New requirements are on the horizon for travelers with a U.S. passport looking to get to Europe.
The European Union continues to plan the rollout of new travel document requirements through its European Travel Information and Authorization System (ETIAS). It would require travelers with U.S. passports to fill out an online visa application before being granted entry into the EU.
“It won’t be complicated, it’s just an annoyance,” said CBS News Travel Editor Peter Greenberg. “Most Americans, in fact, all Americans, are not used to doing this to go to Europe so there’s going to be lots of surprises at boarding gates with people being denied boarding over the first couple of weeks, if this goes into effect.”
Greenberg was quick to point out this new system is not a done deal. Currently slated to roll out in January of 2024, the idea has been delayed before and is expected to be delayed again.
✈️ Greetings fellow travelers! ✈️ Please note that Europe’s ETIAS (not-a-)Visa program has been delayed repeatedly and will likely not begin until late 2024.
Here is additional information you may find helpful:
What to Know About Europe’s 2024 ETIAS Entry Program
New Border Checks Delayed Until 2024, Likely After Paris Olympics
3-year delayed ETIAS will NOT ask for health information or biometrics
✈️ Happy & safe travels, all! ✈️
I read the complete article. I can guess what those “security questions” on the visa application will be about. No doubt they won’t members of our peculiar fraternity visiting. It’s a good thing that I’ve done most of all the international traveling I intend doing in my lifetime, before I got onto the registry, although I wouldn’t mind driving to Alaska some day although that is now a pipe dream at this point.
I take it that this does not cover Scotland and the UK.
Here is a helpful from”Lifehacker”:
You’ll Need a ‘Visa’ for Europe Soon
This article, like much “journalism” these days, is misinformed. ETIAS is a pre-travel authorization system precisely for citizens of countries which have visa-free travel to the EU, such as the US.
It will likely cause headaches for some registrants whose offenses are less than 10 years old (which also does not result in automatic denial, but rather triggers human review – a “flag” in the parlance of the law), but I am getting very tired of the misinformation surrounding this topic.
Here is the actual legal document.
See article 17 4(a) and annex entry 4.
✈️ Hello all! I hope this article will be helpful to future travelers:
Will American tourists need to pay for a visa to visit France?
(P. S.: The Local France is a great source of news & information about France. They also have a fantastic podcast! [“The Local” also has websites for other European countries.])
More about ETIAS from NPR:
What to know about the ETIAS requirements
🇪🇺
I just had the expensive, humiliating, and very depressing experience of being denied entry at the Spanish border as a result of the US’s Int’l Megan’s Law Alert.
What confuses me is that I thought I did everything right–
I called the Spanish Consulate before hand; they confirmed that a prior sex offense is not an absolute bar to entry into Spain, though they advised that everyone is case-by-case (what else could they say in a general statement.)
I reviewed all the online blogs and matrixes, which confirmed that Spain was an open country.
There was no indication that I would spend the first full day of my vacation in a Spanish holding cell awaiting a return flight home.
The other “curious” thing is that the Spanish officials who turned me away were super apologetic, and they claimed that the US was “instructing Spain” turn me away. They said I was welcome to return once I get the US to remove the alert they put on my passport.
Does anyone have similar (or opposite) experiences?
This trip cost me my entire year’s worth of days off, thousands of dollars in flights and hotel reservations, and left my friend alone on the trip we had planned together for nearly the last year (he’s not a registered person so he was admitted).
How can I ever even attempt to travel anywhere abroad again without understanding exactly what the US has put in my file? It’s too expensive and burdensome to just get on a plane and hope for the best.
The Spanish police told me that they allow in tourists who have the IML stamp in their passport; so apparently, DHS/Customs/Angel Watch also transmitted an extra “alert” of some sort– with absolutely zero cause (because this was a legit tourism trip), I am not under any investigations, and I am off all legal restrictions. I prereported my trip to the registry as required, without incident.
I don’t know if this is something personal to me; if it is limited to this one occassion (maybe some bureaucrat got overeager or pushed the wrong button??); or if this is a new across-the-board policy of Angel Watch to try to ban our travel without leaving their finger prints on it. “Hey, it’s not our fault that Spain elected to deny your entry!” (even though we basically tagged you like a terrorist.)
Lastly, anyone know of any lawyers with expertise in this specific niche area of the law? Thanks.