U.S. may require Dutch travelers to share 5 years of social media to enter country
The U.S. government has announced potential changes to its entry procedures that could force citizens of the Netherlands to submit a vast array of additional personal information when applying for the U.S. visa waiver pre-clearance program, ESTA. Citizens of the 42 countries eligible for the ESTA, including Dutch people, may soon be required “to provide their social media from the last five years” before their applications will be granted, a document published Tuesday in the Federal Register stated
The changes would be to the Electronic System for Travel Authorization (ESTA) under the Visa Waiver Program (VWP). Other fields of requirement may also include phone numbers within the past five years, email addresses used in the last 10 years, biometric data, names, birth details, addresses, and contact information for immediate family members.
Dutch travelers have needed to complete the Electronic System for Travel Authorization, or ESTA, since January 2009. While it started out as a free, automatic route to gain entry at U.S. border crossings, the fee increased gradually over time.
It now costs just over 40 dollars (34 euros) to apply for an ESTA, nearly double what was charged earlier this year, as a result of the budget deal passed by U.S. Congress and signed by President Donald Trump. That amount includes 10.27 dollars for filing the application, 13 dollars to process the application, and 17 dollars to fund U.S. tourism marketing initiatives.
It was stated that the changes are to bolster protections against foreign threats as part of an executive order from January and to harmonize federal practices and improve the ability to identify fraud or links to national-security risks.
The Dutch travel association ANVR is not concerned about the plans as of yet. “We’ll have to see how this unfolds. Travel restrictions are never ideal, but I don’t think it will deter travelers,” a spokesperson said.
The Netherlands has been one of the countries in the ESTA program since its launch. Dutch citizens with an ESTA are allowed to remain in the U.S. without a visa for up to 90 days, and those with authorization can enter the U.S. repeatedly over a period of two years if their passport remains valid.
The U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has opened a 60-day public comment period in the Federal Register to gather responses to the changes.
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