Those of you who are regular readers, listeners, or viewers of The Optical Journal know I am fortunate enough to travel to multiple optical trade shows throughout the year. My travels are my passion these days and I hope I will continue to visit these shows for many years to come. As an American, it’s been pretty easy to book an airplane ticket and jet off to wherever the next show takes me.
Starting this year that won’t be quite so simple anymore. No, we won’t be forced to line up at the embassy or consulate of whatever country we want to visit, but we will have to start planning ahead.
When COVID hit in 2020, obtaining or renewing passports became much more difficult. For whatever reason, our State Department slowed to a virtual crawl in issuing passports. While things seem to have returned to some semblance of normalcy, I have heard story after story of how long it has taken friends and colleagues to renew their passports.
As if that weren’t enough of a hoop to jump through, Americans must now get prior approval to travel abroad to places we’ve never had to think twice about. Starting today, Americans wanting to travel to the U.K. need to apply for an ETA or Electronic Travel Authorization. The ETA is a digital permission to travel to the U.K. and not a visa. It permits multiple trips of up to six months over two years from the time it is issued.
As a regular traveler to the UK. I needed to apply and found it pretty painless. Even as much as my face (right eye) has changed from my passport photo of 8 plus years ago, after a few attempts using the online ETA app, I was able to get my ETA for the whopping sum of £10 or a little over $12 US. EU citizens will be next on the list, starting in April.
But, wait, there’s more…
Starting later this spring (maybe), Americans will be required to go through a similar approval process with the EU’s ETIAS program. ETIAS, or European Travel Information and Authorization System has been in the planning for years and while it has been postponed numerous times, looks like things will finally be up and running in May of this year.
ETIAS and ETA are very much like the U.S.-style electronic authorization program known as ESTA (Electronic System for Travel Authorization) that has been in place since 2007. ESTA is a visa waiver program that has helped streamline travel from foreign countries to the U.S. for visits of up to 90 days. The cost of the ETIAS program is currently pegged at 7€ or under $7.20 US. An ETIAS will be valid for 3 years or until passport expiry.
While the ETIAS system is not yet up and running you can submit your email to the program to be notified when it is operational. There will be a 180-day grace period, so your summer plans may go without a hitch in this regard, but like most things in travel, better to be prepared than surprised.
Please note that no matter how cute your little ones are, they too require passports for international travel and consequently will also need their own ETA or ETIAS should they travel with you to any of the affected countries.
For any more questions, you can always find more on the U.S. State Department website or from the EU or UK immigration websites. I hope to see you too at 100% Optical, opti, MIDO, or SILMO.
