5 Things You Need to Know About Travel Registration

What is the purpose of travel registration? The purpose of travel registration is to allow governments to contact their citizens in the event of a disaster, emergency or other crisis. This is a free service. An example of when a traveler can benefit from this service was seen in the recent Israel/Lebanese conflict. Travelers that had taken the time to register with their government were able to be contacted by the local embassy and advised of evacuation plans What is Travel Registration? Travel registration is a free service provided by many Governments for their citizens who are traveling on vacation in a foreign country or who live in a foreign country. Registration allows you to record details about your planned trip or to provide your address if you are living long term in a foreign country. Why should you register? With cheap flights available millions of travelers move about the globe and most encounter no problems. However at times events take place that result in the need for your government to contact you quickly. Your family and friends may need to contact you in an emergency. When an emergency happens, or if civil unrest, natural disaster or terrorism strikes during your foreign travel your governments' local embassy or consulate can be your source of help and information. By taking advantage of the travel registration service and voluntarily providing your details, you assist the embassy or consulates locate and contact you when you might need them the most. How can an embassy or consulate assist me while I am traveling or living abroad? The assistance provided by Consular officers may vary depending on which country you are from. In general Consular officers assist their citizens or permanent residents who encounter serious legal, medical, or financial difficulties. Although Consular officers cannot act as a legal counsel or representative, they are able to provide you with the names of local lawyers and medical service providers. They can also arrange emergency loans to needy citizens, and provide information about dangerous conditions affecting your overseas travel or residence. Consular officers also perform non-emergency services, helping citizens with absentee voting. US Consular officers provide selective service registration, receiving federal benefits, and filing U.S. tax forms. Consular officers can issue passports, notarize documents and register American children born abroad. Most embassies and consulates have web sites with more information. Go to http://www.cheapflightscruises.com/moreinfo.html for links to Government websites. How will the information be used? The information collected is only used by your government's home department and overseas embassies and consulates to inform and assist its citizens traveling or residing in foreign countries. In the case of US citizens all personal information provided is secure and protected by the Privacy Act of 1974. Personal data will remain in active files for twelve months after the completion of your last trip, your last registration activity, or your departure date from your foreign country of residence. At that time you will receive an e-mail notifying you that your registration data records, log-on, and password will be automatically deleted after three months unless you take steps keep your registration active. No data from the IBRS system will be archived. Indefinite registrations of long-term overseas residents will remain in the file indefinitely unless edited or deleted by the registrant. For other countries it is likely that your information is protected by a Privacy Act. Information for US citizens already living abroad You may register as a Long-Term Traveler. You then have the opportunity to provide information about your overseas residence, and you can choose to receive information from the nearest embassy or consulate. If you create a password, you can update your personal information on the State Office website at any time. If you have a residence or contact address in the U.S., use that address as your Personal Information address, and your foreign residence as your Long-Term Trip address. If you do not have a U.S. residence or contact address, use your foreign residence as both your Personal Information address and your Long-Term Trip address. Summary and further information Remember that the travel registration service is optional. You may decide to not register. If so you should regularly check the travel advice or warnings relating to the country/ies you will visit or currently reside. 5 Things You Need to Know About Travel Registration is a post from: Traveling China from Traveling China http://www.chinaya.org

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