Global entry users - starting to expand to other countries!

[[email protected]]

Beginning November 01, 2012 Australian Customs and Border Protection will allow eligible U.S. Trusted Travelers to use Australia's automated border processing system, SmartGate, on a trial basis. SmartGate performs the customs and immigration checks usually conducted by an Australian Customs and Border Protection officer. It uses state-of-the-art biometric face recognition and ePassport¹ technology to securely and efficiently process passengers. Using SmartGate to self-process may be faster than waiting for an Australian Customs and Border Protection officer, particularly during busy travel periods.

SmartGate is a simple two-step process involving a kiosk and a gate. A video demonstration of SmartGate is available on the following link: How it works

U.S. citizens who are members of U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) Trusted Traveler programs are eligible to use SmartGate upon arrival in Australia if they:
•are a member of CBP's Global Entry, NEXUS, or SENTRI Program;
•travel on a valid U.S. ePassport¹ and
•are 16 years of age or older.

Travelers who meet all three criteria will be eligible to try SmartGate.

There is no additional enrollment process to participate in SmartGate. CBP has partnered with the Australian Government on this initiative to facilitate the entry of U.S. citizens into Australia. By using SmartGate, eligible travelers are able to bypass Australia's manual passport control processing queues and self-process using their ePassport¹.

SmartGate is currently available at the following airports in Australia:
•Adelaide
•Brisbane
•Cairns
•Darwin
•Gold Coast
•Melbourne
•Perth
•Sydney

At no point is this program an entitlement. Passengers are always subject to screening measures.

Australian Customs and Border Protection is currently expanding its SmartGate facilities to improve access to the program for additional eligible travelers. The project will deliver five additional gates at Melbourne International Airport by mid-November and four new gates and one kiosk at Sydney International Airport by Christmas. The construction work may cause some delays for SmartGate users arriving in Sydney and Melbourne, and Australian Customs and Border Protection apologizes for any inconvenience.

For more information on using SmartGate in Australia, visit SmartGate or Global Entry.

¹ For more information on ePassports, please visit The U.S. Electronic Passport
This could be the start of a very good thing for all of us international travelers!

[kyshel]

Excellent information--thanks a bunch! We're spending a lot more time in Asia / Pacific and hopefully, Oceania in the future.

[[email protected]]

I hope this type of thing comes to other airports around the globe - we global entry folks have already had a background check so it would be so nice not to have to go through some of the hassles we experience in other countries airports - like Juan Santamaria in CR or France!

[LL_Travelfan]

When I renewed my passport earlier this year, I actually got an ePassport that has the chip.

[bonniejoy03]

WOW L....I just had my passport renewed in September and didn't have the epassport option with the chip. I didn't see it on the website either?

[[email protected]]

Mine passport has the chip - I renewed mine last year. BJ - feel around on the cover of your passport - if you feel a slight bump then you have the chip embedded in it.

[kyshel]

Mine was issued in 2008 and it has the chip. Both of hubby's PPs have it--one is 2012, the other 2011. All 3 are registered with GE, as well.

[bonniejoy03]

OK....I have this new thicker passport. I do not feel anything. It does have a photo of a camera on the cover? Maybe that just means ugly photo?

[danielboldea]

OK....I have this new thicker passport. I do not feel anything. It does have a photo of a camera on the cover? Maybe that just means ugly photo?

The camera on the cover means that it is in fact, a biometric passport. The U.S. Department of State now issues biometric passports only.

Additionally, for travelers holding a valid passport issued on or after 26 October 2006, such a passport must be a biometric passport if used to enter the U.S. visa-free under the VWP.

[bonniejoy03]

Thanks D...Is biometric the same as the one with the chip?