It’s technically not a visa but an electronic travel authorization much like the US and Canada have.
Exactly - the title and the article is incorrect. Americans will still be afforded a visa-on-arrival for tourism and other approved short term stays. Additionally, the authorization is valid for three years and can be used for multiple stays within the EEA. I believe the UK is also implementing an ETA (edit, maybe I got the acronym right this time), but I think it is only valid for two years at a time.
In a way it’s silly, but it also reduces that chance of a disruption/entry denial at the entry point to the Area.
I love Americans freaking out about being subjected to the same shit they force all others to go through.
Americans have no idea how border checks work. Remember that next time they share opinions about immigration.
Because “including Spain, France and Greece” is a rather lacking description for 30 European countries:
Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Italy, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland
Maybe they’re selected because they’re the most popular destinations? (Nor sure if that true, but it would make sense)
$8, don’t break the bank on this one folks.
The visa, which will cost about $8, is similar to the one that European tourists are required to get when traveling to the U.S., which costs $21.
That’s quite the difference.
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Hospitals have entered the chat
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I think a lot things are actually cheaper here than in many European countries. Including paychecks.
Not the price of the visa, but the visa itself is similar to the ones that Europeans have had to get for a long time.
Is that $21 or $21 plus some random tax when you get to the till because fuck you?
Well we’ve been paying the ESTA electronic visa for years now every time we’ve wanted to visit the US. It’s fair game to require the same
Wait, this wasnt the case yet?!
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Same. I keep seeing this posted like it’s some.huge thing but I’m just like “OH NO! Things are now like I thought they already were, only cheaper than I would have assumed.”
We do need one, but Americans, as well as many other friendly countries, have what is called “Visa on Arrival” which means that you are automatically afforded a Tourist visa just for the asking and you can get it when you arrive at the country. It’s easy for Americans, who hold one of the strongest passports in the world, to forget that that visa process for many people can be a long and expensive one, even for something as seemingly mundane as tourism.
This basically adds a “pre-authorization” step once every 3 years to make sure you’re not an axe murderer or fall into any other ne’er-do-well category so they don’t have to watch you pitch a fit at immigration when you get denied entry.
Edit: I’ll add that I pay $100 every five years (Global Entry) so that I can get back into the US on my return flight with as little friction as possible.
I’m guessing because of migration. More USA citizens want to leave the US and overstay in the EU. This way its a bit more tedious and easier to track.
While I know some people who have emigrated from the US, most people just whine without any backbone
Can confirm, am noodle-boi
It’s just part of a larger expansion of a program that simply happens to include Americans. I really don’t think they care about us that much; we’re not that special.
Seems like it’s more so covering the costs of doing automated background checks or something like that. Like making sure you aren’t on any bad lists so they can prevent you from arriving instead of having to deal with you when you’re already there.
It’s not technically a visa, Americans are still granted that upon arrival it seems.
Damn! Anyway…
The visa, which will cost about $8, is similar to the one that European tourists are required to get when traveling to the U.S., which costs $21.
A very typical tit-for-tat.
So Europe is better value than US? $8 vs $21?
- It’s not a visa but an ESTA. The visa is still granted on the fly on entry.
- The U.S. require the same the other way around, only the one granted by the EU is $10 cheaper and valid for 3 years instead of 2, so still U.S. citizens get an advantage
- EU citizens (like all other non-immigrants) have to, as far as I understand, disclose all their social media accounts when applying for a US visa
Sources for (3):
For VISA applications, https://travel.state.gov/content/dam/visas/Enhanced Vetting/CA - FAQs on Social Media Collection - 6-4-2019 (v.2).pdf should apply.
What if applicants participate in multiple online platforms? Are they being asked to list all of their handles, or only one?
Applicants must provide all identifiers used for all listed platforms.
I reached that document via https://www.ustraveldocs.com/de/de-gen-faq.asp#qlistgen21 (“Apply for a U.S. Visa in Germany”) and didn’t find any hint for exemptions for German citizens or E U citizens, so I assume it applies. (But I might still be wrong.)
What if I don’t disclose my social media accounts? How are they going to know? It feels like to me like more surveillance they’re attempting to do.
Simply wow, this one is new to me. Guess I would never go to the US again.
Genuine question, how the heck do people who have a ton of social media accounts (some for a business, some for different topics, some they haven’t used in ages and maybe forgot about or lost the login for) actually list them all? If it were me, depending on the platforms required, I don’t even know where I’d begin. I very well might genuinely forget one I made 3 years ago, used for a month, and abandoned.
TIL: Americans didn’t need a visa before
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Why does it surprise you? It’s the same for many countries
Yep. In the last two years, I’ve been to Italy and the UK, and each time, it was quite literally just show up to the airport with my passport, get it scanned upon arrival, and that was that.
Sweden was the same way, I didn’t need a Visa. I hadn’t traveled in a while (2006), and I was surprised I got stamped to enter the EU in my layover in Iceland (2022) last year. Now I gotta worry about this, because I plan on visiting my folks in Sweden every few years. It doesn’t seem that bad, and I have zero reason to think I’d be rejected, but it’s yet another hassle even if it’s only $8 (but that’s fair if we’re charging Europeans $21, I’d even pay $21 without complaintif it changes to match).
OMG, though… those poor Brexit bastards traveling through Iceland. Me from the US was just “stand in line, they ask why you’re traveling, stamp the passport and you’re on your way.” Brexit folks had to go down some spiral stairs into some cave next to the elevator shaft and it looked like the passport equivalent of “the cheap stadium seats.”
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Not if you’re Canadian
America is only tied for
eighthninth in passport strength, thanks to Singapore taking the top spot from Japan. There are 40 countries which have the same privilege coming into the US (called the Visa Waiver Program here). Of course, the US has had an ETA for quite a while, so this is a tit for tat.
Americans can go almost anywhere at moment notice with just their golden passport. Meanwhile people from many country has to submit countless documentations and bank accounts data for US visa only to get denied three months later.
No. They’ll need to fill out a form online before they go. Europe is only requiring this because the US has forced similar bullshit on Europeans for years cos “terrorism”.
