Year 2021 US travellers requirement for European Travel

[Iriebabel]

Just read this article thought I would share . Basically there will be an on line system ETIAS (European Travel Information and Authorization System).....a proposed 3 year authorization will require a valid US passport and Debiit /credit card and it will give you multiple entry for 22 countries in the Schengen zone. UK will not require this ETIAS. No fee amount given as yet. The article is attached. The article also gives info for Europeans visiting the USA.

Americans Will Need to Register to Visit Europe Starting in 2021 — Here’s What We Know (Video) — Travel + Leisure

In two years, Americans will need to apply for something called ETIAS (European Travel Information and Authorization System) in order to visit the majority countries in the European Union. The European Commission says the new system will be enforced as an effort to upgrade international...

apple.news

 

[KinkyOne]

Just read this article thought I would share . Basically there will be an on line system ETIAS (European Travel Information and Authorization System).....a proposed 3 year visa will require a valid US passport and Debiit /credit card and it will give you multiple entry for 22 countries in the Schengen zone. UK will not require a visa. No fee amount given as yet. https://www.etiasvisa.com/etias-requirements/americans. The article is attached. The article also gives info for Europeans visiting the USA.

Americans Will Need to Register to Visit Europe Starting in 2021 — Here’s What We Know (Video) — Travel + Leisure

In two years, Americans will need to apply for something called ETIAS (European Travel Information and Authorization System) in order to visit the majority countries in the European Union. The European Commission says the new system will be enforced as an effort to upgrade international...

apple.news

I think that'll be kind of equivalent of ESTA for us Europeans. Even validity of three years is the same. It's not really a visa. My ESTA permit was issued in exactly 43 minutes. I expect the same with ETIAS. Wouldn't worry too much

 

[Iriebabel]

I think that'll be kind of equivalent of ESTA for us Europeans. Even validity of three years is the same. It's not really a visa.

I agree I think it is pretty much the same as ESTA I will re word the thread. Good observation ...thanks

 

[t2andreo]

This appears to be the reciprocal equivalent to the ESTA Program for all non-US residents seeking to visit the US from a Visa Waiver Country. Fair play I say. When the program goes live, I will apply.

Evidently, the approval is good for three years. What is NOT YET KNOWN is whether this will affect the length of time a US national can remain in the EU/Schengen area without having to have a visa.

Presently, non EU citizens are limited to remaining in the EU for a maximum of 90 days in any 180 day period. For stays beyond 90 days, one needs an expensive and difficult to obtain a long-stay Schengen Visa. This visa, the Type D Schengen Visa is good for one year and can be renewed four times.

We will see what happens.

 

[KinkyOne]

...
Presently, non EU citizens are limited to remaining in the EU for a maximum of 90 days in any 180 day period. For stays beyond 90 days, one needs an expensive and difficult to obtain a long-stay Schengen Visa. This visa, the Type D Schengen Visa is good for one year and can be renewed four times.
...

Hi, Tom,

I remember you worked as a custom officer (or something similar) and I have an off topic question but it kind of touches what I left in the quote. Is the procedure to stay longer in the USA (for walking PCT for example) equally expensive and difficult?

 

[t2andreo]

Not really. But applying for a long-visa to stay in any country is a pain in the butt. But, it is what it is. Each country has the right to set whatever rules they deem reasonable to permit entry. This includes issuing visas.

You can go online to www.state.gov, then drill down to the US Embassy and Consulate nearest you. The website is quite thorough. All the requirements and forms are available on line.

I hope this helps.

 

[Iriebabel]

Not really. But applying for a long-visa to stay in any country is a pain in the butt. But, it is what it is. Each country has the right to set whatever rules they deem reasonable to permit entry. This includes issuing visas.

You can go online to www.state.gov, then drill down to the US Embassy and Consulate nearest you. The website is quite thorough. All the requirements and forms are available on line.

I hope this helps.

You are exactly right you cannot extend the 90 day stay . To add to what you said you also cannot extend the ESTA you must apply for a new one. See this article https://www.estavisaus.org/news/extending-esta-visa

 

[Deleted member 43780]

Lots can happen between now and then.

Let’s see.

 

[t2andreo]

You are exactly right you cannot extend the 90 day stay . To add to what you said you also cannot extend the ESTA you must apply for a new one. See this article https://www.estavisaus.org/news/extending-esta-visa

Thank you very much for clarifying.

 

[nycwalking]

Well, it is what it is!

 

[CWBuff]

Americans Will Need a Visa to Visit Europe Starting in 2021
http://a.msn.com/03/en-us/BBUvfUF?ocid=se

and just in time for the Holy Year

 

[Kathar1na]

Americans Will Need a Visa to Visit Europe Starting in 2021
http://a.msn.com/03/en-us/BBUvfUF?ocid=se

and just in time for the Holy Year

Badly researched article. Contains glaring misinformation, although of little practical importance for travellers to the EU so I won't bother to address it. [Edited to add: The article has now been substantially rewritten and corrected.]

Note that the website www.etiasvisa.com is a commercial non-EU website. They are not an official "ETIAS Visa website" by any stretch of the imagination. Official EU websites end in .europa.eu and not in .com. The ETIAS system is not yet up and running. [Edited to add: The link to the commercial website has now been removed from the article.]

ETIAS is not a visa!!! The Schengen rules don't change. This is just something you have to enrol in while buying your plane ticket. The fee has been set at 7€ in EU law adopted in September 2018. It will take a few minutes to fill in your personal data and pay by credit card. It is similar to the ESTA system that the US government has been running for years for their foreign visitors. There is no date yet when the ETIAS system will be operational. It will not be obligatory before 2021 and could be even later.

 

[lizlane]

I'm not so sure this is bad news. Under the current system people can only stay 3 months. Looks like this will grant easier passage to other countries with less restrictions on stays.

 

[Kathar1na]

I'm not so sure this is bad news. Under the current system people can only stay 3 months. Looks like this will grant easier passage to other countries with less restrictions on stays.

No, there are no plans to change the Schengen rules. The restrictions will be the same as now.

 

[lizlane]

Thanks for clarifying!

 

[Kathar1na]

I am a bit puzzled why this ETIAS "news" is suddenly doing the rounds. The EU law in question was adopted and officially published more than five months ago and nothing has happened in the meantime that makes it urgent to inform about an online registration system that will not be operational for at least another two years.

My guess is that it has to do with Brexit and the current news frenzy in the UK media. Unlike in the past, British citizens may be subject to the same Schengen rules as American, Canadian and dozens of other nationalities, either as soon as next month or as of 1 January 2021 or at some other date between April 2019 and December 2022. Or never and not at all. Or they may end up in a separate EU visitor category of their own. Nobody knows yet but that does not stop speculation, misinformation and even accurate information being spread on all information channels.

 

[scruffy1]

Starting in 2021 Americans will require a visa from the new European Travel Information and Authorization System or ETIAS. To apply for the ETIAS, US citizens will need a valid passport, an email account and a credit or debit card. What Me Worry? True, plenty of time before this kicks in but if you think you need another reason to get out and walk the Camino - here it is! Besides who needs that headache before setting off!

US citizens will need to register to visit parts of Europe starting in 2021

US citizens visiting parts of Europe will need authorization from the European Union come 2021.

edition.cnn.com

 

[Anna Cameron]

Starting in 2021 Americans will require a visa from the new European Travel Information and Authorization System or ETIAS. To apply for the ETIAS, US citizens will need a valid passport, an email account and a credit or debit card. What Me Worry? True, plenty of time before this kicks in but if you think you need another reason to get out and walk the Camino - here it is! Besides who needs that headache before setting off!

US citizens will need to register to visit parts of Europe starting in 2021

US citizens visiting parts of Europe will need authorization from the European Union come 2021.

edition.cnn.com

In other words, citizens of the USA will (from 2021) experience the same "headache" that visitors from most other countries go through, when wishing to enter the USA. Sounds fair enough to me.

 

[JabbaPapa]

It's not actually a visa -- long-term visas to EU Member States will continue to exist (and will continue to permit travel throughout the entire Schengen area) ; according to the info on the interwebs, getting an ETIAS "visa waiver" will only take a few minutes.

 

[Kathar1na]

I could sometimes despair. We live in an age where access to accurate information is on our fingertips. We just have to make a little bit of effort. And that goes also for those who write and publish professional or semi-professional information on the web. And yet, and yet ... you can find shoddy information where I at least would not expect it, for example CNN Travel, published today 9th March 2019: ""United States citizens will need a visa to visit Europe starting in 2021. US citizens traveling to Europe without a visa will be a thing of the past come 2021. The European Union announced on Friday that American travelers will need a new type of visa -- a European Travel Information and Authorization System or ETIAS -- to visit the European Schengen Area.""

What a lot of codswallop!!! They even link this partial nonsense to this non-official etiasvisa.com website. If they would at least link to the long established https://www.schengenvisainfo.com/etias/ website or to one of the EU official websites.

Edited to add: CNN Travel later corrected the article and removed the nonsense.

 

[Kathar1na]

From the etiasvisa.com website itself:

​

There's no need for this!!! Individuals travelling to the Schengen area now or in 2021 when the ETIAS registration system will be operational, provided that there are no delays in developing this multinational large-scale IT system, will not need "assistance" from commercial companies to "complete the necessary steps to obtain a travel authorization for short-term stays in Europe". If you are able to book an airplane ticket online by yourself, you are also able to enter a few personal data required for the online ETIAS registration.

Don't make publicity for these commercial companies. They rely on you to spread and post links to their websites to garner gullible customers.

 

[Kathar1na]

From the EU agency who are tasked with developing the ETIAS system:

• ETIAS is due to become operational by the end of 2021.
• Full implementation is expected in the course of 2022.

From Art. 83 of the ETIAS Regulation concerning the transitional period and transitional measures:

• For a period of six months from the date on which ETIAS starts operations, the use of ETIAS shall be optional and the requirement to be in possession of a valid [ETIAS] travel authorisation shall not apply.
• The [EU] Commission may [...] extend that period for a maximum of a further six months, renewable once.

This takes us into 2022 or even 2023 before registration in ETIAS becomes obligatory and not to the 1st of January 2021 as often claimed.

Am I the only one who can find this? And I'm just a reader, not a writer or publisher.

 

[bokormen91]

And then you have reciprocal agreements to muddle the waters. Some people get Schengen visa’s which are often valid for 3 months - however, some EU/EFTA countries had reciprocal agreements with certain countries and honor these on top of Schengen visa’s. I’ve had friends from NZ/US/OZ that have managed stays in the Schengen Area of + 8 months through the reciprocal agreements, sometimes having tried different embassies/consulates.

Rules exist, and are often written in a form of «bureaucratic» which makes it tremendously hard for us lesser mortals to predict what end result will be.

So - whilst (some) information might be available to read, it does not necessarily mean that the easiest accessible information is the only path available...

 

[Rick of Rick and Peg]

Is the procedure to stay longer in the USA (for walking PCT for example) equally expensive and difficult?

I know just a tiny bit about this. I believe that in addition to filling in the paperwork you have to eventually appear in person in front of a consul.

Last year Peg and I were camping in a campground at Shenadoah National Park just a few minutes walk from the Appalachian Trail (AT). A thru-hiker with a German accent was there and I had only enough time to ask if he had difficulty getting a visa extension before he was called away. He said it was difficult. (By the way, typically it takes five to seven months to walk the complete AT even though the distance is shorter than the other big north-south trails which typically are done quicker.)

However, in 2016 we were hiking five days on the AT in Georgia at about the time many thru-hikers start the AT and we met a Mexican thru-hiker (who, BTW, had finished a camino) and I asked him if he had any problems getting a visa extension. He said no. But what he did was to go into the interview with maps and information on how long it would take to hike the trail and, perhaps more importantly, lots of enthusiasm. I hope he completed the AT.

Here is a comparison of the Triple Crown trails. The wildlife section for the AT doesn't mention rattlesnakes but Peg and I came upon a very large timber rattler in Georgia stretched across the trail.
https://www.greenbelly.co/pages/triple-crown-of-hiking

What is The Triple Crown of Hiking? | AT vs PCT vs CDT Comparison

An overview of The Triple Crown of Hiking and a breakdown of the main differences between these three iconic thru-hiking long trails of America: The Appalachian Trail, Pacific Crest Trail and Continental Divide Trail (or AT vs PCT vs CDT). Wildlife, weather, terrain, distance, culture, history...

www.greenbelly.co

 

[tomnorth]

There will be a new European visa requirement for US citizens visiting the Schengen Zone effect 2021. It was recently announced one must apply for an ETIAS (European Travel Information and Authorization System) Visa. The requirements sound simple enough: a valid US Passport, a credit or debit card and an email address. It sounds like it changes the former restriction of allowing one only to stay for no more than 90 days in a 180 day period and will allow one to stay up to 3 years.
There are some other requirements about travel insurance, proof of income and few a details that may make "walking the Camino" for an extended period of time a little niggly.

The 90 days in 180 limit has not changed. The Visa just allows you to enter the country. The Visa must be reapplied for every three years.

 

[naplesdon]

The 90 days in 180 limit has not changed. The Visa just allows you to enter the country. The Visa must be reapplied for every three years.

Throughout these 3 years of validity of the ETIAS visa for USA travelers, it is possible to enter any of the Schengen zone European countries which apply to this visa as many times as necessary. The ETIAS visa for Americans is a multiple-entry visa with few restrictions in order to promote tourism while maintaining a high level of international security.

 

[Telboyo]

I am a bit puzzled why this ETIAS "news" is suddenly doing the rounds. The EU law in question was adopted and officially published more than five months ago and nothing has happened in the meantime that makes it urgent to inform about an online registration system that will not be operational for at least another two years.

My guess is that it has to do with Brexit and the current news frenzy in the UK media. Unlike in the past, British citizens may be subject to the same Schengen rules as American, Canadian and dozens of other nationalities, either as soon as next month or as of 1 January 2021 or at some other date between April 2019 and December 2022. Or never and not at all. Or they may end up in a separate EU visitor category of their own. Nobody knows yet but that does not stop speculation, misinformation and even accurate information being spread on all information channels.

Fortunately I am leaving England in the afternoon of 29 March o matter what happens next I'll be able to do my Camino hassle free.

 

[trecile]

The ETIAS is not a visa. It is a visa waiver/travel authorization.

 

[NorthernLight]

When you google "European Travel Information and Authorization System", the first several hits are the commercial we'll-help-you sites. You have to scroll down a ways to get to official government sites.

This won't apply only to US citzens. All countries that normally don't need visas in advance are affected. Like Canada.

It's the same as the ETA (Electronic Travel Authorization) that Australia has required for years. It also won't guarantee entry. It's not a visa. It simply gives officials a longer time to check you out before you hit their border and they then decide on letting you in.

 

[oursonpolaire]

I have seen this discussion on a number of sites, and carefully read through the *.eu as well as the *.com sites (retired from Immigration and Refugees Canada, I find official documentation soothing!) and am preparing a presentation for a pilgrim training workshop. I am seriously considering having the 30 participants jump up and down and rhythmically chant: ETIAS IS NOT A VISA. My other option is to set the information to the tune of the Yellow Rose of Texas, for easy recall.

I hope that someone can improve on my suggestion, which needs a lot of work by a decent poet.

ETIAS is not a visa
But a waiver for your entry

Makes advance vetting easy
for la Migra everywherre

It still isn’t a visa
Visa rules will still apply

For all pilgrim entries
if you swim or if you fly

 

[Kathar1na]

https://www.etiasvisa.com/etias-requirements/americans.

I've been wondering the whole time about the purpose of this elaborate website and similar websites. You can enter your email address (etiasvisa.com/etias-form-application) if you "wish to be notified by email when the online visa will be available" and you agree to their privacy policy (etiasvisa.com/privacy-policy) which might give us a clue:

• In order to process your [ETIAS] visa application we share the information and the documentation you provide with the government. The government needs this information to be able to either approve or reject the visa application.
• etiasvisa.com is a global business which works in cooperation with a number of affiliate companies. Information is shared between our affiliate companies which operate in multiple countries. Your information may be shared with these companies and your information may be transferred between our own internal offices.

I particularly love that they will share information with a nebulous entity called "the government" in an EU context.

And I am waiting with baited breath for the moment when we can purchase an equally nebulous entity called "ETIAS visa" against payment of the official fee on their website, plus a no doubt very modestly priced service charge.

 

[naplesdon]

Kathat1na,
I totally agree with you. I tried to sign up for the updates on the site and it would not accept my email address, strange.
I think however and by whoever this process is being operated they are going to monitor blogs and sites like the Forum to design whatever it is they are marketing. It's called a "visa" on their site, but it looks a lot more like the TSA program.

 

[trecile]

I've been wondering the whole time what the purpose of this elaborate website and similar websites could be. You can enter your email address (https://www.etiasvisa.com/etias-form-application) if you "wish to be notified by email when the online visa will be available" and you must agree of course to their privacy policy (https://www.etiasvisa.com/privacy-policy). Their privacy policy might give us a clue: they will share information in the following ways, and I quote by copy-paste:

• In order to process your [ETIAS] visa application we share the information and the documentation you provide with the government. The government needs this information to be able to either approve or reject the visa application.
• etiasvisa.com is a global business which works in cooperation with a number of affiliate companies. Information is shared between our affiliate companies which operate in multiple countries. Your information may be shared with these companies and your information may be transferred between our own internal offices.

I particularly love that they will share information with a nebulous entity called "the government" in an EU context.

And I am waiting with baited breath for the moment when we can purchase an equally nebulous entity called "ETIAS visa" against payment of the official fee on their website, plus a no doubt very modestly priced service charge.

That site sounds like the sites that will help you apply for an ESTA - for a fee of course, when there's nothing difficult about applying for an ESTA from the official government site, and it only costs $14.

 

[trecile]

This official EU site has a good graphic of how the ETIAS will work.

 

[Kathar1na]

This official EU site has a good graphic of how the ETIAS will work.

The EES system (Entry/Exit System) mentioned in the infographic will also be implemented in the coming years. The familiar passport stamps that you receive when entering and leaving the Schengen area will disappear and over-stayers (individuals remaining in the Schengen Area after the end of their authorised stay, ie in relation to the 90 days within 180 days rule) will be systematically identified on the basis of their data stored in EES, something that is currently not the case.

 

[Bala]

This official EU site has a good graphic of how the ETIAS will work.

View attachment 52996

This looks to me like the people believing they can stay in the Schengen zone and nobody will notice (several threads a year seem to come up on this) are going to get nabbed at the border

 

[naplesdon]

Trecile,
I tried to enter my name for the periodic notifications from the ETIAS site and like I said above they would not accept my email address.
However, there is plenty of time to wait and see how this thing rolls out but I suspect it is going to be a big nightmare for travelers come 2021.

 

[trecile]

Trecile,
I tried to enter my name for the periodic notifications from the ETIAS site and like I said above they would not accept my email address.
However, there is plenty of time to wait and see how this thing rolls out but I suspect it is going to be a big nightmare for travelers come 2021.

Was that on the site in the original post? It's a commercial site, not official.

 

[Kathar1na]

I tried to enter my name for the periodic notifications from the ETIAS site and like I said above they would not accept my email address.

I don't trust this website. I entered an email address, too - a made up one, of course. When I clicked on Submit I got the message: Oops there was a problem, please check your input and submit the form again. When I clicked on Submit again, I got the message: This form has already been submitted. As mentioned by others, it is not an official EU website.

Nearer the time when the ETIAS system is operational, there will be official information campaigns and a transition period - travellers will know, there is no need to worry about it all now.

 

[naplesdon]

The exact same result for me! We are probably now registered members of a known terrorist organization.

 

[Kathar1na]

The exact same result for me! We are probably now registered members of a known terrorist organization.

Not me. And I won't reveal the words I use to make up my fantasy email address in such cases when I'm curious or suspicious and I'm testing or trying out something.

 

[naplesdon]

Call me naive.

 

[Iriebabel]

I've been wondering the whole time what the purpose of this elaborate website and similar websites could be. You can enter your email address (https://www.etiasvisa.com/etias-form-application) if you "wish to be notified by email when the online visa will be available" and you must agree of course to their privacy policy (https://www.etiasvisa.com/privacy-policy). Their privacy policy might give us a clue: they will share information in the following ways, and I quote by copy-paste:

• In order to process your [ETIAS] visa application we share the information and the documentation you provide with the government. The government needs this information to be able to either approve or reject the visa application.
• etiasvisa.com is a global business which works in cooperation with a number of affiliate companies. Information is shared between our affiliate companies which operate in multiple countries. Your information may be shared with these companies and your information may be transferred between our own internal offices.

I particularly love that they will share information with a nebulous entity called "the government" in an EU context.

And I am waiting with baited breath for the moment when we can purchase an equally nebulous entity called "ETIAS visa" against payment of the official fee on their website, plus a no doubt very modestly priced service charge.

It seems that the website as referred to in the article I posted is an commercial entity. The article also referred to the EU authority. Although the ETIAS visa site provided some useful information I would go directly to the EU official site when applying as suggested by others including the information presented by @trecile in post #34. My apologies if it confused anyone. @biarritzdon I think at the most you might jus get some spam in your inbox. I would enter the site info into your blocked list for your email provider. My apologies again I my intent was to provide the information on the impending changes listed not to endorce any commercial business in the article.

 

[naplesdon]

Iriebabel,
I for one will wait to see how this thing rolls out over the next year or two. It is not a priority.

 

[Iriebabel]

Iriebabel,
I for one will wait to see how this thing rolls out over the next year or two. It is not a priority.

I completely agree. I think it’s a process and they are still working out the bugs. Likely it’s will be very simular to the USA’s ESTA process.

 

[alaskadiver]

Hardly a nightmare or catastrophe. Just another form to complete. I don’t see the big deal.

 

[Kathar1na]

you can find shoddy information where I at least would not expect it, for example CNN Travel, published today 9th March 2019: ""United States citizens will need a visa to visit Europe starting in 2021. US citizens traveling to Europe without a visa will be a thing of the past come 2021. The European Union announced on Friday that American travelers will need a new type of visa -- a European Travel Information and Authorization System or ETIAS -- to visit the European Schengen Area.""

What a lot of codswallop!!! They even link this partial nonsense to this non-official etiasvisa.com website.

I give them credit where credit is due. CNN Travel has now made a number of substantial corrections to their online article, the link to etiasvisa.com has disappeared and there are now a number of links and quotes from official EU sources instead.

Other news websites have not followed their example.

 

[MrLogan]

And I am waiting with baited breath for the moment when we can purchase an equally nebulous entity called "ETIAS visa" against payment of the official fee on their website, plus a no doubt very modestly priced service charge.

Not such a modest service charge if you look at the 3rd party ESTA sites. The US government charges $14 for ESTA, while the 3rd party sites charge $80-100.

 

[trecile]

Here's a good blog post about what an ETIAS is, and isn't

Dear Americans: ETIAS is NOT A VISA - IT'S A TRAVEL AUTHORISATION - Economy Class & Beyond

European travel information and authorisation system (ETIAS) is s coming in 2021. It's not a VISA, it's a travel authorisation. Find out the difference here

economyclassandbeyond.boardingarea.com

 

[Rick of Rick and Peg]

Dear Americans: ETIAS is NOT A VISA – IT’S A TRAVEL AUTHORISATION

Ah, so ETIAS is a travel authorization, not a visa. Whereas a visa is a travel authorization. That should really clear things up.

[Edit: Added stuff in italics to help emphasise intended sarcasm.]

 

[naplesdon]

Love you Rick

 

[VNwalking]

I'm with @Kathar1na in feeling a bit frustrated when people do not even take the time to read previous posts on this thread (let alone anything else) and then pass on erroneous information.
As Rick just said...and many others before him:
This. Is. NOT. a. visa.
There's no need to get excited; it's just an authorization that you can do online before you travel.

Here is the official information (don't go to those commercial sites. They're probably just mining your information...):

Press corner

Highlights, press releases and speeches

europa.eu

Edit: Coincidentally, this was published this morning in the NY Times:

For Americans, Travel to Europe Will Be Slightly More Complicated (Published 2019)

As part of an enhanced security process, citizens traveling to the majority of the European Union nations after January 2021 will have to register online and pay a small fee.

www.nytimes.com

Thanks, @Iriebabel , for bringing it up in the first place. It's not something to worry about, but it IS something to know about...

 

[JabbaPapa]

I know just a tiny bit about this. I believe that in addition to filling in the paperwork you have to eventually appear in person in front of a consul.

That's clearly going to be a variable depending on which Nation State you're applying to for a visa, and on which Consulate you're applying to, and perhaps even which Nation you're a national of -- I certainly had no need to appear before the US consul when I applied for and obtained a US tourist's visa back in the late 1970s.

 

[Kathar1na]

Ah, so ETIAS is a travel authorization, not a visa. Whereas a visa is a travel authorization. That should clear things up.

. However ...

A visa (visum) tells you that you can enter a foreign country and how long you can stay there.

ETIAS just allows you to travel to the Schengen countries. It is in general valid for 3 years but that doesn't mean that you can stay for up to 3 years. Your stay will still be limited to up to 90 days within a 180 days period.

 

[Rick of Rick and Peg]

That ETIAS thing isn't so easy to describe in simple terms; is it? I'm going to try by saying it is like a pre-trip test to see if you will be welcome into the Schengen zone during the next three years. If you don't pass then don't try entering.

 

[handzondeck2]

Just read this article thought I would share . Basically there will be an on line system ETIAS (European Travel Information and Authorization System).....a proposed 3 year authorization will require a valid US passport and Debiit /credit card and it will give you multiple entry for 22 countries in the Schengen zone. UK will not require this ETIAS. No fee amount given as yet. The article is attached. The article also gives info for Europeans visiting the USA.

Americans Will Need to Register to Visit Europe Starting in 2021 — Here’s What We Know (Video) — Travel + Leisure

In two years, Americans will need to apply for something called ETIAS (European Travel Information and Authorization System) in order to visit the majority countries in the European Union. The European Commission says the new system will be enforced as an effort to upgrade international...

apple.news

Hi team this ETIAS also applies to Aussies and Kiwis. Minimal cost from what I've read about 7euros but maybe 10euros. Thanks for sharing this information with the pilgrim community .

 

[CWBuff]

I give them credit where credit is due. CNN Travel has now made a number of substantial corrections to their online article, the link to etiasvisa.com has disappeared and there are now a number of links and quotes from official EU sources instead.

Other news websites have not followed their example.

MSN did the same inasmuch as the article does state it is NOT a visa.
http://a.msn.com/03/en-us/BBUzCSM?ocid=se

Hoever I am with you with pretty much every concern you've raised ("the Government", the fees, and IMHO completely unnecessary jumping through hoops.)

 

[Iriebabel]

Hi team this ETIAS also applies to Aussies and Kiwis. Minimal cost from what I've read about 7euros but maybe 10euros. Thanks for sharing this information with the pilgrim community .

Thanks yes that cost is not bad indeed!

 

[t2andreo]

Americans Will Need a Visa to Visit Europe Starting in 2021
http://a.msn.com/03/en-us/BBUvfUF?ocid=se

and just in time for the Holy Year

It is VERY IMPORTANT to point out that this is NOT A VISA. It is a advance electronic PERMISSION to travel to an EU country. No electronic approval, no boarding pass.

It is NOT a visa. The same, exact rules apply as applied before. If you needed a visa to enter or remain in any EU country, you still need one. If you did not need one, again, nothing changes.

Most of us are still affected by the '90-calendar days in any 180-day calendar day' period limitation for entry and temporary residence without a visa. After than, you NEED A VISA, obtained from an embassy or consulate, just like you do now.

This has been famously misreported in many media outlets. But I have checked with the official EU websites to confirm the above. Believe me, if anything had changed and I did not need a visa to stay for 4 or 5 months at a go, I would plan to do so. But, in that regard for US citizens, and indeed folks from much of the first-world, this has not changed.

We WILL all in future, need to PRE-REGISTER with ETIAS, pay €7 (about 7.90 USD) and obtain an electronic approval. You MUST safeguard that number. It is good for three years. It must be conveyed to an airline when making a booking to the EU. If it works like the US version, the ESTA, you cannot make the reservation, or get on the plane headed for the US without providing this number.

I hope this helps clear matters up.