submits a completed application form with a declaration of authenticity, correctness, and reliability of data and statements. In case you submit an incomplete application, your ETIAS will be rejected.
Your Passport Is Invalid
If you use a passport that has been flagged as lost or stolen, misappropriated, or invalidated in the SIS II, your application will be rejected. Your travel document must also have a minimum validity of three months from the departure date and must not be damaged physically.
You Are Considered a “Risk”
During your application for ETIAS, your criminal record will be checked. However, this does not mean that you are prohibited from applying for ETIAS if you have committed a minor offense in the past.
The same does not apply to individuals who are considered a current threat by international security.
You Have an SIS Alert
Your ETIAS application will be denied if there is an alert about you in the Schengen Information System (SIS). During the application examination, the ETIAS Central System will verify whether there is an alert for you in SIS, such as for refusing entry and stay, missing persons, discreet checks, or specific checks, or if you are wanted for arrest for surrender purposes.
You Do Not Attend the Interview
In exceptional circumstances, when there are doubts regarding the information and documents you have provided, the ETIAS National Unit of the Member State might invite you for an interview. The interview may take place in your country of residence or in a consulate located in another country. If you do not attend the interview, your ETIAS will be denied.
Your data is not authentic
A travel authorization shall also be refused if, at the time of the application, there are reasonable and serious doubts as to the authenticity of the data, the reliability of the statements made by the applicant, the supporting documents provided by the applicant or the reliability of their contents.
What Can You Do if Your ETIAS Is Denied?
Within minutes of your submission of the application, you will get a response on the status of your ETIAS via email service. If it is approved, congratulations! If not, though, you will get the denial message. In the denial message, you will also have a reason as to why the ETIAS was denied. When receiving a notification on a rejected ETIAS application through the e-mail service, you will also be notified of the possibility and procedures to file an appeal, including how to lodge an appeal, the time limit for lodging an appeal and information as to any assistance that may be provided by the national data protection authority.
You could appeal this decision, or based on the denial reason, you can adjust your application and try again. Every applicant whose request for ETIAS travel authorization is rejected has the right to appeal the decision, given that he/she has proof the decision has been taken by mistake or unjustly.
How to Ensure Your ETIAS Will Not Be Denied?
Having your ETIAS approved can be easy. All you have to do for your ETIAS application to be approved is meet the conditions for getting a travel authorization. For example, while completing your ETIAS application, make sure you double-check the provided information, answer any questions truthfully, do not leave any questions blank, and do not exceed your stay.
Can ETIAS Be Annulled or Revoked?
Your travel authorization can be annulled or revoked if:
- You got an ETIAS fraudulently.
- A security alert is issued.
REVOCATION OR ANNULMENT OF ETIAS TRAVEL AUTHORISATION
You Got an ETIAS Fraudulently
An ETIAS application can be both annulled and revoked if there is evident proof that the conditions are not met or if there are doubts regarding the authenticity and reliability of the information you have provided.
A Security Alert Is Issued
The ETIAS National Unit will annul or revoke the travel authorization if there is a new alert concerning the refusal of entry and stay or concerning an invalid travel document issued in SIS.
Here’s how to appeal the decision of ETIAS denial.
What Can You Do If Your ETIAS Is Annulled?
If your travel authorization has been annulled, you have the right to appeal the decision. In such cases, you must conduct the appeal in the Member State that issued the decision on the annulment. You will be instructed on how to proceed with the appeal process by the ETIAS National Unit of the Member State.
*A previous refusal of your travel authorization does not necessarily mean that your new application will also be refused.
Rejected ETIAS Applicants Don’t Have to Immediately Apply for Schengen Visa
Though it was previously reported that travellers whose applications get rejected in the future, will have to apply for a Schengen visa, that turns out to be untrue.
A previous refusal of a travel authorization shall not lead to an automatic refusal of a new application, as a new application shall be assessed on the basis of all the available information.
Of course, exempt from this rule are those whose applications are rejected due to an SIS alert or because the person who applied for the ETIAS is considered a high risk to the EU. In such cases, the traveller should address the issue to the nearest embassy of the country the ETIAS Central Unit of which rejected his/her application, or the member country that issued the SIS alert.
Applicants whose second ETIAS is rejected as well, for the purposes other than the two mentioned above, shall also contact the embassy of the country the ETIAS Central Unit of which rejected his/her applications, for further instructions.