U.S. citizens will need a visa waiver to travel to most European countries, including France, starting in 2021, the European Union announced Friday. File Photo by Christophe Petit Tessons/EPA

March 9 (UPI) -- Starting in 2021, U.S. citizens will need a visa waiver for authorization to visit most European countries due to border security issues.

U.S. citizens traveling to Europe for less than 90 days currently only need a passport, but starting in two years they will need a Europe Visa Waiver for Americans to visit most European countries.


Last July, the European Parliament established a registration process, called the European Travel Information and Authorization System, as "political priorities" for 2018-19.

"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," the EU said.

The new policy applies to 26 countries in the Schengen zone of Europe.

"The ETIAS authorization is not a visa," the European Union said. "Once operational, it will carry out pre-travel screening for security and migration risks of travelers benefiting from visa-free access to the Schengen area. When arriving at the EU borders, travelers will need to have both a valid travel document and an ETIAS authorization."

U.S. citizens will need to register with the ETIAS and pay an $8 service fee.

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U.S. citizens can apply online for an ETIAS, much like eligible citizens traveling to the United States.

To obtain the authorization, U.S. citizens will need to have a passport, which is valid for three months beyond the period of intended stay in Europe, a credit or debit card and an email account, the EU said.

The online application asks for personal details such as full name, date of birth, contact and passport, as well as information on drug use, terrorism, human trafficking, travel to conflict areas, criminal history, employment history, past European travel information and security information.

"Completing the online application should not take more than 10 minutes with automatic approval being given in over 95 percent of cases," according to an EU news release.

An exception to the new rule is for minors who will still only need their normal passport.

The ETIAS visas will be valid for three years.

"We are aware of the European Union's plan to implement its own travel information and authorization system, similar to the U.S. ESTA, to contribute to a more efficient management of the EU's external borders and improve internal security," a U.S. State Department official said in a statement to CNN. "Each country has the right to determine its standards for entry."

The United States has previously been in a dispute with the EU over requiring visas for Bulgaria, Croatia, Poland, Romania and Cyprus when they were not required for 23 other EU nations. In June 2018, the European Commission voted in favor of imposing visas on U.S. citizens in the five countries.

An earlier version of this story mischaracterized the European Travel Information and Authorization System as a visa. It is an authorization system.