# Italy out of the VWP?



## HKG3 (Jan 11, 2015)

I was reading an article on Friday's (29 January 2016) _Times_ newspaper titled 'Passport forgeries threaten to end visa-free travel to US'. It stated that the US is worried about 'a surge in the number of counterfeit passport traded on the black market' and the US State Department gave five EU countries, including Italy, until Monday 1st February 2016 to 'prove that they can control the trade [in counterfeit passports]'. 

Just wonder how the Italians would react to Italy's possible removal from the US Visa Waiver Program (VWP)? 

Passport forgeries threaten to end visa-free travel to US | The Times


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## NickZ (Jun 26, 2009)

Shrug. Most Italians only travel with in the EU and we don't even need a passport for that.


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## accbgb (Sep 23, 2009)

NickZ said:


> Shrug. Most Italians only travel with in the EU and we don't even need a passport for that.


But for how much longer?

EU border controls: Schengen scheme on the brink after Amsterdam talks | World news | The Guardian

http://www.nytimes.com/2016/01/26/w...ocs-promise-of-free-movement-wavers.html?_r=0

http://www.nytimes.com/2016/01/16/w...ders-are-in-danger-german-minister-warns.html

Refugee crisis: EU ministers vote to end passport-free travel | The Week UK

Will Refugee Crisis Doom the EU? - The Daily Beast


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## NickZ (Jun 26, 2009)

Most people fly. The airports already have those checks.

The people that would be hurt are those that drive. Plenty of Italian workers cross the border into both France and Switzerland. 

But Germany etc don't want open borders to allow people to cross easily. It's the heavy trucks loaded with goods they're worried about.


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## BBCWatcher (Dec 28, 2012)

Passports are not required within the EU/EEA even when there are border checks. National ID cards are perfectly fine, and Italy issues those (_carte d'identità_).


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