U.S. citizens traveling to Europe will soon have to apply to enter several European countries.
We had reported a while back that although no visa is currently needed for U.S. citizens to visit Europe, a new system was in the works for citizens of over five dozen countries around the world. And now more details are available for those from the U.S.
Effective January 1, 2021, all Americans traveling to a European Schengen-zone country will be in need of an ETIAS (European Travel Information and Authorization System) visa waiver. These countries include:
- Austria
- Belgium
- Czech Republic
- Denmark
- Estonia
- Finland
- France
- Germany
- Greece
- Hungary
- Iceland
- Italy
- Latvia
- Liechtenstein
- Lithuania
- Luxembourg
- Malta
- Netherlands
- Norway
- Spain
- Poland
- Portugal
- Slovakia
- Slovenia
- Sweden
- Switzerland
Similar to other countries and regions in the world, Europe has recently decided to improve their security level to avoid any further problems with illegal migration and terrorism. Hence the newly developed ETIAS visa waiver.
via www.etiasvisa.com
To obtain the Europe visa waiver for Americans, US citizens age 18 and over will need to have a valid passport (that must be valid for at least 3 months beyond the period intended to stay), a credit or debit card and an email account. They’ll need to complete an online ETIAS registration (which is said to be a quick and simple process) with their their contact details and passport information, as well as answer some basic security questions regarding topics such as:
- Drug use
- Terrorism
- Human trafficking
- Travel to conflict areas
- Criminal history
- Employment history
- Past European travel information
- Security information
With this, the European immigration and customs authorities will be able to to pre-screen all travelers and confirm their status before allowing them entry into the country (or even to board a flight).
Other restrictions and regulations that are similar to ones already on the books, regarding carrying weapons, importing and exporting large quantities of tobacco, alcohol or perfume, and declaring large amounts of currency will also be in place.
The ETIAS application is not yet online.
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This post first appeared on Your Mileage May Vary
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