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.
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.
Simply wow, this one is new to me. Guess I would never go to the US again.
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.
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”.
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
