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Starting in 2021, Americans, as well as others from a ton of other visa-free countries, will have to do a little more work before they’ll be able to visit a number of European countries. Now, getting into places like Germany, France, and Spain just requires your U.S. passport, but in a little under two years you’ll also need to apply for entry into those countries and several others before you go. The change in policy was actually announced last summer, but more details were revealed about the program this week.



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Curious what that means? Here’s a rundown of what you need to know:



What countries does this impact:

The travel authorization is needed to travel in any country in the Schengen Area, which includes Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Italy, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, and Switzerland.



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Is it a visa?

No. While a number of outlets reported that you would need a visa to travel to Europe in 2021 that’s not actually the case. What you’ll need to do is simply apply for entry through the European Travel Information and Authorization System (ETIAS) and pay a small fee.


Why are they requiring it?

The goal behind the program is to strengthen the security checks on people who are able to travel visa-free to the EU.


How much will it cost?

We don’t know exact pricing for the application just yet, but it won’t be super expensive. Current reports suggest that it will cost roughly $7.


Am I likely to get declined?

No. The European Commission says that in 95% of cases approval will be granted “in minutes.” So for most folks, this is more a formality the something to be worried about. According to the EC “There is no need to go to a consulate to make an application, no biometric data is collected and significantly less information is gathered than during a visa application procedure. Whereas, as a general rule, a Schengen visa procedure can take up to 15 days, and can in some cases be extended up to 30 or 60 days, the online ETIAS application only takes a few minutes to fill in.”


How long will it work?

Once you’re approved, your ETIAS authorization will be good for three years and an unlimited number of entries into the area.



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