2021 Brings a Range of Changes to Travel Visas to the EU

Travel between countries is not one of the easiest tasks and getting visa approval doesn’t make it any lighter a task for international travelers.

With differing visa requirements across the globe, the rules and regulations governing travel are ever-changing and more complex than ever.

Starting in January 2021, 60 countries including the United States and Australia will need to obtain visa authorization before being allowed to travel in the European Union.

Travelers to the 26 Schengen area countries will need to obtain permission from the European Travel Information and Authorization System (ETIAS) prior to arrival in a move that is not only bafflingly inconvenient given the prior status of visa-free travel but also an added bureaucratic requirement for foreign travelers and their governments.

In terms of the change’s implementation, the European Travel Information and Authorization System argues that these new regulations are needed in order to protect the border security of Schengen zone countries. ETIAS claims that this screening process will allow it to better locate and identify potential threats to member countries.

Travelers who have watched the news in the European Union in the past year are aware, there is an increased vigilance in member states with regards to issues of immigration and border security.

These new visa restrictions are, in part, a response to member states’ desire for greater control over their borders.

As for whether or not the free travel of the past will return in the future, the press is still out on that, but many countries are trying to bring their electronic visa systems and regulations in line with ETIAS requirements.

Luckily for most travelers, the application can be completed online and will only take a few minutes to finish. Approval, similarly, is within a short amount of time, as long as the applicant has no issues that ETIAS might flag.

Those include previous drug usage as well as any prior travel to conflict areas. Applicants will also have to supply info such as recent employment information and any past travel to the European Union Schengen zone countries.

The information provided will be checked via the International Criminal Police Organization (Interpol) and the European Union Agency for Law Enforcement Cooperation (Europol) databases prior to approval.

After approval, the ETIAS visa will be valid for three years after that date or until the applicant’s current passport expires, whichever comes first. This means that the visa holder will be allowed to stay in Schengen zone countries for up to 90 days. Longer stays or more permanent relocations, naturally, will require a different visa and application process but, for most vacation and business travelers, the 90-day visa is all that is needed.

Merkel Affirms German Commitment to Schengen Zone

Angela Merkel

The robust system of internal movement and migration rights within the Schengen zone has come under increased strain as multiple countries across the EU seek to grapple with the refugee crisis caused by turmoil in the nearby Middle East.

This comes as Turkey is about to host some 3 and a half million refugees within the country which is putting a lot of political pressure on its relationships with other EU members and the broader Schengen zone.

The Prime Minister of Croatia reaffirmed his country’s commitment to the Schengen zone as well in a press conference held alongside Merkel in Zagreb the nation’s capital. Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic discussed the issue at the European Peoples’ Party conference where the two leaders discussed the strains Turkey is facing as well as how important it is for member states to affirm their Schengen commitments.

This is particularly critical since many local politicians are grappling with the rise of right-wing parties that are largely anti-immigrant and refugee, mainly because of the perceived strains these groups place on a country’s social services and accommodation systems.

Aiding Turkey is not only a huge part of preserving Schengen but it is also part and parcel of a plan to keep that country as a vital, integral member of the zone. All of this stems from a 2016 commitment by Turkey to help staunch the flow of refugees from the war torn areas of the Middle East to the EU.

As part of this plan, some 6 billion euro in financial aid was promised to Turkey to finance refugee programs and aid as well as to help Turkey step up its efforts to prevent migrants from using the vast Aegean as a means to get into EU states.

The first tranche of these funds were disbursed to Turkey but the country claims it is still waiting on the remainder of the funds and has pointed to balance figures of some $40 million spent so far as a reason for why it is beginning to question the EU’s commitment to Schengen agreements.

To that end, German Chancellor Merkel said, “The challenges are big, we have experience with refugees and migrants, but the perspective of a country that protects its external borders is different than that of a country in the middle of Schengen. That is why I am in favor of preserving Schengen.”

For Croatian Prime Minister Plenkovic, adherence to Schengen norms is of particular importance as that country seeks to join the economic bloc. While the PM is optimistic about Croatia’s chances of admission, he cautions that he is aware that it is unlikely to happen during Croatia’s year holding the EU presidency.

“This, however, does not mean that at the operational level of working groups the Commission’s report will not be discussed… Upon its presidency, Croatia will do its best to assure its European partners that it deserves to be part of the Schengen area,” he said. Moving beyond, one of the biggest challenges the EU faces broadly is how to dea not only with these refugees locally but on a broader, Union-wide scale as numerous countries in the EU grapple with the changes wrought by these movements.