European visa: Britons will need to pay to enter destinations including Spain, France and Italy from January

The new visa for non-EU nationals is being brought in under proposals which were planned before the 2016 referendum

Caption: People cool off in the water during warm weather on a beach in Barcelona, Spain, Sunday, June 19, 2022. Temperatures in Western Europe rose above 40 Cs (104 F) in France and Spain, and highs of 38 C (100.4 F) in Germany and 36 C in Switzerland. (AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti) Photographer: Emilio Morenatti Provider: AP Source: AP

By Graham Keeley

Britons who are planning a holiday in the sun to Spain, France, Greece or Italy next year will have to pay extra for the pleasure when a new visa system comes into force across Europe.

Under new rules expected to launch from 1 January, any tourists who do not hold EU passports must apply for the European Travel Information and Authorisation System (ETIAS) visa before leaving home.

The new document is expected to cost about €7 (£6) and will apply to anyone aged 18 to 70.

British tourists who do not come armed with the new document could be turned away at the border.

Passengers queue at the Ryanair check-in counters at El Prat airport in Barcelona, Spain (Photo: Pau Barrena/AFP via Getty Images)

A total of 30 countries within the Schengen area, including some of Britons’ favourite tourist hotspots like Spain, France, Greece and Portugal, will require the new document.

To apply, passports or equivalent documents will be needed and for most travellers, the application process should be a formality.

Anyone who is classed as a potential risk, however, could face a wait of up to 96 hours, say EU authorities.

British passport holders will not require an ETIAS to visit the Republic of Ireland.

The new visa is being brought in under proposals which were planned before the 2016 referendum on leaving Europe in the UK.

“The ETIAS will be a largely automated IT system created to identify security, irregular migration or high epidemic risks posed by visa exempt visitors travelling to the Schengen states, whilst at the same time facilitate crossing borders for the vast majority of travellers who do not pose such risks,” the EU’s ETIAS website states.

“Non-EU nationals who do not need a visa to travel to the Schengen area will have to apply for a travel authorisation through the ETIAS system prior to their trip.”

Meanwhile, Spain expects tourist arrivals to reach 90 per cent of pre-pandemic levels as Britons shrugged off concerns over the cost of living and inflation, tourism chiefs in Spain said.

“Inflation is so far not dampening peak summer season demand,” said Fernando Valdés, the Spanish secretary of state for tourism.

“It is a solid recovery in difficult conditions.

Spain is confident one of the world’s most visited countries could have more tourists than in 2019, Mr Valdés added.

More Britons will be coming to Spain than in the summer of 2019, according to the Spanish tourism ministry estimates.

Spanish 12-month inflation rose to 10.2 per cent in June, the highest since 1985, according to data from the Spanish National Statistics Institute.

Despite rising prices for hotels and restaurants, bookings for July and August have already reached 90 per cent of 2019 levels, according to data from the market-intelligence firm ForwardKeys.

Even the threat of airline strikes by Ryanair and easyJet baggage handlers and flight crew does not appear to have put off Britons from booking holidays to Spain.

A strike by the USO and Sitcpla unions has led to the cancellation of scores of flights and delays to hundreds more.

Ryanair said on Friday that so far the strike has caused the cancellation of only 3 per cent of flights to and from Spain because of the stoppage.

easyJet workers in Barcelona, Palma and Malaga are to stage three separate, three-day strikes during July, lasting until 17 July.

Meanwhile, instead of heading for the beaches of the costas, British holidaymakers are choosing to visit Madrid this summer, according to a source at the tourism ministry with access to booking numbers.

In the past, during the peak summer season, the Spanish capital has seen fewer tourists than Barcelona, Palma in Mallorca, Ibiza or other Mediterranean resorts.