Via Milepoint and also reader G.B., U.S. citizens with ‘Global Entry’ as well as NEXUS or SENTRI can now use Australia‘s expedited immigration SmartGate. You have to be 16 years old or older and have a e-passport (passport with embedded chip) to be eligible.
Global Entry requires an interview and background screening, and there’s a $100 fee.
United’s Platinum and 1K members get their Global Entry registration fees refunded. So do American Express Platinum and Centurion cardholders and Loews Platinum members.
This is a great move, surprising reciprocity and something I’d love to be extended — and not just to expedited immigration but also security and to visa procedures.
Surprising reciprocity indeed, except that Aussies can’t currently use their e-passports to enter the U.S. in the same way.
Does it strike anyone else as odd that the US is apparently providing the list of trusted travelers to another nation? Did I agree to that when I signed up?
Todd: If they do it similar to how Global Entry access works for Germans, then I do not see a problem. Germans have to register with the German equivalent for Global Entry. Then one gets a token that one can enter while registering in GOES for Global Entry. It is my understanding that the lists are not exchanged, but that via this token the Global Entry infrastructure can get access to the specific entry in the German data base. I think that is fair since when applying for Global Entry one does an explicit opt in.
My guess is that the we (the US) are not providing a “list” of trusted passengers as much as we are providing a way to access our “list” Assuming that is the case, I’m still curious how they secure the connections and transport.