Are Visas Needed for Europe? What Travelers Should Know

There have been a lot of changes in European travel recently, with even more expected to happen in the coming years.

With these changes and other shifting landscapes, a lot of Americans are left wondering if they need a visa to go to Europe.

We're here to demystify European travel for you. In this guide, you'll learn whether or not you need a visa and a few other requirements for traveling to Europe.

Note: This article is for Americans traveling to Europe. The entry requirements might be different for other nationalities. Always check official embassy sites for the most up-to-date and accurate information.

Do you need a visa to go to Europe?

American citizens do not need a visa to go to Europe for short trips (trips have to be under 90 days in length).

With that being said, there is a new requirement expected to go into effect later in 2026, and that's something called ETIAS. This might be what you're thinking about, but ETIAS is not a visa. We'll explain.

A visa is an official document that allows a foreigner to travel to a specific country for a specific amount of time.

Americans do not need a visa to go to the Schengen area or EU because of an agreement between the United States and the Schengen area. As of now, there are no plans in place to require US citizens to apply for a visa to travel to Europe.

What is the Schengen area? In short, it is a collection of European countries that have agreed to abolish border control between them. This means that once you enter one Schengen country (France, for example), you can freely travel to the others without going through border checks.

Some of the most popular European destinations are members of the Schengen area, including France, Italy, Spain, Germany, Greece, and others. There are 29 in total. The UK and Ireland are not in the Schengen area.

What agreement does the US have with the Schengen area?

Thanks to an agreement between the US and the Schengen area, American citizens can enter the area and travel through it without applying for a visa, so long as they don't stay in the area for more than 90 days (and they are not working).

Visa application processes today are quite manual and can be costly, so it's this agreement is a great privilege for American citizens.

There are some cases where American citizens need a visa for Europe; we'll get to that in a bit.

Know that currently, if you are an American citizen and want to go to the Schengen area for 90 days or less, you do not need a visa. Once ETIAS launches, you will need ETIAS.

What is ETIAS?

ETIAS isn't a visa - it's authorization to enter the zone.

ETIAS is simple and most people are approved in just a couple of minutes. Travelers only need to apply for ETIAS once every three years (or if/when they get a new passport).

The online process is very quick and easy, and 100% digital. American citizens will need to go to the official ETIAS website and input a few details about their upcoming trip. Then, pay a 7 euro fee.

That's it - in a couple of minutes, you will receive an email confirming your ETIAS approval. This approval is digitally linked to your passport, meaning there isn't even anything to print out. Once you're approved, you don't need to do anything else (except reapply once the validity period is up, if you plan to travel to Europe again).

There are some cases where an ETIAS can be denied. You can learn more about rejection here.

As you can see - ETIAS is not a visa. It's technically a "pre-travel authorization." For all intents and purposes, you can consider it as letting a country know your intent to visit, then the country giving you the greenlight to visit.

ETIAS is expected to launch by the end of the year (2026).

Now, because the United Kingdom isn't in the Schengen area, and is no longer in the EU (since Brexit), American citizens won't need ETIAS for the UK. Instead, they need ETA - and ETA has already gone into effect, meaning you will need to apply for it before your next hop across the pond.

The process for ETA is similar to ETIAS, taking place 100% online. ETA approval doesn't allow you to go to the Schengen area, and ETIAS doesn't allow you to go to the UK. They're two separate requirements for two separate countries/groups of countries.

When do Americans need a visa to go to Europe?

If American citizens don't need a visa to go to Europe for short trips...when do they need one?

There are a few circumstances where American citizens do need a visa to travel to Europe.

• American citizens may need a visa to study abroad.
• To work abroad (remote, freelance, or in-person), American citizens require a visa.
• For stays longer than 90 days in the Schengen zone, a visa is mandatory.

There may be other scenarios where a visa is required. It's best to check with the specific Embassy in question if you're ever unsure.

An EU visa: what is it?

While you may see the term "EU visa" around, there really isn't such a thing.

Travelers from countries that don't have an agreement with the Schengen area are required to apply for a visa any time they go to a country in the zone, whether it's for 1 day or 90.

This is called a Schengen visa. While US citizens don't need to apply for a Schengen visa, even when ETIAS begins, some foreigners do.

Indian and Chinese passport holders, for example, must apply for a Schengen visa before heading to any of the 29 countries in the zone - even if they're US residents.

There isn't a simple visa that allows you to live and work anywhere in Europe as an American citizen. It's country by country. If you want to live in France, for example, it's a different visa and process than wanting to live and work in Germany.

All that to be said, there is one interesting permission called the "EU Blue Card" that allows eligible non-EU citizens to live and work in 25 of the 27 countries in the European Union - but that's an entirely different topic for another time 😉

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Key takeaways

• US citizens do not need a visa to go to Europe (for trips under 90 days).
• When ETIAS begins, a new pre-travel authorization, US citizens will need to apply for ETIAS online before going to 30 different European countries (the Schengen area and Cyprus).
• ETIAS is not a visa. It's authorization to travel.
• ETIAS is letting a country know your intent to visit, then the country giving you a greenlight.
• There isn't an all-encompassing EU visa/European visa.
• To work in Europe, American citizens need a visa. Work visas are issued country by country and the process differs for each.

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