Originally Posted by
tecate55
What's this mean for US-resident dual US-EU nationals? Will they be able to travel to EU on their US passport with an ETIAS? Or will they be rejected from ETIAS because they're an EU national and need to get an EU passport?
There's a lot of US nationals that left EU decades ago with no intention of more than an EU vacation.
And even more "accidental" EU nationals because they had an EU parent/grandparent.
Will the ETIAS app ask if you're an EU national and reject any "Yes" answers? Then requiring travellers to collect their (grand)parents birth certificates, marriage certs, translations, apostilles, etc. to get an EU passport? Or renounce their EU citizenship (if they even can) ?
This is the current state with the US and Canadian approach to electronic travel authorization. Before the electronic system, the border agents didn't really care what passport you used, or your Canadian Permanent Residence from 1975. But the machine doesn't use its brain and just spits out a simplified "Oh, if you're an XYZ citizen wanting to visit XYZ, you're ineligible for ETA because you don't need a visa. Just use an XYZ passport/residence card".
IMHO think it will work similar to the US ESTA program. When you have the US citizenship and any other citizenship you do not need ESTA since you can enter the US with you US passport (I think there is even a rule that you must use your US passport for entering the US but I'm not totally sure) So in case you have an EU dual citizenship you just enter the EU with your EU passport. The passport is the only document that counts in this case. There are no "accidental" EU nationals. You might have the right to claim a citizenship of an EU country due to some ancestors that immigrated to the US but for the purpose of entering a country you will need passport and not just a claim. The claim is only good for applying at the embassy or consulate for the citizenship and getting an EU passport. So if you have an EU passport as a dual citizen you will not need the ESTIA. In case you don't know that you are eligible for an EU passport you have live with the fact hat you have to pay the fee for ESTIA. And I highly doubt that any EU country will hunt down anybody who might have a claim for a citizenship because some great great parent immigrated to the US, Canada or any other country in one of the last centuries. With the millions of emigrants that left Europe over the centuries this would be a bit crazy.
On the other topic of ESTIA / ESTA / ETA being a visa or not. IMHO they are an electronic authorization to participate in a visa-waiver program meaning that if you pass the authorization you do not need a visa. In case you fail the authorization your have to apply for a normal visa (for example when your ESTA authorization gets denied you can apply for a normal visa. The normal visa process is not linked at all to ESTA. It is even handled by two different departments. ESTA by the Department of Homeland Security and Visa by the Department of State)