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Are/Will US cruise line guest be required to obtain ETIAS?


Vincent

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We are flying into Rome (Civitavecchia) for a RC Western Mediterranean cruise this summer, and upon realizing that our sons passport will need to be renewed prior to departure, came across an Q & A article that mentions travelers from some countries will require obtaining an ETIAS (European Travel Information and Authorization System) visa waiver. Our family were are all born and living in the US, and have valid US passports, but have not traveled to Europe before. 

From the little bit of (but much confusing) information I could find on the web, it sounds like this is similar to the ESTA that the US uses, however this an EU program necessary when even visiting countries within the Schengen area. We travel in June, so trying to make sure all of our i's are dotted and t's crossed.

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  • Vincent changed the title to Are/Will US cruise line guest be required to obtain ETIAS?
20 minutes ago, wordell1 said:

We did not need anything other than our passport in June 2022. 

Because it's not fully implemented yet

28 minutes ago, Vincent said:

however this an EU program necessary when even visiting countries within the Schengen area. We travel in June, so trying to make sure all of our i's are dotted and t's crossed.

My understanding is that you need it to enter Schengen, but not to move between Schengen countries unless you leave Schengen in between (for example, you don't need to show it when going from France to Italy, but you would when going from France to Italy via Tunisia). I also understand it as being multi-entry, so the same ETIAS would work for any Schengen country that you attempt to enter.

That being said, my understanding is they're targeting November 2023, so your June trip shouldn't need one. 

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This is the official EU website regarding ETIAS: https://travel-europe.europa.eu/etias_en

Note that it specifically says "ETIAS is currently not in operation and no applications are collected at this point."

ETIAS is indeed (or will be when it finally goes live) similar to the ESTA scheme that we Europeans have to use when we want to travel to the US, so it is something that you absolutely need to keep an eye on so that you don't find yourself unexpectedly caught on the hop.

 

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36 minutes ago, FionaMG said:

This is the official EU website regarding ETIAS: https://travel-europe.europa.eu/etias_en

Note that it specifically says "ETIAS is currently not in operation and no applications are collected at this point."

ETIAS is indeed (or will be when it finally goes live) similar to the ESTA scheme that we Europeans have to use when we want to travel to the US, so it is something that you absolutely need to keep an eye on so that you don't find yourself unexpectedly caught on the hop.

 

So this would be in addition to having and/or presenting your visa for a longer than 90 day stay?

 

What I am trying to understand is if a US citizen would be required to apply and obtain ETIAS authorization as a visa is not currently required to travel to EU for a short cruise, as long as you have a valid passport? I understand now (thanks for the info!) that we won't have to worry about any of this for our upcoming trip in June, but we are already planning a similar cruise, again visiting EU destinations.

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29 minutes ago, Vincent said:

So this would be in addition to having and/or presenting your visa for a longer than 90 day stay?

What I am trying to understand is if a US citizen would be required to apply and obtain ETIAS authorization as a visa is not currently required to travel to EU for a short cruise, as long as you have a valid passport?

My understanding is, if you are someone who needs to have a visa for your visit (due to length, being a student, worker, etc.), you do not also need ETIAS. One or the other, depending on your purpose of visit (or your citizenship). ETIAS is simply used to do the pre-screening that would already have been done on any visa applicants. 

Those who do an ESTA for entrance to the United States on the Visa Waiver Program do not also need a visa; those who have a visa do not also need to do an ESTA assuming their entrance in to the United States is for the same purpose their visa was issued (tourist, business, student, etc.); I assume ETIAS would be the same. 

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13 hours ago, Vincent said:

So this would be in addition to having and/or presenting your visa for a longer than 90 day stay?

 

What I am trying to understand is if a US citizen would be required to apply and obtain ETIAS authorization as a visa is not currently required to travel to EU for a short cruise, as long as you have a valid passport? I understand now (thanks for the info!) that we won't have to worry about any of this for our upcoming trip in June, but we are already planning a similar cruise, again visiting EU destinations.

I haven't looked into it in any depth because, as an EU citizen I don't need it, but I would be inclined to agree with @Zacharius

 

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  • 2 months later...

ETIAS starts in 2024. Check their site for which EU countries require a visa.  Since I have to fly to one of these EU countries, I'm going to have to do the application plus fee.  valid passport is needed for the application. Also check if the country is a Schengen country that needs a Schengen visa.

ETIAS

If you are a EU citizen, you shouldn't need the visa. 

Once the system is officially launched in 2024 eligible travelers will need to apply for an ETIAS if they are neither an E.U. nor a Schengen national and don’t need a visa for Europe. There are around 60 countries whose citizens will need to apply in advance for ETIAS authorization when the system is launched.

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On 1/19/2023 at 1:53 PM, Vincent said:

From what I read, it is supposed to start sometime in 2023.

It won't effect any one looking to book or having already booked a Spring/Sumer 2023 European cruise from any EU country.

ETIAS (European Travel Information and Authorization System) goes live in 2024.  

The purpose of ETIAS is so EU countries can keep better track of who is entering and exiting individual countries.  Most individuals doing short terms stays in an EU country are allowed to remain for a total of 90 days after which you must leave the country.  ETIAS must be obtained BEFORE you arrive into a EU country.  The way the EU has set this up and the airlines have known for a few years this was coming is this if an individual shows up (for example to O'Hare) and they do not have ETIAS clearance the airline can not under any circumstances allow that individual to board the flight period end of discussion, the EU is very serious about this.  When I look at the list of countries where the EU will require ETIAS I'm surprised that the U.S. is on this list considering some of the other countries that are listed.  I didn't think the EU had a problem keeping track of and making sure U.S. citizens leave the country by the end of their 90th day.

ETIAS is valid for up to 3 years, however, if your passport has less than 3 years to its expiration then ETIAS will expire when your passport expires.  The charge for ETIAS for U.S. citizens right now is about $7-8 dollars depending on the exchange rates.

For now what I know from working in the airline industry is that the U.S. for now does not intend to reciprocate by requiring EU citizens to obtain some sort of visa for travel into the U.S. but of course that could change. 

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16 minutes ago, JasonOasis said:

It won't effect any one looking to book or having already booked a Spring/Sumer 2023 European cruise from any EU country.

ETIAS (European Travel Information and Authorization System) goes live in 2024.  

The purpose of ETIAS is so EU countries can keep better track of who is entering and exiting individual countries.  Most individuals doing short terms stays in an EU country are allowed to remain for a total of 90 days after which you must leave the country.  ETIAS must be obtained BEFORE you arrive into a EU country.  The way the EU has set this up and the airlines have known for a few years this was coming is this if an individual shows up (for example to O'Hare) and they do not have ETIAS clearance the airline can not under any circumstances allow that individual to board the flight period end of discussion, the EU is very serious about this.  When I look at the list of countries where the EU will require ETIAS I'm surprised that the U.S. is on this list considering some of the other countries that are listed.  I didn't think the EU had a problem keeping track of and making sure U.S. citizens leave the country by the end of their 90th day.

ETIAS is valid for up to 3 years, however, if your passport has less than 3 years to its expiration then ETIAS will expire when your passport expires.  The charge for ETIAS for U.S. citizens right now is about $7-8 dollars depending on the exchange rates.

For now what I know from working in the airline industry is that the U.S. for now does not intend to reciprocate by requiring EU citizens to obtain some sort of visa for travel into the U.S. but of course that could change. 

The US already DOES require EU (and UK) citizens to get an electronic travel authorisation and has done for some years now. It's the ESTA. It's only valid for 2 years and as at a few days ago (when I got ours) costs $21 per person, so the ETIAS is a bargain.

Previously, our ESTAs cost us $14 each, so quite a big jump in price since the last one, which was just prior to the pandemic.

 

 

 

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14 hours ago, JasonOasis said:

 

For now what I know from working in the airline industry is that the U.S. for now does not intend to reciprocate by requiring EU citizens to obtain some sort of visa for travel into the U.S. but of course that could change. 

 

I am not sure what airline industry you work for but the USA has required those in the visa waver programme (including all of Europe and UK) to apply for an ESTA and get approval before you can step foot on a flight to the USA- its been that way for 8-10 years or so

 

The ESTA just went up to $21 pp having been introduced at $14.

 

Any person 'working in the airline industry' would know this

 

https://esta.cbp.dhs.gov/

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$7 - hardly a stretch and will make borders safer and should help avoid people getting denied entry and having to be deported.

 

USA has been operating its ESTA for quite some years and it's seen as a success. 

 

The UK also has plans to introduce this system, however knowing the way the UK works it will be delayed over budget and not fit for purpose when its operating!

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8 hours ago, gavvy said:

 

The ESTA just went up to $21 pp having been introduced at $14.

 

https://esta.cbp.dhs.gov/

That's the cost and link for the US official Esta site which anyone travelling to the us should use as there are other sites that will charge you the $21 plus an extra fee of about $50 ( Ripping off the unsuspecting tourist) 

 

 

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9 hours ago, smokeybandit said:

ETIAS is just a travel tax

Rest of the world just catching up with US after they have done it for years with the Esta.

Hopefully the UK finally gets its act together and introduces city taxes etc for tourists booking hotel rooms and also start charging resort fees if you use the WiFi like so many other countries do.

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