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 2024, International Travel 2023, International Travel 2022, International Travel 2021, International Travel 2020 and International Travel 2019.
In this International Travel 2025 post, the information is identical to the International Travel 2024 post. We added a new post for 2025 in order to keep the discussion manageable. Please help us by sticking to the topic of International Travel only.
List of resources shown below:
- List of countries that allow sex offenders to visit
- List of 26 European Union 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.
List of countries that allow sex offenders to visit
rentingtofelons.com list of countries (unverified)
registranttag.org list of countries (unverified)
The 26 European Union 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 Authorization System (ETIAS) for such travelers, beginning sometime in 2025 – which may or may not take criminal convictions into account. ETIAS Fact Sheet April 2018 – July 2018 – update Nov-2024
Resources
Forms
- California Notification of Intended International Travel (CA DOJ – Form – 2016) – Submit this at least 21 days in advance
Publications
- RTAG Travel Matrix
- IML Dispatch (SMART Office, Feb 2016)
- ETIAS
Older Posts
- International Travel 2024 (2024)
- International Travel 2023 (2023)
- 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)
Asking again about any effects of the recent immigration crackdown on registered people…
With the increased scrutiny being given to all sorts of non-citizens crossing the borders into the US, has anyone on the registry noticed longer-than-usual wait times for processing in secondary?
It usually takes me 15-20 minutes for them to stare at their computer screen and then return my passport. Has this gotten worse recently?
I hope this article is helpful to my fellow international travelers.
It provides guidance on how to protect your electronics at US borders (think: “secondary” 😮💨):
What are your rights if border authorities ask for your phone?:NPR
To add to the NPR and HuffPo articles of late that have been submitted on the topic of phone searches upon returning to the USA:
What To Do If Border Police Ask To Search Your Phone (Reason.com 4 April 2025) Know how much the law does—and doesn’t—protect your privacy rights.
Pretty detailed article on the topic for the traveler and generally accepted every day whereabouts.
How much detail does everyone give when supplying a travel itinerary with the required 21 days notice? Do you just supply the departure and return dates with flights? Do you supply details on hotels where you will be staying?
This is Europe specifically but could it come to the USA or impact American travelers overseas?
ICAO Launches Digital Travel Pass to Replace Boarding Cards and Check-ins (ID Tech Wire,14 Apr 2025)
You can read more online through other sources as cited at the bottom.
What’s the data/info we have for traveling to Vietnam and China? Have family I would like to visit. I’m from CA. Here’s my siutation:
Haven’t gotten a passport yet. Recently started a new job and I passed the extensive background with flying colors. Any info is greatly appreciated.
Hello there guys. Just got back from Mexico.. so just quick run down, the officer here where I live didn’t know what to do with the 21 day notice so I had to explain to him to get down of it… Went into Mexico via car it was a quick get in, no questions asked from anyone, so that a very big plus… stayed with my family and was there from 4/10-4/15.. on the way back they customs checked our passports and I’m assuming because of me they sent us to secondary, told us to get off the car and leave our stuff there. so we got off, they checked inside the car, under and I believe inside one bag.. after like 10 minutes of them walking around they told us we were good to go… so yeah that was my experience.. hopefully its as smooth as this one next time I go…
The current administration has not empowered DHS, ICE, or CBP any more for the searching of a US citizen’s luggage, phone, etc on their return from overseas travel, but the high court has enabled that act for those who need to use it based upon their rulings prior to the current administration…by 100 years (long before the registry concept was instituted in CA and spread like a noxious weed nationally). Since then, the court has extended the act to what society has at their disposal to do nefarious things with regardless of who the person/people are.
There are reasons why people are pulled aside for further inspection regardless of who they are and where they are. Yes, we see what appears to be profiling. It is not PFR centric though, but we read about them more because the forum here invites them to share their experiences where they are impacted by this act. I’d opine that even if there was no registry, the non-PFR could/would still be subjected more often to inspections upon return regardless because of the conviction’s nature (since convictions can be seen so easily now (couple keystrokes/mouse clicks) and have been for a long time, e.g., wants and warrants searches by LE).
I’ve been pulled aside for further inspection based on the timing of my airline ticket being purchased. I remember years ago going across the 49th Parallel border with Canada where extra questioning took place by the border personnel (and even the occasional car search happened to others who did not look shady to begin with). I’m not condoning this extra action either against PFRs or the current administration’s actions with searches (to which they are charged with keeping the country safe using methods they think will work and pass judicial muster), but to incorrectly label an administration about an action that is has been happening for 100 years is not proper either (regardless of one’s opinion about them). It is an emotional reaction like the reaction those who want to crucify PFRs have (Holy Week reference for you), whether elected or appointed to office or just live down the street as a regular citizen.
As long as the high court opines this way, it will remain this way. Take it up with the elected officials who can make a change about it, but don’t expect them to change it (political suicide). In the mean time, read the common sense legal ways around it others have shared here.
For your reading leisure and educational pleasure, the doc below will give a primer on the topic and its going on for 100 years in this country (and longer if you read the preceding 1918 law analysis): The Border Search Exception to the Fourth Amendment (Brown Undergraduate Law Review, 6 May 2024)
Peace.
I traveled to Jordan and was denied entry there. I’m not on parole. My passport has the identifier.
Curious about everyone’s travel history. Has anyone here ever experience NOT getting sent to secondary when coming back into the States from abroad?
Another article on the phone search issue of late…
How to Protect Yourself From Phone Searches at the US Border (Wired, 21 Apr 2025)
Customs and Border Protection has broad authority to search travelers’ devices when they cross into the United States. Here’s what you can do to protect your digital life while at the US border.
International Travel Advice from Real Experience (For Anyone with Legal Baggage)
1. Where Not to Fly Through or To
2. Smarter Entry Strategies
3. Documentation Is Key
4. Digital & Privacy Precautions
5. Coming Back to the U.S.
6. Passport Tips
7. Final Thoughts Don’t let bureaucratic BS or fear keep you grounded. There’s a whole world out there—195 countries—many of which welcome respectful, responsible travelers regardless of past mistakes. Stay curious, stay informed, and keep moving forward. ✈️🌍
Dear all,
I have a bit of a conundrum. This is a multi-layered question:
I have an unmarked passport have never traveled on it. I have the ability to de-register when I move abroad. Which therefore, would render me not needing the marker. I am relocating abroad. Not travel for a time period. Full on relocation. Now my issue is two fold and could use some advice.
TYIA.
I have been following a couple of international travel forums. I presented a question and got some interesting feedback.
So many countries disallow retirement or residency if a felony record is present.( I didn’t include this part in my posts)
But?…… I offered this scenario.
Find other residents that would “swap” countries for a period in order to forego extended stay paperwork on Visas and then just return after a period. Essentially living in one or two countries for 3 – 6 months at a time. Basically a time share style of living. You swap places but still pay the rent.
Any thoughts about this?
I happen to already have a residence in Ubon,Thailand and have found an interested party in Ho Chi Min , Vietnam. Allowing me to travel relatively short distances and just leave clothes in each location. I can also still work (online business) and keep the same schedule.