Americans May Soon Need a Visa for Travel to Europe

If a trip to Rome or Paris is in your future, be prepared: The European Union Parliament is calling for an end to visa-free travel for Americans.

EU lawmakers passed a nonbinding resolution urging the EU Commission to impose visas on U.S. citizens traveling into the 28-nation bloc.

The dispute centers on reciprocal treatment of travelers from EU nations and the United States. While Americans have been able to travel throughout EU member nations without a visa, the U.S. still requires citizens of five EU countries — Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Poland and Romania — to apply for entry visas when visiting the U.S., Reuters reports. Citizens of the other 23 EU member nations can use the U.S. visa waiver program to enter America.

The EU lawmakers are calling for equal treatment for all EU citizens, says Reuters. They’ve given the EU Commission two months to respond.

The trans-Atlantic visa dispute first came to light in April 2014, according to an EU Parliament news release. At that time, five countries — Australia, Brunei, Canada, Japan and the U.S. — required visas for some EU citizens.

Since then, Australia, Brunei and Japan have lifted their visa requirements for all EU citizens. Canada, which currently imposes visa requirements on Bulgarian and Romanian citizens, plans to follow suit in December, leaving just the United States at odds with the issue of reciprocity of visa-free travel with the EU.

The EU says if a visa requirement for Americans is introduced, it would be temporary, according to a story in Money, which did not give a time frame.

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What do you think about the EU’s retaliatory visa move? Share your thoughts below or on Facebook.