Australian travellers to finally get expedited entry into US
Washington: Australia has finally been granted access to the US global entry program, making it easier for hundreds of thousands of travellers to visit America every year.
From January 2025, Australia will join a list of countries such as Singapore, Canada, Germany and the UK, whose citizens currently enjoy expedited entry into America.
A US Customs and Border Protection officer checks the passport and paperwork of a visitor at Los Angeles International Airport.Credit: AP
“This is about ensuring that Australians who do business here in the US, who are frequent travellers here, are able to access the United States much more easily, reducing the cost of doing business,” said Foreign Minister Penny Wong, who is in Washington for the latest Australian-US ministerial dialogue.
“It’s a really important contribution to the economic and people-to-people aspect of our relationship.”
The global entry program gives low-risk, pre-approved users the benefit of reduced airport waiting times and expedited security clearances.
Under the first phase of the program, 1000 Australians who frequently travel to the US (i.e. five times or more in the last 12 months) will be eligible to take part from the beginning of next year.
Ambassador Kevin Rudd and Foreign Minister Penny Wong admire Australia’s new embassy in Washington.Credit: Yuri Gripas
Phase two – which requires new laws to be passed in parliament – will begin later in the year and allow for an unlimited number of Australians.
Interested participants must apply online, undergo a background check and a personal interview, and also pay a $US100 ($153) application fee. Once approved, membership lasts for five years and can be renewed.
Australia has tried to join the global entry program since 2018, but the process was stalled, in part, by the pandemic in 2020. Wong said the milestone would deepen the links between the two countries “and make it easier to foster greater commercial ties” between Australia and the US.
The announcement was made at the Australian embassy in Washington on Monday (local time), and formalised by a new security deal signed by Australia’s ambassador to the US Kevin Rudd and the acting deputy secretary of Homeland Security, Kristie Canegallo.
Also on Monday, Wong met with her US counterpart, Secretary of State Antony Blinken, to sign a memorandum of understanding designed to tackle foreign misinformation.
On Tuesday, the pair will take part in AUSMIN (Australia-US Ministerial Consultations) alongside Defence Minister Richard Marles and his US counterpart, Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin.
The talks will be used to further advance the AUKUS submarine deal, in which the US and the UK have agreed to help Australia acquire a new fleet of nuclear-propelled attack submarines to help safeguard the Indo-Pacific.
But the visit comes at a tumultuous time in the US, which is 92 days out from the presidential election between Vice President Kamala Harris and former president Donald Trump, who polls show are now neck-and-neck after President Joe Biden withdrew from the race.
Los Angeles International Airport is a common entry point for Australians travelling to the US.Credit: narvikk
Asked what it might mean if the US elected its first female president, Wong replied: “Those are decisions for the American people.” However, she added that the ties between Australia and the US would remain regardless of who won in November, and so too would the AUKUS partnership.
“We’ve seen different administrations, we’ve seen different presidents, we’ve seen different prime ministers and different cabinets – but the alliance and the relationship has remained strong, and so it must,” she said.
As tensions escalate in the Middle East – and fears grow that Iran will mount a retaliatory attack against Israel after Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh was assassinated in Tehran last week – Wong once again urged Australians to leave the region.
The government is especially concerned about citizens getting trapped in Lebanon, particularly if Beirut airport closes.
“So I again say to people: leave now, while you still have options to do so,” Wong said. “If you’re thinking of travelling to Lebanon, do not.”
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