Passports and Travel to U.S

[Cleoriff]

Thousands of British tourists heading to the US have been warned that they risk being turned away from flights to the country unless they hold the latest biometric passports. The change to US visa requirements came into force from April 1st 2016.

There are more than a million non-biometric UK passports still in use, and there are fears that the change has had insufficient publicity.

E-passports were brought in on October 2006. Passports last for 10 years so the change is thought to only affect British passports issued between April and October 2006.

http://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2016/may/05/britons-flying-to-us-without-biometric-passports-coul...

http://news.sky.com/story/1691172/passport-warning-to-millions-heading-for-us

[Martin-O2]

Well that something. At least a change of getting an emergency replacement and catching a later flight. Still a stressful start to any holiday. 

[Cleoriff]

---

@PhoneChanger wrote:
Thanks @Cleoriff been there before but didn't manage to see everything, hoping to do more non-theme park stuff this time (though we are still going to visit them all). We're flying into Sanford this time as Thomson don't seam to fly to Orlando International 🙂

---

I have flown into Sanford once @PhoneChanger. Much better than Orlando. The drive to the villa took longer....but travel in Florida is no problem at all (as I'm sure you know)

[sheepdog]

Cleoriff wrote:

---

MI5 wrote:
You would think the tour operators would make passengers aware, at least !

---

Exactly. I thought it would affect those who travelled independently (booking flights and hotels directly)..but you do expect your travel operator to inform you. Even if they have no idea of your passport details they should have contacted customers as soon as the new legislation was introduced..

---

Strangely, its actually in the small print of the tickets but nobody reads those in the excitement of spending thousands....though you would have expected Thomson to actually point out you need a visa to enter the US as well which would have flagged up the biometric thing. Incidentally its been around for many years that it was a requirement for most Western Countries.

My passport is one of those that was issued between April and October 2006 so fortunately I'm not intending to go to the US by plane. Oh and its not only the US - Canada will be requiring a "one-time for the lifetime of the issued passport" for entry as well from October: http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/visit/eta.asp?utm_campaign=eta_20150417_travel&utm_source=online_vanity...

[jonsie]

I once had a similar problem going to Florida as a family in the days when the rules concerning children having to have their own passports was introduced. It involved the now merged tour operator Airtours. They had to put us up overnight in the airport hotel whilst the US Authoritities decided whether to let us into the country. luckily this was pre 9/11 when they were much more flexible and we were allowed entry albeit a day later.

A little off topic but just to highlight that when passport restrictionss change, tour operators should make sure you are aware of changes that could prevent you travelling but we ourselves need to take some responsibility.

[Cleoriff]

Thanks for the info about Canada @sheepdog I hadn't heard of this...

[sheepdog]

It was supposed to be at the beginning of this year then postponed till April then postponed again till October! I seem to remember it was something coming about 2 years before. But as Jonsie says, we all need to double check before booking as we have the ability at our fingertips.

[Bambino]

The problem arises because even if tour operators do warn passengers, I think fewer and fewer people use them. Many people just go online and book their flights directly. The major airlines require you to fill an online form out, which I would think would have this information available, and will probably not issue an e-ticket until the form is correctly filled in.

[Cleoriff]

I did it myself when I last went to Florida @Bambino. Booked the flights, the villa and the car (which included all insurance) independently... which saved about £1000 on the total price. There were 6 of us going for three weeks during school holidays.. so, with attraction tickets to buy, I was looking to make savings. I am sure more and more people take the DIY option..:smileywink:

[Anonymous]

We were supposed to be going to Florida this year (sadly postponed) and, although we booked through Virgin Holidays, the biometric passports weren't mentioned to us.  They did remind us we needed an ESTA though.

If we go again, we might look at booking with Thomson so we can fly into Sanford rather than MCO - I hate it!

[Cleoriff]

Yes Sanford was just under 50 miles to the villa we rented in Kissimmee. However getting through Sanford airport immigration and customs was far quicker than the nightmare at Orlando...so the hour journey was fine for us.