How the EU’s Travel Ban on U.S. Travelers Affects Visa Holders

On July 1, the European Union started allowing travelers from certain countries to enter the EU. However, there are some countries whose residents will not be able to travel to EU countries. The restricted ones are Russia, India, Brazil, and the United States. But why are U.S. travelers banned from entering the EU, and how long will this take? Read all about it below.

Why Is the European Union Banning Travelers from the U.S.?

Although several countries are now allowed to travel to the EU, the United States is not one of them. For now, the United States will have to wait until they can allow their residents to travel to the EU. The U.S. itself had to bar most travelers from countries from Europe too.

Basically, it was decided that only the countries with similar or better cases than the EU will be allowed to travel. When it comes to the epidemiological situation, the countries need to be in good shape if they want to visit one of the EU countries with open borders. In other news, the current trends and infection rates are taken into consideration.

When the EU made a list of countries that will be able to travel, the U.S. was refused due to its situation. COVID-19 cases are still rising, and at the start of June, there was quite a boost in the number of infected people.

When making the list, the European Council ambassadors saw that compared to the previous record from April 24, respectively 36,291 cases, on June 26 the U.S. had 39,972 new cases. This is worrying and it would be too risky to allow U.S. people to go to Europe. When you think about it, the EU has about 116 million more people compared to the U.S., yet the number of cases is much lower compared to the U.S. The latter has 2.6 million reported cases, whereas Europe has about 1.5 million cases.

The list of countries allowed to enter the EU will be revised once every two weeks, but for now, the U.S. will have to remain excluded. All countries that are in bad shape regarding the coronavirus will be restricted from traveling to the EU’s open-border countries.

It’s hard to say how long the U.S. will have to be restricted for considering its current situation. The U.S. has a lot of cases and according to the head of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the official tally is undercounted. There could be over 20 million Americans who got infected.

“Our best estimate right now is that for every case that was reported, there actually were 10 other infections,” said Dr. Robert Redfield, director of CDC.

Are There Exemptions to the Travel Ban?

Although people from the U.S. will not be allowed to travel to EU countries soon, there are a few exemptions to the travel ban. Some special categories of people will not be stopped by the travel ban, so they can either visit the countries with open-borders or return home, depending on their situation.

Who Will Be Able to Travel to the EU from the U.S.

Students and skilled workers from banned countries are allowed to enter certain EU countries. In this case, the same might happen with the U.S. Overall, U.S. people will not be able to see the EU soon, but some will be luckier and have the chance to visit the old continent.

Long-term EU residents with their family members, as well as EU citizens with their family members are exempt from the travel ban. The same goes if there are travelers that have essential needs or functions.

The last point could be widely interpreted by every country in the EU, and thus the countries are being urged to allow students and skilled workers to enter. As such, people under these categories may be able to travel in certain parts of the EU soon – particularly skilled workers.

Where Can Exempt Travelers Go?

Starting from July 1, exempt travelers will have the chance to travel to multiple countries of the EU.

The countries that allow exempt travelers to enter are:

• Albania
• Austria
• Belgium
• Bosnia and Herzegovina
• Bulgaria
• Croatia
• Cyprus
• Czech Republic
• Denmark
• Estonia
• Finland
• France
• Germany
• Greece
• Hungary
• Iceland
• Ireland
• Italy
• Latvia
• Lithuania
• Luxembourg
• Malta
• Montenegro
• The Netherlands
• Norway
• Poland
• Portugal
• Romania
• Russia
• Serbia
• Slovakia
• Slovenia
• Spain
• Switzerland
• Turkey
• United Kingdom

When Will Regular Travel to the EU Resume?

Considering there were 4.7 million Americans who traveled to Europe in March, April, and May of 2019, people are wondering when regular travel is going to return. It’s not sure when things are going to return to normal, so all we can do for now is wait and see how things are progressing.

Mike Pompeo, the U.S. Secretary of State, was asked something about the possible U.S. exclusion. According to him, there are currently ongoing discussions about the matter, as they are trying to find solutions so that people can be safe.

“I am confident that we will find a set of conditions that create sufficient health and safety protections and still allow travel,” he said.

The hospitality and travel industries are already in a bad financial spot, and not having any U.S. tourists in the months to come will make things even worse. With how many traveled to the EU last year, the situation was ideal, but now they seem to be collapsing.

Due to the pandemic, traveling is a rocky topic, because you never know how things are going to evolve. Although in some places the cases have started to decrease, many people are scared of a potential second wave if people start relaxing too much.

Furthermore, aside from the already existing fears, there are also tensions between the U.S. and the EU. It all started with President Donald Trump announcing that 26 European countries will be under a travel ban, except for the U.K., in the middle of March. According to the EU officials, they were not announced about the ban, and not long after, the EU itself started closing its borders.

Which Countries Are the EU Accepting Travelers From?

Based on the data reliability, a certain number of countries were allowed to travel to the EU. These countries have lower infection rates, and thus are less of a risk to EU citizens. These are the countries that would be allowed to visit the EU:

• Australia
• Algeria
• Canada
• Georgia
• Montenegro
• Japan
• San Marino
• Serbia
• New Zealand
• Vatican City
• Thailand
• Uruguay
• Rwanda
• South Korea
• Tunisia

Conclusion

The U.S. will have to wait for the day it will finally be able to allow its people to go to the EU, as the EU is currently not accepting U.S. travelers to enter its open-border countries. The U.S. has a very high COVID-19 infection rate, which would only put people at risk. Things are getting better in the EU so accepting U.S. travelers could easily ruin that. Certain categories of people may be able to travel, but these are rarer cases.

For now, some countries will be allowed to visit the EU, which is great. Shortly, there will be more countries allowed to visit and even the U.S. will be allowed to travel at one point when things get better.

Frank Gogol

I’m a firm believer that information is the key to financial freedom. On the Stilt Blog, I write about the complex topics — like finance, immigration, and technology — to help immigrants make the most of their lives in the U.S. Our content and brand have been featured in Forbes, TechCrunch, VentureBeat, and more.

See author's posts