Australia to join US Global Entry program in win for travellers

A deal has finally been struck to help Australians avoid painful queues at American airports – and even keep their shoes for security screening. This is how you can benefit.

Australians visiting the US will be able to dodge time-consuming border checks and enjoy fast-tracked security screening from next year after a long-awaited diplomatic deal was sealed.

Foreign Affairs Minister Penny Wong announced in Washington DC that Australia was finally joining America’s Global Entry program, a major breakthrough for hundreds of thousands of travellers.

It means that rather than queuing at airports to be grilled by border officials upon arriving from overseas, Australians who are pre-approved to join the scheme will have their photo taken in a hassle-free process to enter the US.

Those who sign up will also be eligible to join the Transportation Security Administration’s PreCheck program, which offers fast-tracked security checks for domestic flights.

Foreign Affairs Minister Penny Wong with US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken last month. Picture: Tomohiro Ohsumi (AFP)

About 99 per cent of PreCheck travellers wait less than 10 minutes – avoiding lengthy queues at many airports – and do not have to remove their shoes or take their laptops out of their bags for security screening.

“Joining the Global Entry program is a mark of the closeness and the strength of the relationship between our two countries,” Senator Wong said.

“The foundation of the friendship between Australia and the United States is the friendship between our people. This program will deepen these links and make it easier to foster greater commercial ties.”

Australians will become eligible to participate in the program in two phases, the first of which will open in January for 1000 citizens who have travelled to the US at least five times in the past year.

Travellers who use the TSA PreCheck program no longer have to remove their shoes for security checks at American airports. Picture: Supplied

The second phase will open to all eligible Australians later next year, once legislation has passed the Australian parliament to ensure compliance with American rules.

To sign up for the Global Entry program, Australians will have to pay a $US100 ($A154) fee, pass a background check and participate in an in-person interview with US officials.

Anyone who has been convicted of a criminal offence or is the subject of an ongoing law enforcement investigation will be ineligible.

Senator Wong said she had “asked the same question” of why it had taken so long for Australia to join the Global Entry scheme, blaming the previous government for the delay after the move was first flagged in 2018.

Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke said the government was “working hard to ensure that from January 2025, the first group of eligible Australians will experience expedited immigration and customs clearance channels when they arrive in the US”.