How late can you book a holiday?

Danny091 · 17 Jul 2011 at 18:10

semi-pro waster said:
This is true, however it's possibly worth mentioning that some countries require visas for entry not normally the ones at <£300 but it's a point to bear in mind. America for instance requires the ESTA (visa waiver for citizens in selected countries) - they also apparently don't like it if you don't have a destination booked on arrival at customs or so I discovered, whoops.

You have to register your entry to most country's now online before you go. My parents had to when the went to italy.

[TW]Fox · 17 Jul 2011 at 18:10

Danny091 said:
You have to register your entry to most country's now online before you go. My parents had to when the went to italy.

You shouldnt need to for Italy, its an EU country :confused:

Danny091 · 17 Jul 2011 at 18:11

[TW]Fox;19603432 said:
You shouldnt need to for Italy, its an EU country

That was my reaction when they told me.. But yes apparently you do.

semi-pro waster · 17 Jul 2011 at 18:13

Amp34 said:
Meh, just make one up... you only need to be staying there for the first night anyway...

Maybe I should have done, as it turns out I just said I'd be in San Francisco itself and didn't end up staying there apart from one night randomly so probably not all that much use for tracking me if that was the purpose.

Danny091 said:
You have to register your entry to most country's now online before you go. My parents had to when the went to italy.

That sounds a bit odd, I've never been asked for any EU country to register my entry. Are your parent EU nationals or is this something specific to Italy and if so how do they enforce it?

Danny091 · 17 Jul 2011 at 18:15

semi-pro waster said:
That sounds a bit odd, I've never been asked for any EU country to register my entry. Are your parent EU nationals or is this something specific to Italy and if so how do they enforce it?

Mums in work at the moment but ill ask her details when she gets home and post. My parents are British with British passports.

Ill post what my mum tells me when she gets in. Other than that i'm not sure.

PinkPig · 17 Jul 2011 at 18:16

Danny091 said:
That was my reaction when they told me.. But yes apparently you do.

They're wrong. You can find out up-to-date information about the entry requirements for particular countries here: http://www.fco.gov.uk/en/travel-and...ountry/europe/italy?ta=entryRequirements&pg=4.

I don't think there are many countries at all that you have to register online to visit - ESTA for the USA, and Australia's electronic visa system spring to mind. Most others either don't have a requirement at all (say Japan or any EU country) or require a proper visa application (Russia or China).

[TW]Fox · 17 Jul 2011 at 18:16

Danny091 said:
That was my reaction when they told me.. But yes apparently you do.

You don't.

Danny091 · 17 Jul 2011 at 18:17

[TW]Fox;19603481 said:
You don't.

Ill admit i might be wrong. But ill ask when she gets home.

Rotty · 17 Jul 2011 at 18:33

[TW]Fox;19603481 said:
You don't.

No idea re Italy but for Spain you have to provide avnaced passeger information before you fly

Glaucus · 17 Jul 2011 at 18:35

Rotty said:
No idea re Italy but for Spain you have to provide avnaced passeger information before you fly

Since when?
Or is it done when you book the tickets.

Edit - automatically collected when you book in online with ryanair,

PinkPig · 17 Jul 2011 at 18:37

Rotty said:
No idea re Italy but for Spain you have to provide avnaced passeger information before you fly

That's not really the same - it's not an immigration requirement for entering the country, it's a security requirement for being on board a plane that enters the country. It's collected by the airline, not immigration, and it's not required if you enter by land or sea.

The USA has both an API requirement and an ESTA requirement.

Rotty · 17 Jul 2011 at 18:38

AcidHell2 said:
Since when?
Or is it done when you book the tickets.

since June 2007 it was required but you could do it at airport, since 2008 you cannot do it at airport, no idea if it is done as part of ticket booking, with BMI Baby they send you an email a while before with a link to fill it in

Amp34 · 17 Jul 2011 at 18:49

semi-pro waster said:
Maybe I should have done, as it turns out I just said I'd be in San Francisco itself and didn't end up staying there apart from one night randomly so probably not all that much use for tracking me if that was the purpose.

It's only for the first night anyway.

semi-pro waster said:
That sounds a bit odd, I've never been asked for any EU country to register my entry. Are your parent EU nationals or is this something specific to Italy and if so how do they enforce it?

I presume they meant passport details before the flight. Remember the Spain debacle a year or so ago when they started doing that early?

EDIT: Seems I'm too slow...

semi-pro waster · 17 Jul 2011 at 19:43

Amp34 said:
It's only for the first night anyway.

Going by what the customs official told me it was to give them a starting point if they needed to track where people went within the country. At the time however I thought it prudent not to express my disbelief at this policy, if you were going to abscond then the smart money would be either on not giving the correct starting address or simply disappearing as soon as was practicable - in levels of pointlessness it's somewhat akin to asking "are you a terrorist?", you're unlikely to get many takers who would constitute a serious danger just by asking nicely.