This post is intended as a place for discussions about International Travel ONLY.
For more information and previous discussions on the topic, please see International Travel 2021, International Travel 2020 and International Travel 2019.
In this International Travel 2022 post, the information is identical to the International Travel 2021 post. We added a new post for 2022 in order to keep the discussion manageable. Please help us by sticking to the topic of International Travel only.
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From 2020: We have updated our main International Travel section. It features:
- List of Schengen Nations (allowing entry to registrants);
- Resources (including a CA DOJ Travel Notification Form); and
- User Submitted Travel Reports.
This post is linked from the Main Menu at the top of the site.
1. The 26 Schengen Nations (which allow registrants to visit)
As an agreement, Schengen was signed among the five out of ten countries of the European Union members back then, on the 14th June 1985. Under the Schengen agreement, travelling from one Schengen country to another is done without any passport and immigration controls or any other formalities previously required.
Austria
Belgium
Czech republic
Denmark
Estonia
Finland
France
Germany
Greece
Hungary
Iceland
Italy
Latvia
Liechtenstein
Lithuania
Luxembourg
Malta
Netherlands
Norway
Poland
Portugal
Slovakia
Slovenia
Spain
Sweden
Switzerland
Note: US Citizens are visa exempt when visiting the Schengen area for up to 90 days in a 180 day period (List of Countries, Section B or map). The European Commission is proposing creating a European Travel Information and Authorisation System (ETIAS) for such travelers, beginning sometime in 2021 – which may or may not take criminal convictions into account. ETIAS Fact Sheet April 2018 – July 2018
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2. Resources
Forms
Publications
- RTAG Travel Matrix
- IML Dispatch (SMART Office, Feb 2016)
- ETIAS
Older Posts
- International Travel 2021 (2021)
- International Travel 2020 (2020)
- International Travel 2019 (2019)
- International Travel after IML (2016)
- International Travel – Mexico (2014)
- International Travel (2013)
Has anyone been able to successfully visit any one of the 26 Schengen Nations in 2021 or 2022? I’m looking for a place to go on vacation and want to save myself from any embarrassment. Tried going to Mexico in July 2021 and was turned away at customs and had to board the next flight back.
Also, how reliable is the Travel Matrix?
Appreciate any feedback.
Can someone please tell me, when setting up appointment with for example USPS, What do I need to bring or how do I show I am a “covered offender”. Do I write a letter and does usps have a certified stamp that goes on my letter for them to send with my DS11 application?
Apparently USPS employees that I talk to have no idea. and I sure as hell don’t want to call ICE to tip them off and flag me.
all these agency’s have no clue and ive been under the radar that I think im going to just renew my passport online and see what happens.
Hello Everyone…. I have just completed the application for criminal application to enter Canada (ACR) after submitting 70 plus documents to my Canadian lawyer. It is now going to immigration for evaluation. Upon a decision, I plan to submit a description of the five month process to ACSOL and explain why I was required to submit so many documents. I want for everyone to learn from my experience. If successful, I also plan to use the extensive ACR (an comprehensive risk assessment) as a statement of rehabilitation and one that shows I am not a threat to society. Moreover, I plan to use the document to apply to enter England, Australia (other countries) with the hope of entering into these countries. I believe if registrants follow the Criteria for ACR, they will be allowed to enter Canada. Will be back with the description soon. Matt
I hope the administrators or someone else can help me with this question.
When information is sent to Washington, Angel Watch and INTERPOL or wherever, before a registrant travels, do the authorities only inform then that an SO is planning to visit a country, or do they give details about the crime committed.
The reason I am asking this question, during my research for the application for Criminal Rehabilitation to enter Canada, I found that the authorities in New Mexico, early on in my sentencing to probation, added a charge to my record of “distribution,” (I never committed.) which appears in several local and FBI records. If the extra crime is sent to Washington, INTERPOL, and continues to be on their records when I travel, this might be detrimental for me when country immigration officers see the extra charge?
So, does anyone know if details of criminal charges are sent to Washington and INTERPOL? Thanks.
Trump aide Manafort removed from plane for revoked passport 🤣🤣🤣
https://news.yahoo.com/trump-aide-manafort-removed-plane-142453406.html
I left the US 8 months ago for long-term work. If I travel for vacation to another country from the country I work in, do I need to give 21 day notice to the US?
WRT Alaskan cruises that originate in Seattle to AK points north, I would encourage you to look into the law that was signed last year allowing cruise lines to bypass Canadian ports (temp fix A: Cruise Lines Announce Itineraries to Alaska After Legislation Allowing Ships to Avoid Canada Passes; poss perm fix B: Royal Caribbean Blog: Alaska Senator introduces bill to permanently allow cruise ships to sail to Alaska without stopping in Canada) to see how it is progressing, its applicability today, and later this year. I don’t see Canada yet relenting on their Vid response so traveling up north may be more possible then is given here today in this forum from Seattle. One would need to just know which lines would allow a person who non-volunteered to register aboard and enjoy it.
Searched using: do all alaska cruises stop in canada
So, it looks like the new passport has the endorsements page combined with the signature page, so that when you open the passport to your photo and hand it to the agent, it will be impossible not to see the “evil stamp” right there above your signature.
😶 Could someone with the newer, front page IML unique identifier on their passport post a picture of that identifier?
Please, please, please be certain to cover or crop out ALL your personal information!!
I’m just curious to see the new identifier and it’s location.🤔
Anyone with insight on travel to India? Matrix says yes to SO denied entry. I am not sure if that means some or all. Does this Angel Watch send notifications for everything? Single conviction of 314.1, 22 years ago.
Anyone with a marked passport know how long their passport is valid for. I read that is only for 1 year. Can anyone confirm if that’s true or if its the normal 10 years.
Thanks
If and when a passport is revoked because the endorsement/stamp is not present, the State Dept supposedly sends a letter informing the passport holder that it has been revoked. I like many others move about once a year and am about to move out of my current address before a big international trip. Where is this letter sent to – the address on file when the passport was applied for? How can I keep this address up to date?
I just visited a good friend who like me, has a past crime with a minor. He is married to a woman from Brazil who doesn’t speak good English and has trouble grasping the complexities of our international travel challenges. She keeps bugging him (and me when I was with them) to plan a trip with her to her home country of Brazil, but as far as I can tell from the matrix, travel to Brazil for us is impossible. Does anyone have direct knowledge of any possibilities of travel to Brazil?
Now that I’m looking into it I see that Brazil passed a law in 2014 officially banning those convicted of a sex offense involving a minor so I guess Brazil is more in line with the UK, Canada and some others.
I’m definitely concerned that it’s going to be a real challenge to get a European ETIAS (visa/not-visa) with a big f’ing S.O. notice on the face page of one’s passport. 😒☹️
ETIAS will be required beginning January 2023.
I am currently living overseas. I will be visiting the U.S. for a few weeks and I want to know if I will have to give a 21 day notice to US Marshall office if I am not a resident in any state.
An update on my international travels
Hi Everyone … There is a passport/COVID holder that you slip your passport in on one side and your COVID vaccine card on the other. I haven’t bought one yet, but heck it’s worth a try?!? Hope you can access it below. If you can’t it is called the Tigard Passport Vaccine protector.
Does anybody have any info on travelling to Sint Maarten as 290? I look at the travel Matrix and it said No and Yes so I am confused.
Just checked on the status of my passport and it has shipped. It will be here saturday. I requested the unique identifier and we’ll see what shows up.Just an fyi I requested expedited shipping and it took nearly 8 weeks to get it. Can anyone provide a link for the 21 day travel form? Thanks
Received my shiny new passport with the stamp of shame. With it came a letter from Angel Watch saying they identified me as a covered individual on megan’s law. Like I didn’t know. The stamp is small above the picture and not so noticeable and not really in the line of sight someone would be focusing on. My plan is too either use a odd colored pen to sign it and draw attention to that.
Hi Everyone,
I have been reading through the travel information on this site off and on for a couple years now but this is the first time I am posting. My husband was convicted of a sex offense almost 40 years a go. We have contemplated traveling internationally but I have always shied away from it because of all the unknowns. I finally bit the bullet and booked a closed-loop Princess cruise from San Francisco going to Alaska but still have lots of questions and hope to get some answers while we are still within the cancellation period.
I have not contacted any government agencies with my questions yet but am considering doing so. I realize that the comments I may receive here can’t substitute for the advice they will offer or perhaps that of an attorney but it seems as if some of you have more knowledge of this whole system than those who are supposed to enforce it. It would be especially helpful if anyone has been in the same situation or if you are able to offer specific information I can read and research for myself.
My husband and I live in California. Although his offense is from the early 1980’s, did not involve a minor and has been the only conviction for such a crime, he unfortunately cannot get off of the registry at this time. We hoped and prayed that he would be able to when we first heard about the possibility of a tiered registry but unfortunately the bill was revised and as far as we can tell he is stuck in the lifetime registration category.
Some of my main concerns relate to the travel notification. The last stop of our 10-day cruise is in Canada. My husband does not plan to get off the ship but by being in Canadian waters I assume the trip could be considered international thereby triggering the requirement to notify our local authorities. I was hoping someone might be able to offer insight as to whether that assumption is correct. And, if so, would we need to notify them 21 days before leaving on the cruise or 21 days before we would arrive in Canada since all travel before then would be within the US? I have also seen mention here that the travel notification requirement is limited to those whose crimes involved a minor but I haven’t seen anything that I could hang my hat on legally to make me feel comfortable not making the notification. Any information or personal experiences in this regard would be much appreciated. I don’t want my husband to be interrogated when we arrive but he said he is ok with it and, as mentioned, he plans to stay on the ship anyway but if there is a possibility that he could be hauled off the ship I would rather not go. Also, California is not SORNA complaint as it relates to travel notifications from what I have read so is there any chance they wouldn’t forward the information on if we did submit it? I’d honestly rather no one know about this if at all possible.
We do not currently have passports and don’t plan to obtain them since the cruise is closed-loop and from everything I have read and been told they are not required. I do not believe his passport would include the unique identifier since his crime did not involve a minor and therefore he would not be considered a covered sex offender. However, if and when we do get them I am concerned that there could be a mix-up and that it might be included. The way the laws were written in the 80’s say the crime was committed by force or fear OR with someone under the age of 14. This phrasing has caused issue on more than one occasion so I have no faith that it might not be misinterpreted again. Has anyone else had any experience with something like this or heard of anyone receiving a passport with the identifier that shoulnd’t have had it?
Thanks in advance for reading my long post and responding. As the name states, I am a bonafide worrywart and just want to make sure I cross all my T’s and dot all my I’s before we get too excited about going.
I hope you all have a great day!
I have another quick question. I was reading through last year’s travel pages and came across a comment that I don’t understand. Can someone please explain what @Dave meant when he said that since he was convicted prior to 2012 he didn’t have to divulge where he was going?
Dave
October 11, 2021 12:54 am
“UKRAINE is 100% OPEN for travel. I bought my tickets, told the Pennsylvania State Police I was leaving and going to Ukraine. They asked where but because I was convicted prior to 2012, I said none of your — business (literally).”
Just got back from Rome 3 weeks ago, no problems
Ok, so wife’s friends want to do a cruise in 2022. They know my situation. I am waiting for my tier designation in CA but been registering since 2009. I DO have 1203.4 removal.
So, the plan was to leave out of Miami on a closed loop so I can use my birth certificate and Drivers License (not Real ID yet). I would stay on the ship for the stops that required passport and only get off at places (St Thomas, San Juan, Bahamas, Haiti (RC’s private island)) that allowed driver’s licenses.
I was reading old posts that Royal Caribbean will stop registered but is that due to Passports (mine expired), or how else will they look it up (or has it changed)? Does 1203.4 help? If it HASN’T changed, any other cruise lines not as bad?
Thanks for any information.
I just filled out my 21 day travel form. Why does it feel like I’m writing a note to my kindergarten teacher explaining why I need to leave early.This is so ridiculous.