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 2022, International Travel 2021, International Travel 2020 and International Travel 2019.
In this International Travel 2023 post, the information is identical to the International Travel 2022 post. We added a new post for 2023 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 activation of the European Travel Information and Authorisation System (ETIAS) for such travelers, beginning sometime in 2023 – 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 2022 (2022)
- International Travel 2021 (2021)
- International Travel 2020 (2020)
- International Travel 2019 (2019)
- International Travel after IML (2016)
- International Travel – Mexico (2014)
- International Travel 2013 (2013)
Want to visit a a European / Schengen Agreement country?
Don’t be a dick! 😆
Serbian Actor Banned From Entering Schengen Area Following Multiple Offences in Croatia – SchengenVisaInfo.com
I have just been handed the judges signed aproval to be removed from the regstry. How long does it take to to actualy show the change the change on the registry, and will i need to do a 21 day when i travel and will I still be banned from entry into international countryies, also will i be on any other registries?
Hi all,
We are about to travel around France, Belgium, and Netherlands. Question: when you are driving across a Schengen country border, i.e. Belgium into Netherlands, are there custom stops at the “border” into the new country? I understand the customs at the airports, etc, just don’t know the procedures country to country within Europe if you’re driving. Thanks in advance.
DR
🥱 ETIAS… May 2025…🥱 …. delayed again.😵💫
No, ETIAS Won’t Become Operational in 2024, EU Sources Say – SchengenVisaInfo.com
I am no longer required to register in California, the state i committed my offense in, never commited any other crime. I have the signed order from the Judge granting my Patition to not have to register. My question is , Does being off the registry mean that i dont need to register in any other state or Just California?
If you arre no longer required to register as a 290, does it meant your face is no longer posted along with adress infoon the registry? and is there more than one registry?
I am no longer required to register in California, the state i committed my offense in, never commited any other crime. I have the signed order from the Judge granting my Patition to not have to register. My question is , Does being off the registry mean that i dont need to register in any other state or Just California?
Hello,
I am interested in visiting Hong Kong. I an a tier ONE sex offender and still have 5 years on the “list”. I emailed Hong Kong Immigration and got a “canned” response. It follows.
However, they must satisfy the immigration officer on arrival that they meet with the normal immigration requirements and qualify for entry as bona fide visitors, including possession of adequate funds to cover the duration of stay, the genuineness of the purpose of visit not in doubt, no known criminal or adverse records, etc. before permission to land in Hong Kong may be given. Each case will be considered and determined on its individual merits.
Your updated travel matrix list shows Hong Kong as safe to travel to and be permitted. However, this response tells me that I may be denied entry. (Seems it will depend on the individual reviewing my entry request?)
Has anyone recently traveled to Hong Kong? Is there anyone that has recently traveled internationally successfully? As many have stated, it is a huge waste of money and time to attempt travel 20 plus hours from home, only to be told to return home.
Has anyone had any luck getting into the Philippines lately not flying from USA?
Well all, I wanted to post here. I had asked about China or Italy travel a few months ago. I did try for a 10 year Chinese visa in order to be able to visit my wife’s family and friends and was denied. We have an attorney in Beijing that says they feel good about an appeal of the decision….I am not very confident in that but going to try anyway….this will take several more weeks.
Doing due diligence here and other blogs we have picked Italy as our destination. We will be there starting Tuesday and stay a couple of weeks. My 21 day notice my registration officer said I needed a “travel pass”. I have long been off paper. So I turned in all info and was given a copy of the form they send to the US Marshals office – National Sex Offender Targeting Center”. Fun stuff.
Anyway, I appreciate the feedback on personal experience in Italy on here….and I will do the same upon my return. Hoping not to be turned back…I don’t think I will…but will not breathe a sigh of relief until through the passport station. I fully expect the secondary check upon my return.
Wish me luck…we have a great trip planned.
I plead guilty to a low level state felony charge last month. My sentence is 6 months of home detention, but the good time credit is 1:1 apparently so I’ll only be serving 3 actual months on home detention. After that, I will be on supervised probation for an additional 12 months. The charge does not require registering in my state, but should according to SORNA and would if I relocate to most other states… and will even make traveling to other states tricky in most cases I think (looking at you FL).
What I’m wondering now though is how this might impact travel to certain countries. I’m a big fan of Japan and SE Asia specifically.
As long as I stay off of any state registries, which I should, what does a low level felony mean for entering Japan for example?
If not able to enter Japan once off of probation, I believe in 5 years I can petition the court to convert this felony to a misdemeanor. In 8 years, I can petition to have it expunged. Would either converting to a misdemeanor or having it expunged help? Or might I be ok even with the felony record since no prison time?
My Family is asking if I can take a cruise to Bermuda… I know it’s a British colony but it’s primarily self-governing territory. The travel matrix has it marked as a no go, but I am curious if anyone has taken a cruise there successfully within the last few years? Any input is greatly appreciated!
Hi all,
My wife and I just returned from a two-week vacation in Europe. Previously on this travel thread, I ask many questions prior to leaving. and everyone’s responses were extremely helpful. I think I went into this very prepared and help calm some my nerves, as I have not traveled to Europe in over 23 years.
Overall everything went very smoothly. No problems leaving the country, presenting my passport in New York, and only a few minutes in the secondary customs office, upon returning where a very kind customs officer asked me a few questions, where I work, last four digits of my social, he wrote some things down, handed me back my passport and said have a good night.
And, of course, the two weeks we spent in Europe were terrific, and no problems at all there.
The one thing I do want to share that was surprising to me, was the amount of nervousness and anxiety I experienced leading up to our departure. I know for the weeks leading up to it, I was pretty anxious and increasingly, thinking about how everything was going to go and difficult to quiet my mind. I was spending a lot of terrible scenarios about being stopped in question, etc. I’m sure very common fights for everybody here.
i really wasn’t prepared for the physical experience, the fear and adrenaline that overcame it in the day or so leading up to going to the airport. And the departure itself was a bit surreal, my wife said I’m probably re-experiencing some trauma from everything that I’ve gone through over the past 12 years. Makes a lot of sense to me. As soon as the U.S. customs agent at the airport handed me back my passport, and we walked to the gate, all of the anxieties vanished.
I know very well, that this whole experience will be very down the road, I can’t count on everybody being kind and understanding. But I’m happy that this time around everything went smoothly. I wish everybody else similar smooth sailing in your international travels.
Best,
DR
updates with hong kong are they linked to us data base like colombia, mexico and other countries.. found out first hand with colombia.. then that screwed me with peru its liked to mexico and colombia so peru denied to me after colombia..
anyway the question for the group im in asia and next year will fly back to visit family.. the best and cheapest route is a layover in taiwan.. but it worries me because years ago on this page i believe i read about a guy living in thailand that would fly home and one year had issues with layover in south korea.. which i belived is linked to us and i will never visit.. have any of you guys flew through taiwan.
Since California was granted an injunction on Sorna compliance as someone who is still on the registry in California and required to register every year do they need to still complete the 21 day travel notice to travel to Europe, in other words does the injunction that was approved by a Judge apply to only those not on the registry or does it apply to everyone whether you’re on the registry or not. Below I attached the article that stated the law but it is still confusing.
This is the Courts decision…..
“Bernal therefore issued a preliminary injunction that bars the Justice Department from prosecuting a California resident under 18 USC 2250 unless it has first verified that “the individual was required to register under California law” or that the state “allows the individual to furnish” information required by SORNA. “With this order,” the PLF notes, “the DOJ’s SORNA rule is now unenforceable in California and could be vacated nationwide in the judge’s final decision.”
This is Janice’s journal….
“Today’s decision does not change in any way the Preliminary Injunction granted by the court that protects all registrants in California from the SORNA regulations. The injunction, however, does not apply to registrants who reside outside of that state.”
WTF!!?? 😡
‘Just returned from Paris to LAX and, once again, right this moment, sitting in secondary Customs AGAIN.
I’ve been removed from both Florida’s and California’s Registries.
I no longer submit a 21-day Advance Travel Notification.
But still sent to secondary. This time, the excuse was that they needed to verify my passport card. In other words: Bullshit. 😡
Hello, reading some of these stories can be very discouraging, but also helpful.
Since I was released from the system, I have traveled to a lot of countries a lot of the stress that comes with the stupid notification, almost being denied entry into Spain (DO NOT FLY DIRECTLY INTO Spain -if you are required to notify!). I have an app called Places Been, I have entered all the countries and now up to 21 one (several before I fd up my life), luckily I have been to China, Vietnam, Australia, England and NZ which I may never go back to again, sadly. Anyways, the app said that I have only been to 8.82% of the world – think about that, only 9% of the world and 21 countries.
Point is, there are a lot of countries that will not allow RSOs to enter, but there is a LOT more out there that will or that we don’t know about, maybe never heard of. Open your mind about where you want to travel too – it may not be the most popular, or dream location, but it might even be better! Do your research on that country of what they require to enter – Spain tried (they lied) to use that I didn’t have enough cash, reservations etc – things they use to keep people from immigrating there, which I overcame with an attorney, but learned to READ entry requirements, don’t give them any excuse to deny you. Fly into a country you know you can get into and a seperate flight to the next in case you are denied and they send you back to that location, not the US.
There are 238 countries on this planet, I bet it is less than 10% that deny entry, gives you 90% of new choices!
A side note, The Travel Matrix is outdated and they person who runs it I am not sure if he is still around or not – if anyone knows his status, please let me know I have reached out to him many times with no response. It is still a good guideline for those that deny for sure, those it says no, don’t count on it 100%. Calling that country’s embassy, better to get it in writing in an email, even if you get a visa, you can still be denied so don’t count on that.
It is really easy to play the victim here, there are consequences of the choices we made, but I suggest looking at what we CAN do not focus and complain about what we can’t.
I appreciate those who attended the Travel Breakout Session at the just ended ACSOL 2023 Conference.
For those who didn’t get the handout regarding Angel Watch and the international country travel list, you can email me at mikegriffiths123 at gmail.com and I’ll send you a copy.
Check out my new video about an update on my travel plans.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VXSSNp6omJ8
I had a different experience coming back from 2 months in Europe.
Went through very crowded passport control in Chicago.
Than did not go through secondary.
In and out through Amsterdam.
{On registry. 21 day notice (very detailed).
Also, no hassles flying into Portugal out of Spain, and Into France out of Portugal.}
Well, I just got the dreaded notice by email that my passport has been revoked as I do not have the dreaded marker in it. I am in another country and I just finalized a 15 month visa last month that will allow me to stay here, but now my passport has been revoked. What should I do? Should I visit the US consulate in the country I am living in and request a new passport? If I do that, will they tell Thailand immigration about me. I guess I have no choice, but to pay again and get the passport with the mark in it, but I don’t know how that will affect my current visa and my ability to successfully live here going forward. So many places require that I show my passport. Staying in a hotel, riding a train, bus, or airplane in the country all require an examination of the passport. I hope my days aren’t already numbered here. Any advice is appreciated.
This is directed at anyone who lives out of the US. Thank you, in advance, for your knowledge. I am moving to Europe, as a citizen, US dual, in March after retiring last month. I still plan to come visit the US to see family. Does CBP ask why you are not “registered” anywhere when you come visit? I would only stay in any state up to its daily limit, so would never be out of compliance. Since I’ve only lived and registered in CA, 27 years, I would not show up as registered anywhere upon my return. How is this handled and does it cause issues at CBP?
I posted this same question for approval yesterday but it never appeared. I’ll ask a slightly different version of the question. I just received the dreaded passport revocation email from the State Dept. I’ve only had my passport for about 1.5 years and I have taken two international trips with it, both involving multiple stops. Each time I departed the US, I gave my 21 day notice. I am currently on my second trip, an open ended one that I don’t have any plans to end. Just last month I secured a 15 month visa to stay long term, but I have to check in every 90 days. Since I am not in the US and I don’t plan to be any time soon, I am wondering what my best options are.
I can do a few different things. I can just plan to avoid using my passport for the next year and then send it in with a request for a new one with the red mark in it, but I’m not sure how my visa check ins will go. do they actually validate the passport against a US database?
The other option is to try to get a new passport right away either through the US consulate where I am living or by mailing it to the US with the same request.
Either way, I am worried about my current visa. I’m also worried about having to show my passport anywhere. Obviously, border crossings require a passport, but also travel by train and bus involves a passport check, although I think they just document the number.
Will the US consulate inform the country here about my conviction and try to get me removed? Now I am getting worried.
I have a domestic flight here in country planned for the end of the month. Do the airlines or security scan my passport in such a way that they could see that it is now revoked. Maybe I should just eat the cost of the ticket and take a 12 hour bus instead. Any advice is appreciated. Thanks
A couple of updates;
I returned from the United States to Spain on a direct flight JFK to Madrid nonstop. Absolutely no questions asked whatsoever.
I was in the United States over the summer and I applied for the TSA pre-check for the known traveler number. It took the full 60 days, but today I received my KTN approval and the corresponding letter from TSA.
Last weekend I flew on a direct flight from Zaragoza Spain to London Stansted on Ryanair. I had already been back in Spain for a month before booking this trip to the UK. I presented my passport and I was allowed in no questions asked. I have another trip planned for this coming weekend flying direct from Barcelona to London and I will report if there are any negatives with that trip.
My registration requirement ended July 31, 2023. For anybody who did not know previously from my other post I was a level 1 in New York State.
It took about five weeks for the FBI records to update that I was no longer required or register, it actually might have updated sooner, but when I pulled an FBI background check five weeks after the end of my registration, the requirement no longer appeared with them.
any additional changes and I will post positive or negative anything that I find out
So, this is very fxxxxxg interesting!:
“7. International notification on a sex offender only continues for the length of time the offender is required to register domestically.”
That’s on an IML “Fact Sheet” on New Jersey Republican U.S. Representative Chris Smith’s website.
We now know this to be a lie.
https://ecpat.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/Smith-Chris-%E2%80%93-Member-of-Congress-of-the-USA.pdf