I am US citizen and I have US passport with no criminal record. I will be travelling to London and then Switzerland, then back to London and finally back to USA within a month. Do I need to apply for any kind of VISA for either England or Switzerland? What documents will I need with me ? Also, is there any website I can put my travelling information online to expedite my time at airport? Thank you.
Posted by
Sacramento, California U.S.A.
10203 posts
Depending on how long you will be there, all you need is your passport.
Posted by
victoria, Canada
11507 posts
No visas needed for American citizens, only restriction that is your stay must be 90 days while in the Schengen zone( switerland and most of europe) or less. If you wish to stau longer you can apply for a special visa, if trip is shorter no worries.
Posted by
Tel Aviv
15576 posts
expedite my time at airport not in Europe, maybe in the U.S. . . . global entry, TSA pre-check
Posted by
Midwest
2768 posts
Just your passport. But if it is close to expiring, you may need to renew it. Many countries require it to be valid for 3 months after leaving the country. So if your trip ends on April 30, 2016 you want your passport expiration to be after July 30 2016. If you are close, I'd look into this further to see the exact rules.
It might be smart to have a printout of your return flight (just the email from airline) in case immigration asks when/how you are leaving. Over my many trips I was asked this only once but if you have it it could help. Ditto for any hotel reservations - if you have them, have the info handy. More than likely all you will need is a valid passport.
Posted by
Land of La
8642 posts
Your Passport and a paper trail as Mira suggested. Use the TripIt app on your phone or tablet for backup as well. Would be worth your while to purchase and read Rick's Europe Through The Back Door guide. Invaluable resource for the first time traveler. Very practical information. Will answer many questions you may have about England and Switzerland and European travel in general.
Posted by
Wyckoff, NJ, USA
7258 posts
You may not already know that the United States requires the countries across-the-pond to provide a complete list of boarding passengers in time for our crack security software to study it before your return flight arrives. That applies to every passenger. So I suggest that you do not disregard the arrival time your airline gives you for checking in on the day of return. Just like in the US, there can be long lines (especially for coach passengers), so you should allow extra time for actually getting to the check-in desk.
The reason we suggested extra reading for you is that you haven't confronted the issue of whether you want to carry your passport every time you leave a hotel. Many (but not all) of us do not. We carry a photocopy of the front page of the passport, because we don't want the inconvenience of replacing a lost or stolen passport. Other travelers prefer to have the real document with them at all times. When I'm in an authoritarian country, I usually carry the actual passport. As someone else suggested, I keep an image of my passport on Dropbox (that is, encrypted to my own use) in case I do lose the passport. It can expedite the unpleasant task of replacement. But you should certainly keep a printed copy in your luggage or travel documents, for the same reason.
In my humble experience, airport security takes more time, and has more "security theater" in the US than in most of Europe. But (to pick a pet peeve of mine) if you have to change terminals in Heathrow, you can spend a lot of time in xray and magnetometer lines. You also need to recognize that in Europe, YOU are the OUTSIDER who has to wait in the "ALL OTHER PASSPORTS" line. You'll see what I mean when you get back to the US and see how we treat our valued, money-spending visitors!