Travellers from certain countries have so far been able to travel to the Schengen area without restrictions. Others require a visa. This freedom of movement for a large number of countries entails a not inconsiderable security risk. Time and again there are attacks by terrorists who can enter the Schengen area unchallenged. The USA recognised this problem several years ago and introduced the ESTA system. The Schengen area will now follow suit at the end of 2022 and establish a similar system with ETIAS. Anyone who has been able to enter the country without a visa so far will need ETIAS. Admittedly, this is additional work before entry. However, the authorities strive to keep the effort as low as possible. The traveller is checked with the help of various databases. The ETIAS watchlist plays a central role in this.
The ETIAS Watchlist works with various databases
As the name suggests, the ETIAS watchlist includes people who have committed a criminal offence in the past or who, due to certain circumstances, are expected to possibly commit a criminal offence in the near future. These can be, for example, people who are members of certain organisations or whose thinking provides a reason to put them on this list as a precaution. The ETIAS watchlist draws its information from various databases. Among other things, EU member states collect information on people who have already committed a crime. States that are not part of the EU also provide important information. In addition. Further data is provided by a list of war criminals of the United Nations.
What happens after I fill out the application?
The application is checked automatically, so initially no real person gets to see the data. Only when the system returns a hit, FRONTEX staff become active. There is no blanket rejection. Now the staff member checks the data again carefully. If the traveller actually poses a threat to the internal security of the Schengen area, the application is rejected. The traveller can appeal against this.
A final rejection does not mean that the tourist is now not allowed to enter the Schengen area. He must now apply for a visa, which, however, takes longer and is also more expensive.
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Travellers from certain countries have so far been able to travel to the Schengen area without restrictions. Others require a visa. This freedom of movement for a large number of countries entails a not inconsiderable security risk. Time and again there are attacks by terrorists who can enter the Schengen area unchallenged. The USA recognised this problem several years ago and introduced the ESTA system. The Schengen area will now follow suit at the end of 2022 and establish a similar system with ETIAS. Anyone who has been able to enter the country without a visa so far will need ETIAS. Admittedly, this is additional work before entry. However, the authorities strive to keep the effort as low as possible. The traveller is checked with the help of various databases. The ETIAS watchlist plays a central role in this.
The ETIAS Watchlist works with various databases
As the name suggests, the ETIAS watchlist includes people who have committed a criminal offence in the past or who, due to certain circumstances, are expected to possibly commit a criminal offence in the near future. These can be, for example, people who are members of certain organisations or whose thinking provides a reason to put them on this list as a precaution. The ETIAS watchlist draws its information from various databases. Among other things, EU member states collect information on people who have already committed a crime. States that are not part of the EU also provide important information. In addition. Further data is provided by a list of war criminals of the United Nations.
What happens after I fill out the application?
The application is checked automatically, so initially no real person gets to see the data. Only when the system returns a hit, FRONTEX staff become active. There is no blanket rejection. Now the staff member checks the data again carefully. If the traveller actually poses a threat to the internal security of the Schengen area, the application is rejected. The traveller can appeal against this.
A final rejection does not mean that the tourist is now not allowed to enter the Schengen area. He must now apply for a visa, which, however, takes longer and is also more expensive.