I thought I would share a recent experience related to renewing our US Passports.

Since we are planning to travel to Europe in 2024 and our passports expire in July 2024, we thought we should start the process to renew our passports. I anticipate that I will start looking at airfares in January, and given some of the stories we’ve heard or read about regarding long wait times, we thought it best not to delay.

We completed the paperwork online, had our photos taken and mailed everything to the processing center on November 3rd. BTW, if you’re a AAA member, they had the best price for taking the photos.

Since we sent everything by certified mail, we saw that they received the documents on November 6th…so far, so good. Given the updated 7-10 week window, we were hoping to receive our new passports by February 1st.

So much for our figuring: we received our mail today (December 1st) and lo and behold – we received our new passports! It took just a couple days beyond three weeks.

Since I can be a little curmudgeonly at times, I have to say we were extremely pleased with the service and quick turnaround.

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I was checking today on the European Travel Information and Authorisation System (ETIAS) website and it appears that the requirement for US travelers was pushed back until 2025.

ETIAS is an electronic travel authorization, also known as a visa waiver, and it is essential for short visa-free stays. In case you were unaware, the US has had a similar process in place called ESTA since 2008. It is basically an anti-terrorist program that tries to look at people before they travel.

It will likely cost about $10 and will be good for three years.

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It’s looking like we may be squeezing in two trips in 2024, especially now that we have our new passports. 😀 More details later.