Electronic System for Travel Authorization (ESTA)

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The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has announced implementation of the Electronic System for Travel Authorization (ESTA), a new fully automated, electronic system for screening passengers before they begin travel to the United States under the Visa Waiver Program (VWP).

ESTA screening became mandatory for VWP travelers on January 12, 2009.

ESTA applications may be submitted at any time prior to travel to the United States, and VWP travelers are encouraged to apply for authorization as soon as they begin to plan a trip to the United States. If applicants’ destination addresses or itineraries should change after their authorization has been approved, they may easily update that information through the ESTA website.

In most cases, ESTA will provide an almost immediate determination of eligibility for travel under the VWP. An approved ESTA travel authorization is:

  • enables nationals of certain countries to travel to the United States for tourism or business for stays of 90 days or less without obtaining a visa.
  • valid for up to two years or until the traveler’s passport expires, whichever comes first;
  • valid for multiple entries into the U.S.; and
  • not a guarantee of admissibility to the United States at a port of entry.
  • ESTA approval only authorizes a traveler to board a carrier for travel to the U.S. under the VWP. In all cases, CBP officers make admissibility determinations at our ports of entry.

Travelers whose ESTA applications are approved, but whose passports will expire in less than two years, will receive an ESTA valid until the passport’s expiration date.

A new ESTA authorization is required if:

  1. You are issued a new passport,
  2. You change your name (first and/or last)
  3. You change your gender
  4. Your country of citizenship changes
  5. Your circumstances change, e.g., you are convicted of a crime of moral turpitude or you develop a contagious disease.  Such a change may require you to get a visa to travel to the U.S. You must re-apply and your application must reflect the change in your circumstances or you may be denied entry upon arrival in the United States.

To access and complete the ESTA registration, please visit the ESTA website at the following address: https://www.cbp.gov/travel/international-visitors/esta

For further information, contact the U.S. Department of State. (U.S. Department of State: Visa Waiver Program (VWP))

A: Andorra, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Brunei, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Monaco, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Portugal, San Marino, Singapore, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom. The following countries were added in 2008: Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Slovakia and South Korea.

A: For nationals or citizens of countries that became part of the Visa Waiver Program in 2008: Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Slovakia and South Korea, the following is required:

  1. An electronic passport (E-passport)
  2. You must apply for and receive authorization to travel under the Visa Waiver Program via the Electronic System for Travel Authorization (ESTA) prior to your trip. You may apply at the ESTA website. (Electronic System for Travel Authorization) ESTA is for air or sea travel under the Visa Waiver Program on a U.S.-bound carrier.

For all other nationals or citizens of Visa Waiver Program countries:

  1. You must apply for and receive authorization to travel under the Visa Waiver Program via the Electronic System for Travel Authorization (ESTA) prior to your trip. You may apply at the ESTA website. (Electronic System for Travel Authorization) ESTA is for air or sea travel under the Visa Waiver Program on a U.S.-bound carrier.
  2. If you are applying for admission into the United States under the Visa Waiver Program with a passport that was issued prior to October 26, 2005, your passport must be machine-readable.

    If your passport is not machine-readable, you will need a new machine-readable passport or a visa in the old passport.

  3. If you are applying for admission into the United States under the Visa Waiver Program with a passport issued during the time from October 26, 2005 to October 25, 2006, your passport must contain a machine-readable zone and digital photo. A digital photo is a photo that is printed on the page, not glued or laminated into the passport.

If your passport does not have a digital photo, you will need a new passport or a visa in the old passport.

If you are applying for admission into the United States under the Visa Waiver Program with a passport issued on or after October 26, 2006, your passport must be an electronic passport (E-passport). If it is not an E-passport, you will need a visa.

A: Machine-readable passports contain lines of printed data on the inside cover, and can be read by scanning the lines of data through special readers. U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers can quickly confirm the passport holder’s identity and obtain other information about the holder typically found on a passport’s inside cover. You may obtain information as to whether your passport is machine-readable at your countries’ nearest Consulate or Embassy or passport-issuing office.

A: As an alternative, you may obtain a nonimmigrant visa in your current passport from a U.S. Consulate or Embassy.

A: E-passports are identified by a symbol printed on the front cover that looks like this (click link to view symbol)

If you are unsure, you may obtain information as to whether your passport is an E-passport at your country’s nearest consulate or embassy.

A: If you apply for admission under the Visa Waiver Program without the required passport and you do not have a nonimmigrant visa, you may be denied entry to the United States and may be detained until removed.

A: You must apply for and receive authorization to travel under the Visa Waiver Program via the Electronic System for Travel Authorization (ESTA) prior to your trip. You may apply at the ESTA website. (Electronic System for Travel Authorization) ESTA is for air or sea travel on a U.S.-bound carrier.

A: You may travel to Canada, Mexico (contiguous territory) or the adjacent islands as part of your trip to the United States under the Visa Waiver Program, however:

  1. Your trip must not end in contiguous territory or adjacent islands unless you are a permanent resident there; and
  2. You must return home prior to the expiration of the 90 day period.

A: No. Each VWP applicant must present an individual passport. Families must have individual machine-readable passports for everyone, including children.

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