Brussels: The European Union (EU) has said that citizens of the United States will need a new type of visa, a European Travel Information and Authorisation System (ETIAS), to visit the European Schengen Area from 2021. Currently, American citizens can travel to Europe for up to 90 days without a visa, reports CNN.
The Schengen Area is a zone of 26 European countries that do not have internal borders and allow people to move between them freely, including countries like Spain, France, Greece, Germany, Italy and Poland. To apply for the ETIAS, US citizens will need a valid passport, an email account and a credit or debit card, the EU said on Friday.
Minors, the website said, will still only need their normal passports to travel after the visas go into effect.
EU said the ETIAS visa is valid for three years and allows Americans to enter the Schengen Area as many times as necessary.
