Europeans Can Register .EU Domains Anywhere in the World Starting From 19 October 2019
It has been announced by the .EU registry EURid that any Europeans living outside of Europe are now eligible to register .EU starting from 19 October 2019. This was previously impossible as .EU registrants are required to be based in Europe, with a valid Europe address, to be considered as eligible to register for .EU. The announcement is good news for any Europeans currently based outside of Europe, which they were once previously ineligible to register.
A Brief Background of .EU Domain
The top-level domain .EU currently ranks as the eighth-largest country code top-level domain (ccTLD) in the world. It achieved more than 3.7 million registrations across Europe, ever since it launched back in 2006. The number of registrations per year averages more than 20k, and it is considered as one of the most popular ccTLDs. This is especially true when the launch of .EU yielded impressive registration numbers for its Sunrise phases and Landrush (general public availability).
The Reason Behind the Change
Citing the need to meet the ever-changing needs of the digital environment and the Internet, EURid stated that this change is necessary in order to serve the community of Europeans from around the world. It also mentioned that there are approximately 12 million Europeans living in the US, Canada, and Australia alone, not accounting the rest of the world, and they are all ineligible for registering .EU prior to the change due to geographic restrictions.
With this change effective from 19 October 2019, EURid hopes to provide these individuals with an online platform so that they can take the opportunity to connect their lives with families and friends back home. Regardless of where these individuals are, EURid stated that registering a .EU domain will be like a European passport on the Internet, representing reliable, trustworthy and secure. The domain .EU is suitable for blogs, travel diary or personal business, and will bring individual and consumer rights under European standards and regulations.
“We are excited to be able to extend the registration criteria to EU citizens around the world. The .eu domain is now closer to your ambitions, achievements, and dreams. It is the bridge connecting you to your friends and family – even if you live outside the EU. It will always show your roots, your outlook, and your cultural values.” – Marc Van Wesemael, EURid`s CEO.
WebNIC is an accredited registrar of EURid and offers .EU domain to our partners. If you have any European customers, this is an excellent opportunity to inform them of this change: Europeans can register .EU domains anywhere in the world starting from 19 October 2019.
About WebNIC
WebNIC is accredited registrar for ICANN, and various countries including Asia, Europe, America, Australasia, and Africa. With offices in Singapore, Malaysia, Korea, Indonesia and Taiwan, we serve 4,500+ active resellers over 70 countries. To join us and become a reseller, live chat with us or email us at [email protected].