United States citizens will need a visa to visit Europe starting in 2021

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1. Not really a visa?

https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2019/03/09/americans-must-soon-register-not-get-visas-travel-some-european-countries/

Americans must soon register — but not get visas — to travel to some European countries
By Lindsey Bever
March 9 at 1:57 PM

Starting in 2021, Americans and travelers from other visa-free countries will have to take an extra step when visiting more than two dozen countries in Europe.

The European Union announced last year that before travel, visitors from all visa-free countries, including the United States, will need to complete an online application and pay a small fee using the European Travel Information and Authorization System (ETIAS), designed “to strengthen security checks on those persons who travel visa-free to the EU,” according to a fact sheet from the European Commission. It applies to people traveling to Europe’s Schengen Zone, an area comprising 26 countries, including France, Germany and Spain, but not Britain.

Currently, U.S. citizens with a valid U.S. passport can visit Schengen countries and stay for up to 90 days without a visa, according to the State Department.

News outlets, including CNN, Esquire and Travel & Leisure, initially called the new process starting in 2021 a “visa,” but government authorities said it is not one. With ETIAS, travelers will need documentation, such as a passport, and will be asked to complete an application online and pay a $7 fee; in an expected 95 percent of cases, approval will be granted in minutes, the fact sheet said.