What's required to travel from Australia => London => Europe?

Question

Later on this year (specifically, late July / early August), My wife (a dual US / Australian citizen), myself (Australian citizen) and my brother (Australian citizen) are planning a UK / European sightseeing trip. The plan is to depart Australia, arrive in London, stay there for a week, then get on a tour bus and spend 12 days in Europe on a bus tour (specifically, France, Switzerland, Italy, Austria, Germany and Netherlands) before flying from The Netherlands back to Australia

I know that to enter the UK I need an ETA. I know where to grab that from, but when I look up what's required to travel to Europe, all I see is information about EES / ETIAS which is possibly coming in mid-2025, or late 2025, or some time in 2026, I'm not entirely sure.

A few sites I've seen say that I don't need anything to enter Europe, just a valid passport (obviously), and that because our journey is exclusively in the Schengen area and under 90 days, we'll be fine.

I can stop by a travel agent and get them to sort this out, but I'm sorta keen to organize this trip without one (and this'd be my first independently organized international trip) so I want to make sure I have all my info correct so I don't mess things up.

So basically, in order to fly to the UK from Australia and spend just short of 3 weeks in the UK and Europe, what else, other than an ETA, do I need, and where can I apply for them?

Answer 1

Yes, for the UK you will need an ETA.

For the Schengen Area, in your case you currently do not need anything other than your passport (check the rules regarding validity though). EES and ETIAS are planned, but have both been postponed several times. The current schedule is vague.

However:

• They will roll out EES first. EES is about recording entries and exits into a Schengen-wide system, along with biometric data. This does not require you to do anything in advance, just spend a bit more time at border control.
• ETIAS will only be rolled after EES has been rolled out, a few months later at the shortest. Once it’s rolled out you will indeed need to apply for an ETIAS online (similar process to the UK ETA or US ESTA or Canadian eTA, etc.). Whenever it is needed it will be advertised enough in advance that you can apply in time.

IMHO it is highly unlikely that you will need an ETIAS for travel this (European) summer, but of course, keep informed and check a month or so before travel that it hasn’t changed.

Answer 2

A few sites I've seen say that I don't need anything to enter Europe, just a valid passport (obviously), and that because our journey is exclusively in the Schengen area and under 90 days, we'll be fine.

Yes, that is still correct and will be during your trip. There has been noise about the EES and ETIAS for years but it won't matter to you. To cut through the noise, it's best to depend on the official website created by the EU Commission which clearly states that the system is not in operation. It's still aiming for 2025 but without a specific date, which means it's not about to go online just yet.

Crucially, the ramp up of the EES is designed to be mostly transparent for travelers. ETIAS will start several months after the EES goes online, followed by a six months transition period during which you can still enter without one. So it's not active now, the window to turn it on before July-August is closing and you will be allowed to travel without one this summer. The official website states that unambiguously:

ETIAS is currently not in operation and will not start in the first half of 2025. No action is required from travellers at this point. The European Union will inform about the start of ETIAS several months prior to its launch.

They won't say so before it's mathematically inevitable but I would be surprised if an ETIAS is required before 2026. The most optimistic scenario is that EES launches within the next six months, ETIAS before the European winter, with the transition period lasting well into 2026 (more on the timeline)