- Effective January 1, 2026, Switzerland will increase the ETIAS fee from €7 ($8) to €20 ($23).
- The fee increase brings Switzerland in line with other Schengen Area countries.
- The change is intended to strengthen border security and improve digital screening systems.
Effective January 1, 2026, Switzerland will increase the European Travel Information and Authorization System (ETIAS) fee from €7 ($8) to €20 ($23). The change brings the country in line with other Schengen Area countries as part of efforts to strengthen border security and digital screening systems.
The announcement, made on November 22, 2025, joins Switzerland, France, Italy, Spain, Greece and Belgium, all of which have agreed to the same fee adjustments.
ETIAS is a mandatory pre-travel authorization required by nationals of visa-exempt countries such as the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, Japan, etc. before entering the Schengen Area for a short stay.
According to the Swiss National Secretariat for Migration (SEM), the increased fees will be used to fund cybersecurity upgrades, a new data-sharing link with Europol and improvements to the Schengen Information System (SIS) to enable faster identification of identity fraud and high-risk travelers.
The fee increase follows extensive technical discussions among Schengen member states, which concluded that the initial €7 fee was insufficient to cover the cost of the expanded border technology systems currently deployed across Europe. This adjustment is the first major change in ETIAS pricing since its launch.
Impact on travelers and businesses
For individual travelers, the additional cost is still not significant as ETIAS approval is valid for three years or until the passport expires, making the cost per trip relatively low.
However, corporate travel managers are advised to review their budgets, especially for multi-country assignments or frequent trips to Switzerland and other Schengen countries starting in 2026. Companies that pay ETIAS fees in bulk for project personnel may see administrative costs nearly triple, which may prompt changes to internal billing practices or shifting costs to employees or clients.
While travel management companies don’t expect rising costs to reduce overall travel demand, they may impact the frequency of short-term business trips.
Swiss border authorities expect operations to improve once ETIAS is fully integrated with the EU’s Entry and Exit System (EES), a biometric registration platform. Airports in Zurich, Geneva and Basel expect faster passenger processing as ETIAS approval and EES registration will be merged into a single QR code for seamless scanning at automated gates.
Main points
Tourism and aviation groups, including Switzerland Tourism, backed the price increase, noting that reliable funding for border security technology was preferable to ad hoc surcharges or sudden airport security taxes. Industry groups say harmonizing fees across Schengen countries could help keep Switzerland competitive against neighboring destinations.
For companies that frequently send American or British engineers and experts, experts recommend bundling travel so that multiple assignments can be covered by one ETIAS authorization.
SEM plans to publish multilingual guidance for employers by the end of the second quarter of 2026, detailing compliance deadlines, payment procedures and transition measures.
