Where Can Americans Travel in Europe?
In this article
The European Union (EU) and the Schengen area
are concerned with providing the best care for their citizens, which includes
protecting their citizens and landmass from disease outbreaks like the Covid-19.
Restrictions have been placed on countries with high rates of Covid-19 outbreak.
The EU has a list of safe countries from which they allow visitors. Recently,
the United States was removed from the list due to rising cases of the Covid-19
virus within its borders. The restriction is expected to be raised as soon as the
cases begin to drop in the United States.
ETIAS is the European Travel Information and Authorization System
and is expected to be in action in 2022. A visa waiver program allows visitors to
travel within the ETIAS EU countries
without restrictions.
Restrictions on Americans from entering Europe
Can Americans Travel to Europe? Yes, for sure, Americans can travel to Europe.
However, different countries in the United States could potentially face different
restrictions in Europe. The EU, which has some member countries as part of the
ETIAS program, has advised its member countries to impose restrictions on
visitors from the United States.
Due to the increasing number of Covid-19 cases within the United States, European
countries are expected to place restrictions on visitors from the United States.
Depending on the country of departure in the United States, visitors may be subject
to quarantine or PCR tests upon arrival. The restrictions, however, do not affect
fully vaccinated Americans. This means that Americans who have received a European
Union-approved full course of the Covid-19 vaccine can travel within many states
of Europe without restrictions.
Can unvaccinated Americans Travel to Europe?
Can Americans travel to Europe without full vaccination you may ask? Unvaccinated
Americans can travel to Europe only for essential duties, which the visitor must
prove. If the visitor can prove it is an essential visit, they must abide by the
rules and regulations concerning PCR testing and quarantine.
The European Union only advised its member states to reduce unvaccinated Americans'
visits to their state to only essential travels. Member states can decide to
permit unvaccinated Americans into their borders.
What European countries can unvaccinated Americans visit?
Following the European Union's advice, many European countries are beginning to
place restrictions on visitors from the United States into their borders. Each
member state of the EU has its entry requirements. These requirements should be
checked by intending American visitors to Europe before filling out their
ETIAS online application.
Serbia and The United Kingdom currently allow unvaccinated visitors from America
into their border. On entry into their borders, the visitors are required to be
tested. The UK and Serbia are not members of the European Union.
What exceptions exist to the restriction rule?
The EU advised restrictions on unvaccinated Americans to prevent the spread of
the virus within its borders. There are a few exceptions to this rule.
Americans who can prove they are traveling for urgent reasons are fully vaccinated.
Those coming in from a safe country within the United States are permitted to enter
into Europe, provided they have not been in a high-risk country two weeks before
the date of arrival.
Long-term visa holders, healthcare professionals, diplomats, US citizens with
permanent residency, agricultural workers, and travelers stopping over in Europe
on their way to a third country are exempted from the rule.
When can Americans visit Europe again?
Individual states in Europe set the rules for entry into their borders. However,
for the European Union to mark a country as safe, it should meet these requirements:
- The country must have Covid-19 data lower than or equal to the rate beingexperienced in the EU for at least two weeks.
- The country must have credible data for contact tracing, reporting, treatment,surveillance, containment, and testing of Covid-19 cases. These data must be termed as satisfactory by the European Union.
- The country must have decreased or stable fresh cases of the virus outbreak.
Countries that fulfill these requirements can be added to the European Union's safe list.
Effect of ETIAS on public health
ETIAS stands for European Travel Information and Authorization System. It is a visa
waiver system that applies to business and tourism travel needs.
The ETIAS application takes into consideration the public health status of the
European countries, and as such, when filling the ETIAS application, information on
health conditions would be required. It is all in a bid to secure the health of
nationals, visitors, and residents at large.
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