Belgian residents planning short trips to the United States could soon face an extra layer of digital scrutiny. A proposal published this week by U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) would require all visitors entering under the Visa Waiver Program—including Belgians using ESTA— to disclose up to five years of social-media history, ten years of e-mail addresses and detailed information on immediate family members.
Currently, Belgian citizens complete a streamlined online form that asks for basic biographical data and pay a US$21 fee. Under the draft rule, travellers would have to list every social-media handle used in the past five years as well as the names, dates of birth and places of residence of parents, spouses, siblings and children. CBP says expanded vetting is necessary to counter evolving security risks, but privacy advocates in both countries warn of data-protection challenges and possible discriminatory profiling.
![U.S. proposes social-media screening for Belgian visa-waiver travellers]()
To navigate these shifting requirements, Belgian travellers can enlist the support of VisaHQ, which provides step-by-step ESTA guidance, secure document upload and real-time status tracking; more details and live chat assistance are available at https://www.visahq.com/belgium/.
The measure is subject to a 60-day public-comment period, after which CBP can finalise and phase in the rule. If adopted unchanged, Belgian leisure and business travellers may face longer application times and a higher risk of refusal—an unwelcome prospect ahead of the 2026 FIFA World Cup, when trans-Atlantic demand is expected to surge.
Travel-industry bodies such as ABTO (Association of Belgian Travel Organisers) say the proposal could dampen demand for U.S. trips, a market that has only just returned to pre-pandemic levels. Corporate mobility managers are advised to review employee-data policies, update travel-approval lead times and brief staff on the importance of consistent social-media disclosure. Belgian authorities have not yet indicated whether they will revise their travel advisories, but diplomats in Brussels are monitoring the consultation closely.
Currently, Belgian citizens complete a streamlined online form that asks for basic biographical data and pay a US$21 fee. Under the draft rule, travellers would have to list every social-media handle used in the past five years as well as the names, dates of birth and places of residence of parents, spouses, siblings and children. CBP says expanded vetting is necessary to counter evolving security risks, but privacy advocates in both countries warn of data-protection challenges and possible discriminatory profiling.
To navigate these shifting requirements, Belgian travellers can enlist the support of VisaHQ, which provides step-by-step ESTA guidance, secure document upload and real-time status tracking; more details and live chat assistance are available at https://www.visahq.com/belgium/.
The measure is subject to a 60-day public-comment period, after which CBP can finalise and phase in the rule. If adopted unchanged, Belgian leisure and business travellers may face longer application times and a higher risk of refusal—an unwelcome prospect ahead of the 2026 FIFA World Cup, when trans-Atlantic demand is expected to surge.
Travel-industry bodies such as ABTO (Association of Belgian Travel Organisers) say the proposal could dampen demand for U.S. trips, a market that has only just returned to pre-pandemic levels. Corporate mobility managers are advised to review employee-data policies, update travel-approval lead times and brief staff on the importance of consistent social-media disclosure. Belgian authorities have not yet indicated whether they will revise their travel advisories, but diplomats in Brussels are monitoring the consultation closely.
