U.S. Citizens Will Need to Register to Travel to Europe Starting in 2021

Do you like to travel?  Do you travel to Europe?  If so, you need to read this article...

Here’s what you need to know about the new ETIAS travel authorization requirements.

Europe is the most-visited region in the world, with countries like France, Spain, Italy, and Germany each welcoming more than 37 million international visitors in 2017 alone. In addition to offering some of the world’s best cuisine, museums, and architecture, Europe is a popular destination for U.S. travelers, who don’t need a tourist visa to visit most countries.

But the rules are about to change. Starting on January 1, 2021, all U.S. citizens who want to travel to the 26 members of Europe’s Schengen Zone will need to register with the European Travel Information and Authorization System (ETIAS) or risk being turned away at the border.

Here’s everything you need to know about the new process:

Why is the process changing?
With ongoing terrorism threats, the European Union decided to implement this new travel authorization program to protect and strengthen its borders. By requiring visitors to register, the EU will be able to identify any possible threats or risks associated with travelers coming into these countries before they arrive. U.S. citizens will still be able to enter Europe without registering until January 1, 2021.

Does this mean I need a visa to travel to Europe?
This isn't a visa. European Commission and U.S. State Department officials confirmed to the Washington Post that ETIAS is a travel authorization for visa-free visitors, similar to the U.S. Electronic System for Travel Authorization (ESTA).

According to a fact sheet the European Commission released in July 2018, “The ETIAS authorization is not a visa. Nationals of visa liberalization countries will continue to travel the EU without a visa but will simply be required to obtain a travel authorization via ETIAS prior to their travel.”

“An ETIAS travel authorization does not reintroduce visa-like obligations,” it continues. “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.”


Which European nations will require ETIAS authorization to visit?
The new travel authorization applies to those entering any member country of Europe’s Schengen Zone. Currently, that includes 22 countries that are also members of the EU, four non-EU countries, plus three European micro-states. That means that you’ll need to register starting in 2021 to enter 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. The micro-states of San Marino, Vatican City, and Monaco will also require the registering.

While Romania, Bulgaria, Croatia, and Cyprus aren’t currently Schengen countries, they are in the process of joining and will be subject to the same requirements once they do.

However, there are still many European nations that aren’t part of the Schengen Zone, mostly in Eastern Europe. That means you’ll still be able to travel to Albania, Andorra, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Georgia, Kosovo, Macedonia, Moldova, Montenegro, Serbia, Turkey, and Ukraine without an ETIAS.

How long will an ETIAS take to process?
Once the ETIAS application is available online, it should only take about 10 minutes to fill out, according to schengenvisainfo.com. To apply, you’ll need a valid passport, an email address, and a debit or credit card to pay the nonrefundable €7 application fee (there are no other fees associated with the program). After you fill out your application online with the personal information on your passport, and answer a series of security and health-related questions, it should be approved and sent to your email address within a few hours after it is checked across security databases like Interpol and Europol. While children under the age of 18 will be required to have an ETIAS, they will not be charged the application fee.

Will you have to reapply for each trip to Europe?
No. After you apply for the first time, your ETIAS will be valid for three years—or until your passport expires, whichever comes first. Because the ETIAS is valid for short-term stays of up to 90 days for both leisure and business travelers, you’ll be able to re-enter Europe multiple times within that three-year period without renewing it, as long as your stay doesn’t exceed 90 days within a 180-day period. Those who want to study or work in Europe will need to apply for a proper visa.

Who else will need ETIAS authorization?
This new program isn’t limited to U.S. citizens. In fact, there are 62 countries whose citizens will be required to have an ETIAS when visiting countries in the Schengen Zone. The list of ETIAS-eligible countries includes Canada, Mexico, Australia, and many more.

Six Key Buying Strategies

Is 2020 the year you finally decide to buy your first home? How much practical, valuable real estate advice did you ignore in 2019? What’s your intent for 2020?


Here are Six Key Buying Strategies to consider when deciding on your first-home buying strategy. This is the thinking to do before you zero in on decor “must haves” like dream kitchens and spa-like bathrooms.  

1. Location, location, location is no joke
Location is the most permanent aspect of real estate; buildings can always be changed. Buy the best location you can afford. Do your homework and talk to real estate professionals to fully understand what location means in the communities and neighborhoods you’re considering for your first home.

Buy at the low end in the best location to ensure your real estate appreciates in value. The most expensive house on a street or in a neighborhood usually has its value suppressed by lesser homes near it. Buy the “least house” on a street or one in the mid-value range and your home may be bumped up in value as high-end homeowners continue to up-grade their castles.

2. Don’t buy your “forever home” too soon
If you are determined that your first home will be your “forever home,” you may be taking on too much. First homes should be financial stepping stones to that ultimate lifestyle realization. Wisely buy and sell two or three homes over many years—building equity as you go—to solidify your financial stability. If you start with a “forever home” and skip this progression, you are searching for a home and a neighborhood to spend 60 or more years in. Really? In a world that changes so rapidly each year, each month, each day, how can you be so sure of what you’ll need and enjoy decades down the road? Buy a very large home for the many kids you want to have and you may overspend for the family you have now or be forced to move out of your too-big, too-much-work “forever home” when the kids leave.

If you’re thinking long term, search out stable economic areas and homes that can be easily modified to add and convert income-generating units. Flexibility of lifestyle and income is what survives over time.

3. Buy in moderation
Maxing out financially on your first home may not be the best real estate strategy. “House rich, cash poor” is not the ideal state to live in to fully enjoy your first home. Spending to the limit leaves no room to improve the home and increase its value. Being cash stretched may put you at financial risk if a big repair like a leaky roof or failed furnace pops up.

Because you qualify for a big mortgage does not mean you have to borrow or spend to the limit. Because you like the expensive home more, does not mean that’s the one you should buy. Is keeping monthly payments manageable more valuable to you than impressing visitors?

Consider your first home as the first financial stepping stone on the way to a mortgage-free forever home. Ask your real estate professional to share a range of financial options with you instead of directing them to “buy as much as I can.”

4. Stop waiting til Spring
Retail shopping has trained shoppers to think seasonally. With real estate, “now” may be the best time to buy. When you’re ready, go. Search and purchase when the masses are not and you may get a terrific buy from a seller who must move immediately and can’t wait for Spring.

Wintery weather may mean less traffic through builders’ sales centers and more attention paid to you. You may even find a few buying incentives thrown in. Wait until Spring and you may pay more and feel very pressured in the process.

5. Buying the country
Can you see beyond idyllic stereotypes of country living when considering "the big move" to cheaper, non-urban real estate? Moving into the suburbs or out into the country may mean you get a bigger house for your budget. If square footage is what matters most now and in the future, away you go.

However, if lifestyle, career opportunities, education choices, internet access, health services, and appreciating real estate value are key considerations, look closely at what you gain and give up by moving out of an urban neighborhood. How many urban problems will you really leave behind? Small town and rural homeowners face many of the challenges city owners do: rising food and fuel costs, rising taxes, and environmental challenges. Which rural concerns like water quality, black outs, less convenience, and scarcity of services may significantly affect your home and lifestyle?

6. What’s your buying style?
If your search for a new home or cottage uses criteria set by “what's on trend," you are following the herd rather than leading yourself. For instance, open concept living space is "in," but not without compromises. If you're not aware what you give up to get "open concept," you have not explored all the options open to you.

Wanting housing similar to or better than your peers may be a sign of compatibility, but make sure you’re not extending yourself financially for superficial reasons. Showing off is not a sound investment strategy. Learn where those you follow originally got the ideas that define their lives. Their reasons for acting may not match yours.

Everyone has to discover what real estate styles and ownership type are right for them. As you learn, be ready to get in there and explore all your options, not just the trendy ones.