US Global Entry Program To Re-Open For UK Citizens

Global Entry

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The US is re-opeing Global Entry applications for US citizens and this has to go down as one of the year’s best pieces of news for UK citizens who travel to the US with any frequency.

What Is “Global Entry”?

Global Entry is a system brought in by the US immigration authorities to help speed up entry into the US for “trusted travelers”.

If you’ve ever flown into to the US, as a non-citizen, you’ll know what the lines at immigration and customs can be like – horrendous. Well, the lines for US citizens had been getting longer and longer so the authorities came up with Global Entry.

Initially designed for US citizens only, Global Entry involves being subjected to a vetting procedure by the US authorities (which includes biometrics) followed by a short (15 minute) interview at a US CBP office (often at a major airport). Should the applicant pass the process without any hitches they’re given “trusted traveler” status and their passport is registered in the “trusted traveler” database.

Global entry was open to UK citizens, briefly, a couple of years ago but, for some reason it was shut down. Citizens of Germany, Canada (via the NEXUS program), The Netherlands, Panama, Mexico and South Korea have all been enjoying the benefits of Global Entry for a while.

What Does This Mean?

Once a traveler’s passport is registered into the appropriate database (which happens pretty quickly after all the vetting has been completed) it means that they no longer have to get into the horrendous immigration lines when entering the US and no longer have to complete a paper customs declaration form.

Instead, travelers can proceed to the Global Entry kiosks, that have been installed in immigration halls at most major US airports, and use them to enter the US.

Global Entry Kiosks

The procedure at the kiosk:

  • Insert passport into the kiosk for a scan
  • Place fingers on a clear pad for fingerprinting
  • The kiosk photographs you
  • Using the touchscreen you confirm:
    • Your inbound flight details
    • That you haven’t been in any areas of infection
  • Using the touchscreen you answer the questions you normally find on the paper customs form (all are yes/no answers)
  • The kiosk prints out a slip of paper with your details and a very bad black & white photo of you.

You can now proceed though the immigration booths to baggage reclaim without any lines or any further interaction with US immigration (sometimes an immigration official may glance at your slip of paper but that’s quite rare).

A disclaimer on the CBP website reads:

While Global Entry’s goal is to speed travelers through the process, members may still be selected for further examination when entering the United States. Any violation of the program’s terms and conditions will result in the appropriate enforcement action and termination of the traveler’s membership privileges.

Some airports have dedicated customs lines for Global Entry members (Miami doesn’t but Dallas and LAX do) – so that’s another big line that Global Entry members get to skip.

How do UK citizens apply?

Beginning on 3 December 2015 UK citizens will be able to register for Global Entry.

According to the CBP website:

To register for Global Entry, U.K. citizens will apply through the U.K. Home Office website and pay a £42 processing fee. If the applicant passes the U.K. vetting, they will receive a “UK Access Code,” which applicants will enter when applying for Global Entry through CBP’s Global Online Enrollment System (GOES). The non-refundable application fee for a five-year Global Entry membership is $100 and applications must be made online. Once the application is approved, a CBP officer will conduct a scheduled interview with the applicant and then make a final eligibility determination.

Can children apply?

From the CBP Website:

There is no minimum age requirement for Global Entry. However, if you are under the age of 18, you must have your parent or legal guardian’s consent to participate in the program. Your parent or legal guardian does not have to be a Global Entry member.

Regardless of your age, you must create a Global Online Enrollment System account, pay a $100 non-refundable application fee, and schedule an interview at a Global Entry Enrollment Center. If you are under the age of 18, a parent or legal guardian must be present at time of interview.

Other Questions:

When can UK citizens schedule a CBP appointment?

Once you’ve got your UK access code and have applied for Global Entry through the CPB portal online (GOES) you then have to wait until you are “conditionally approved”. After that you can schedule your appointment via the GOES system.

How will I be informed of my application status (conditionally approved/denied)?

Once your application has been processed, CBP send out emails that read:

There has been a recent change to the status of your application.
Please login to your GOES account for more information.

How quickly do I have to have my interview after being “conditionally approved”?

From the CBP website:

You will need to schedule an appointment within 30 days of being conditionally approved. The actual appointment date can be beyond the 30-day period. For example, the scheduled appointment date can be several months from now, as long as you schedule it within 30 days of the conditional approval date. Failing to schedule the interview within 30 days from the date of conditional approval will result in being denied.

If you’ve got any other pressing question you may find the answers on the CBP FAQ page.

Thoughts

This news is probably the best travel news I’ve had this year. As a US citizen I’ve had Global Entry for a few years and I’ve thanked my lucky stars for Global Entry every time I return to the US – it’s a true game-changer in the travel world and I love it.

The problem has been that Joanna doesn’t have Global Entry so, although I get to skip all the lines and collect our baggage, I just end up waiting at baggage reclaim while she goes thorough the painfully slow immigration lines. Horribly frustrating for her and mind-blowingly boring for me 🙂

Not any more! Joanna will be signing up with the UK authorities the second applications start to be taken so, hopefully, my days of watching other people’s baggage going round and round will soon be over.

Featured image courtesy of Wikimedia

3 COMMENTS

  1. Nice right? I just applied for my Global Entry a couple weeks ago and I’m mad I didn’t do it long ago! The process is actually pretty easy, and if you travel much overseas it should be a huge help.

    There’s a ton of partners with it too, so you can get expedited entry into more than just American airports!

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