4 ms·

This is for an electronic travel authorization, which the US, Australia and Canada already require of all visitors. It's simple and takes minutes online, hardly

This is for an electronic travel authorization, which the US, Australia and Canada already require of all visitors. It's simple and takes minutes online, hardly a 'visa.'

dontbenebby 8y ago
>This is for an electronic travel authorization, which the US, Australia and Canada already require of all visitors Canada does not require any visa for Americans tourists. All I need to do is bring a passport (or passport card if driving in)
- Scoundreller 8y ago
  Correct: they’ve exempted each other. Lots of dual citizens. If Canada required Canadian passports from dual US/Canada nationals, an American in that situation could lose their security clearance. (Usually the US is okay with being a dual citizen if you haven’t taken advantage of it in any way).
wdb 8y ago
Yes, the ESTA and now the US citizens have to do something similar to enter the EU. I hope they also need to pay for it when they just have a stopover in the EU just like us in the US. I am fully on board with this as a EU citizen
- karakot 8y ago
  as a US citizen from a 'shithole' country, I fully support it, lets all US/EU citizens experience what we all had to. Fill in a ton of papers, prove that you're a human too and get rejected.
cm2187 8y ago
How do you define a visa then?
- philipov 8y ago
  "An endorsement on a passport indicating that the holder is allowed to enter, leave, or stay for a specified period of time in a country." A hat and a helmet both protect your head, but you wouldn't call them by the same name.
  - cm2187 8y ago
    Well, with centralised IT systems, it doesn't need to be a physical sticker on your passport but rather an authorization number associated with your passport number (more secure than relying on someone not faking the sticker). But the vetting process is still there. Fundamentally isn't it the exact same thing (a sort of an electronic helmet)?
    - philipov 8y ago
      You asked for a definition, so I looked it up. I'm not advocating a specific opinion.
  - ajmurmann 8y ago
    Wikipedia almost agrees with you, but the "on a passport" part doesn't connect. >A visa (from the Latin charta visa, meaning "paper that has been seen")[1] is a conditional authorization granted by a country to a foreigner, allowing them to enter, remain within, or to leave that country. Why does it matter to you if it goes into the passport or not? If I recall correctly my F1 Visa for the US didn't go into my passport either, but was a separate document.
    - philipov 8y ago
      It's not me, it's https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/visa https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/visa
- skrause 8y ago
  When I hear "visa" I think of mailing something to a consulate or going there personally for an application, paying a good chunk of money and waiting weeks to hopefully get approval.
seanmcdirmid 8y ago
Australia ya, but Canada? The last time I visited Canada by car, I didn’t need electronic travel authorization, so there must be some exemption rather than all visitors.
- ketzu 8y ago
  Canadian eTA only applies to arrival by plane.
  - guan 8y ago
    The situation is similar for ESTA and travel to the United States. ESTA is required for travel by plane and ship, but not over land. If you are planning to apply for admission to the US under the visa waiver program at a crossing of the land borders with Canada or Mexico, you don’t need ESTA. (There are a few ferries between British Columbia and Washington state that are also treated as a land border.)
    - ketzu 8y ago
      Interesting, I misunderstood the info I got while traveling there. The way the border agents phrased it I required esta as well as an additional form, but the website I checked now says I wouldn't have needed the esta as you said! For me, arriving at the US by land was by far a worse experience than arriving by air, as my passport was taken until they had time to process me, waiting in a room i was not allowed to leave, then filling out an additional form and paying additionally. Contrasted to arriving by air "do you have esta? -> yes -> have fun" at the immigration.
  - panarky 8y ago
    Last week I flew from New York to Montreal, and I didn't have to get a travel authorization or pay a fee. I just showed up with my passport, all very easy.
throwaway2048 8y ago
The travel between the USA and Canada requires no authorization for citizens, ESTA or otherwise.
rwmj 8y ago
> It's simple and takes minutes online, hardly a 'visa.' Except when it doesn't. If your visa waiver is refused then you have to visit the US embassy to get a "traditional" visa, and sometimes that's not even possible to get.
Scoundreller 8y ago
Tell that to the accidental Canadians or Americans (ie: born in Canada or US, but lived 99% of their life in Europe). Then when they tried to get an authorization, they got rejected and told their EU passport is worthless and to get a Canadian/US one). It’s a lot messier for the EU because of jus sanguine. Toooons of EU citizens that haven’t/won’t bother to get the passport. I guess I’ll have to do it and waste the embassy’s time in a language I know 20 words of.
Youden 8y ago
Did the title or article change since this was posted? As of writing: - The title of the article is "US citizens will need to register to visit parts of Europe starting in 2021" - The article includes the quote "The [US State Department] official added that the "ETIAS authorization is not a visa."" Where did the "visa" in the HN title come from?

This is for an electronic travel authorization, which the US, Australia and Canada already require of all visitors. It's simple and takes minutes online, hardly a 'visa.'

dontbenebby 8y ago

>This is for an electronic travel authorization, which the US, Australia and Canada already require of all visitors Canada does not require any visa for Americans tourists. All I need to do is bring a passport (or passport card if driving in)

Scoundreller 8y ago
Correct: they’ve exempted each other. Lots of dual citizens. If Canada required Canadian passports from dual US/Canada nationals, an American in that situation could lose their security clearance. (Usually the US is okay with being a dual citizen if you haven’t taken advantage of it in any way).

wdb 8y ago

Yes, the ESTA and now the US citizens have to do something similar to enter the EU. I hope they also need to pay for it when they just have a stopover in the EU just like us in the US. I am fully on board with this as a EU citizen

karakot 8y ago
as a US citizen from a 'shithole' country, I fully support it, lets all US/EU citizens experience what we all had to. Fill in a ton of papers, prove that you're a human too and get rejected.

cm2187 8y ago

How do you define a visa then?

philipov 8y ago
"An endorsement on a passport indicating that the holder is allowed to enter, leave, or stay for a specified period of time in a country." A hat and a helmet both protect your head, but you wouldn't call them by the same name.
- cm2187 8y ago
  Well, with centralised IT systems, it doesn't need to be a physical sticker on your passport but rather an authorization number associated with your passport number (more secure than relying on someone not faking the sticker). But the vetting process is still there. Fundamentally isn't it the exact same thing (a sort of an electronic helmet)?
  - philipov 8y ago
    You asked for a definition, so I looked it up. I'm not advocating a specific opinion.
- ajmurmann 8y ago
  Wikipedia almost agrees with you, but the "on a passport" part doesn't connect. >A visa (from the Latin charta visa, meaning "paper that has been seen")[1] is a conditional authorization granted by a country to a foreigner, allowing them to enter, remain within, or to leave that country. Why does it matter to you if it goes into the passport or not? If I recall correctly my F1 Visa for the US didn't go into my passport either, but was a separate document.
  - philipov 8y ago
    It's not me, it's https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/visa https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/visa
skrause 8y ago
When I hear "visa" I think of mailing something to a consulate or going there personally for an application, paying a good chunk of money and waiting weeks to hopefully get approval.

seanmcdirmid 8y ago

Australia ya, but Canada? The last time I visited Canada by car, I didn’t need electronic travel authorization, so there must be some exemption rather than all visitors.

ketzu 8y ago
Canadian eTA only applies to arrival by plane.
- guan 8y ago
  The situation is similar for ESTA and travel to the United States. ESTA is required for travel by plane and ship, but not over land. If you are planning to apply for admission to the US under the visa waiver program at a crossing of the land borders with Canada or Mexico, you don’t need ESTA. (There are a few ferries between British Columbia and Washington state that are also treated as a land border.)
  - ketzu 8y ago
    Interesting, I misunderstood the info I got while traveling there. The way the border agents phrased it I required esta as well as an additional form, but the website I checked now says I wouldn't have needed the esta as you said! For me, arriving at the US by land was by far a worse experience than arriving by air, as my passport was taken until they had time to process me, waiting in a room i was not allowed to leave, then filling out an additional form and paying additionally. Contrasted to arriving by air "do you have esta? -> yes -> have fun" at the immigration.
- panarky 8y ago
  Last week I flew from New York to Montreal, and I didn't have to get a travel authorization or pay a fee. I just showed up with my passport, all very easy.

throwaway2048 8y ago

The travel between the USA and Canada requires no authorization for citizens, ESTA or otherwise.

rwmj 8y ago

> It's simple and takes minutes online, hardly a 'visa.' Except when it doesn't. If your visa waiver is refused then you have to visit the US embassy to get a "traditional" visa, and sometimes that's not even possible to get.

Scoundreller 8y ago

Tell that to the accidental Canadians or Americans (ie: born in Canada or US, but lived 99% of their life in Europe). Then when they tried to get an authorization, they got rejected and told their EU passport is worthless and to get a Canadian/US one). It’s a lot messier for the EU because of jus sanguine. Toooons of EU citizens that haven’t/won’t bother to get the passport. I guess I’ll have to do it and waste the embassy’s time in a language I know 20 words of.

Youden 8y ago

Did the title or article change since this was posted? As of writing: - The title of the article is "US citizens will need to register to visit parts of Europe starting in 2021" - The article includes the quote "The [US State Department] official added that the "ETIAS authorization is not a visa."" Where did the "visa" in the HN title come from?