European Travel

[nickbaer]

Has any American here been to European countries lately?

I'm curious what experiences - if any - Americans are having at European airports going thru Customs?

The online webpages for European countries say to document insurance, financial ability for the duration of the stay, and advance travel plans.

What has been your experience?

PMs are OK.

THANKS

- Nick

[attis]

Well, nothing unusual here. They take a mug shot of you, you get fingerprinted and you have to register online 72 hours in advance. All in the name of the war against terror... oh wait, hold on... that wasn't us, i messed it up. We don't treat our visiting friends like criminals.

[DEVELISH]

Hehe attis - that is soooo true....

come to the land of the FREE, pal and enjoy your stay. Bring your passport with you and off you go...

If in frankfurt or surrounding area give me a holler

[chadknowslaw]

I have never been asked for any documentation going through customs. Typically there is a form that you enter the hotel you are staying at (just one, even though you may have multiple hotels) and the purpose of your stay (business/holiday)

I have not stayed more than 2 weeks at a time but EU customs and immigration is easier and quicker than your return into the US as a US citizen.

[Lee]

I have not stayed more than 2 weeks at a time but EU customs and immigration is easier and quicker than your return into the US as a US citizen.

Aint that the truth, a year or two back i went to the UK for the weekend (around the time all that Pulz crap was going on) and it actually took me longer to get back in the to US through customs than it did to get in to Gatwick and get my luggage :eek:

Regards,

Lee

[nickbaer]

Thanks, guys!

When you go online and check out foreign country's tourism pages, it says to have the following:

1) Proof of medical insurance, $50,000 USD.
2) Proof of insurance to cover transport in case of death.
3) Proof of financial resources of approx $100/day local currency.
4) Proof of advance travel plans (e.g. plane ticket to next destination / roundtrip return).

All of those things are understandable and doable.

I just wonder 1) how fussy they check, and 2) if they ever get hardline on people about any of that - or if they get prickish and pretend that what you have has now been changed to a higher value/amount?

I'm not really worried about baggage, I'm leaving my porn - I mean my artistic catalog - elsewhere. Just taking a couple of laptops...

THANKS

[chadknowslaw]

Oh dont believe everything you read! And nothing from that list.

I have not been asked once to see any of those documents. Ever. I have dozens of pages in my passport filled already and it is just over 2 years old (I got the version with extra pages when I renewed) so I can say with some experience that such documents are not checked.

I would strongly suggest that you make a photocopy of your travel plans along with home address and phone number then place that in every bag. If your bag is lost or the tags torn off, you want someone who finds the bag to be able to find YOU.

Also -- make photocopies of your passport and driver license. Take your driver license with you as second form of ID. I had a passport stolen (in fucking NORWAY of all places -- I let my guard down because those Norwegians are usually such nice people) but since I had a photocopy of the passport it was MUCH easier to get a replacement from the embassy.

Contact your bank before you leave. Debit cards will work overseas, but usually there is either a block on the account or the card issuer will freeze the account when international use shows up. Call your bank before you leave, let them know where you are going and they will unblock your card for those countries. You should keep enough cash in reserve for several days in the event you have difficulty using your cards -- and the best exchange rates are through ATMS so definitely use them. Just use ATMS at banks and not randomly located on street corners!

Write down phone numbers of all bank cards and credit cards you are taking in the event you lose those cards or they are stolen. 800 numbers do not work when you are outside the US so you need to have regular numbers instead.

[DEVELISH]

1) Proof of medical insurance, $50,000 USD.
2) Proof of insurance to cover transport in case of death.
3) Proof of financial resources of approx $100/day local currency.
4) Proof of advance travel plans (e.g. plane ticket to next destination / roundtrip return).

All of those things are understandable and doable.

1) why
2) why
3) why
4) why

this is europe for christs sake... here if somebody gets ill we will treat them in hospitals, if somebody dies we transport them (you will have to pay eventually); we do not ask for financial resources or travel plans of our visitors cuz we are a truely free union who does not spy as hard on their people as some other countries do.

In Europe, as a welcomed visitor, you are more free than in other 1st world countries...

And Chad is right, get those bank accounts cleared for international business, have international phone numbers with you of your cards and such cuz americans can usually just dial 1-800-whateverNumber and are not used to the idea that their phone numbers will not work in europe without dialing 001 before the state code to reach the USofA.

europe acceps creditcards in most places (usually higher trafficed places) and most definately debitcards (maestro, cirrus or the other ones with the interlinking circles). In case neither is accepted, we accept cash in bills larger than 20€ as well

Now lay off those thoughts about all that paperwork which is supposed to be required and just come on over and have a good time here. If you need help just ask people, they are not afraid and will help you - a LOT of people speak english here as a SECOND or THIRD language.

*hugs*

Develish

[nickbaer]

The "why" is the question!

I've seen "this" for almost every European country - just change the name of the country:

http://www.poland.travel/en-us/Artyk...category_view#

http://www.polishconsulateny.org/index.php?p=17

Visa Information

I. General Information

Since December 21st 2007, Poland has been a part of the Schengen area formed by 24 states (i.e. Austria, Belgium, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, as well as Norway and Iceland), a territory with no checks at internal borders. Aliens from outside of the Schengen area may cross the border of the Republic of Poland if they hold a valid passport (or another travel document recognized by Polish authorities) and an appropriate visa. Visa requirement was waived for citizens of some countries (see list below). The passport validity must exceed the required date of departure from Poland by at least 3 months.

An alien entering the territory of the Republic of Poland must prove upon the request of the border authority that he/she has the financial resources necessary to cover the costs of his/her entry into, transit through, stay and departure from the territory of Poland, as well as the permission to enter another state or to return to his/her country of origin, if such permission is required.

An alien entering Poland must possess travel/medical insurance to cover possible medical expenses for at least 30,000 EURO (or equivalent in USD) and 100 PLN per day for accommodation and sustenance.

An alien entering and departing Poland or any other EU country who carries the amount of money (cash, shares, bonds, traveler’s checks, etc.) exceeding 10,000 EURO has to declare it to the customs authorities.

In accordance with the provisions of law, the Polish border guard has the sole authority to admit an alien into the territory of the Republic of Poland at the port of entry. This rule pertains to both aliens traveling on passports only, when no visa if required on the basis of bilateral agreements and to those to whom a visa had been issued at a Polish consular post abroad.
US citizens can travel to Poland for tourism and business purposes for up to 90 days without a visa. Visas for US citizens are free of charge.

[DEVELISH]

the 10k euro deal is real... don't bring more than 10k with you, if you do not declare it you will be proscecuted most likely with "money laundry" in mind

but really... immigration to the US is hell compared to immigration to the EU

wher will you go anyways?

[nickbaer]

hehe

Carrying money is NOT the issue! I never go anywhere with more than $20 in my pocket.

Bank/ATM cards here - about 10 of them, issued by different banks, in case anything goes wrong with one, I've got another.

Between (what Chad said about) alerting the Bank that I will be in Europe, to cards breaking (the magnetic strip stops working), to loss, and expiration dates, etc, I always keep several. if a card goes bad, the online web page still works to do ACH or Wire Transfers.

But I will have the insurances etc.

[vaqueros]

A VOIP (voice-over-internet) phone is invaluable when travelling. Many of the VOIP companies have monthly plans now for 15-20 dollars and that usually includes unlimited local calls in your own area and a bunch of free long distance minutes. Use it as an extra phone, take advantage of the free included minutes, and then take it with you anywhere you travel!

The hardware-type (not software-only, like Skype) is a small adapter the size of a couple of decks of cards. Plug any regular phone into it and then connect the adapter to a router, cable modem, or other broadband connection and you instantly have your "home" phone wherever you are. So, if you're stuck in Moscow and the ATM is puking back your card, you can call your bank and straighten it out...no need to figure out international dialing (you dial exactly as if you were still at home), the bank will probably recognize your caller ID and say Hello Mr. Smith, if you're on hold for 20 minutes you won't be using the last of your rubles to pay international calling rates, etc.

Plus, your friends, family, and business contacts can keep in touch. If the phone isn't plugged in, the calls go to voicemail which you can retrieve the next time you connect. If you want to chat for an hour or two about business or pleasure with folks in your home city, that's all free in the included unlimited local calling (it's local to where your home area code is, it diesn't matter if you're thousands of miles away, your NYC phone calling another NYC phone is always a local call).

Couldn't live without mine here in Argentina! Just be sure to check that the VOIP adapter you get has the "universal" type of power supply that works with all voltages around the world.

Kevin

[chadknowslaw]

Definitely keep more than $20 cash with you -- not necessarily on your person, but I have found it is a good idea to have a few little stashes of cash tucked away in various places for emergencies or when you have a hard time finding an ATM.

[Rich]

i went to london about 2 years ago and did not have any trouble with getting in the country at all being american

[chadknowslaw]

Coming home from London I was once subject to additional security -- possibly because my traveling companion was Lebanese. They took us back into a little room and removed everything from our luggage. We were patted down and asked additional questions about our trip. Being British, it was all very orderly and polite. They re-packed my suitcases neater than I had done myself! At no time was I asked for any documentation.

Coming home to the US, I _always_ make sure to mention that I am a former elected prosecutor. They usually ask "what do you do for a living?" I respond "I am an attorney. I served 4 years as an elected prosecutor" which is usually promptly followed by "Welcome back to the US sir" and I am on my way.