By Julie Segraves
If you are planning to travel to a European Union member country for three months or less as a U.S. citizen, you do not need a visa. However, you must have a passport. European countries which are not members of the European Union all have their own travel requirements. The Schengen countries, named after the Schengen Agreement of 1995, also do not require U.S. citizens to have a visa if traveling as a tourist for 90 days or less. There are 28 countries that honor the Schengen visa.
Eastern Europe
Of the 14 countries in Eastern Europe, only three are members of the European Union. Of the remaining countries in Eastern Europe, only Belarus requires a visa of U.S. citizens. The rest require no visa if you are staying 90 days or less.
Balkans
Of the10 Balkan countries in Europe, the only country that requires U.S. citizens to have a visa is Turkey.
Former Soviet countries
Of the15 countries formerly in the Soviet Union, visas are required for U.S. citizens in Armenia, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan.
About the Author:
Julie Segraves is a freelance writer and photographer. She has written for several community newspapers in Chicago and authors her own blog. Segraves graduated from Loyola University with a Bachelor's in sociology and a minor in criminal justice. She currently works in the IT field as a mainframe operations analyst and disaster recovery specialist.
