Luxembourg is a tiny land locked country in Western Europe. It’s not typically top of many bucket lists and it doesn’t attract many foreign tourists, either. However, the country of fewer than 650,000 people is incredibly important to the past, present, and future of Europe.
As a Schengen country, you will need to apply for an ETIAS visa waiver if you want to visit this small nation. If you’re not sure what an ETIAS is or what is required during the application process, keep reading.
The European Union and the Schengen Area
When you think of the European Union (EU) and the Schengen Zone, you probably picture mighty nations like France, Spain, Italy, and Germany. They are certainly some of the area’s richest and most populous countries, but in terms of importance, Luxembourg is near the very top of the list.
Not only is it a member of the EU, but it is the seat of the Court of Justice of the European Union and is one of the four official EU capitals.
And that’s not all, because the Schengen Zone is based on an agreement that was signed in the Luxembourgish town of Schengen, which has a population of around 4,000 people and is also the point at which the borders of Germany, Luxembourg, and France meet.
Do I Need ETIAS Visa Waiver for Luxembourg?
If you reside within the EU and/or Schengen Zone, it is unlikely that you will need to complete an ETIAS visa waiver application to visit Luxembourg. The whole point of the Schengen Agreement was to abolish internal borders and promote the free movement of people between all countries within the Schengen Area.
In other words, if you reside in Germany or France, you can freely visit the small nation of Luxembourg and even the small town of Schengen!
If you live outside of these unions, then you may need an ETIAS visa waiver and that’s true even if you are in the United Kingdom.
How to Apply for a Luxembourg ETIAS
The ETIAS visa waiver application is conducted online and should take fewer than 10 minutes.
You will need to enter some basic information about your intended stay and will also be asked to provide a machine-readable passport that is valid for at least 3 months from the start of your trip.
That 3 months is very important, as the ETIAS grants you permission to enter the Schengen Area for up to 90 days within any 180 day period.
The ETIAS lasts for 3 years but it is tied to your passport and will expire before that time if your passport also expires.
If you are over the age of 18, you will be asked to pay a small fee when completing the ETIAS application. The fee is just €7 and can be paid with a credit card or debit card.
Is the ETIAS a Visa?
One of the misunderstandings about the ETIAS is that it works much like a visa, giving you free access to roam, work, and train. That’s simply not the case.
As the name suggests, it’s a visa waiver and it doesn’t hold the same power as a Schengen Visa. You can travel and even conduct business, but you can’t work and the timeframe limitations mean you can’t really go to school, either.
If you wish to do those things in Luxembourg, or anywhere else in the Schengen Zone, you will need to apply for a Schengen Visa.
Travel to Luxembourg and Other Schengen Member States
Luxembourg has a lot of beauty packed into a small space. The Historic Old Quarter is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and offers similar architectural beauty and fairy tale style to cities like Bruges, as well as numerous small towns in Austria and Germany.
In Luxembourg City, you can explore the National Museum of History and Art and surround yourself in a country that has a rich history and culture.
There are many reasons to travel to Luxembourg and lots of things to see and do when you are there. What’s more, it is ideally located in the heart of Western Europe and will give you easy access to other Schengen member states, including Germany and France.