My husband and I are traveling to Portugal for 2 weeks late April to early May 2023. We are flying TAP and the website prompted us to fill out the US ESTA Application. When we traveled to Ireland in 2018, we did not have to fill out this application. Is this a new requirement for US citizens? I tried to get answers from the US Customs and Border Protection website, but the answers are vague. Any advice is appreciated. Obrigada!
Posted by
Forest Grove, OR
11800 posts
The ESTA is for certain non-US citizens traveling into the US. As citizens you do not need to apply for it.
I think non-US carriers include this for those nationals (Portuguese in this case) who need it to travel to the US. I have seen this when we have purchased ticket in British Air and ignored it.
Posted by
MI
10 posts
This article is specifically about entering the U.K., but it does mention that this will also apply when travelling to the E.U.
https://www.executivetraveller.com/united-kingdom-eta-electronic-travel-authorisation-guide
Posted by
MI
10 posts
As a follow up -- this article states that the visa waiver for Schengen countries will begin in November 2023
https://www.etias.info/schengen-countries/etias-portugal/#:~:text=ETIAS%20Portugal%20is%20not%20a,of%20up%20to%2090%20days.
Posted by
Forest Grove, OR
11800 posts
ETIAS is scheduled for November so won’t affect your trip, The UK ETA program is scheduled for late Q2 and beyond for 2023. Since you are not going to the UK and you are traveling in spring, neither the UK ETA nor the EU’s ETIAS program apply.
Posted by
OP
Fairport, NY
45 posts
Thank you very much! One less thing to concern ourselves with in planning this trip, but will definitely keep the information bookmarked for our future adventures!