About ESTA approval for travel to the United States
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What is an ESTA travel authorisation?
If you travel to the United States and do not normally need a visa, you will now have to apply for an ESTA travel authorisation as early as possible and no later than 72 hours before departure. This travel authorisation is in addition to the information that you need to give to the US Customs and Border Protection Authority when flying to the United States. Requesting an ESTA travel permission is free.
Apply for the ESTA travel authorisation
Affected countries
The Visa Waiver Programme applies to travellers with an e-passport issued by the following countries: Andorra, Austria, Belgium, The Czech Republic*, Denmark, Estonia*, Finland, France, Germany, Hungary*, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Latvia*, Liechtenstein, Lithuania*, Luxembourg, Malta, Monaco, The Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, San Marino, Slovakia*, Slovenia, South Korea*, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and the United Kingdom – as well as Australia, Brunei, Japan, New Zealand and Singapore.
* Passports issued by these countries have to be e-passports. An e-passport has a digital passport photo and a built-in chip, and can be read by machine. If you have a temporary or emergency passport that is not an e-passport, you can no longer travel under the Visa Waiver Programme. You must then apply for a visa for your trip to the United States.
If you have a valid visa for travel to the United States, you can still use it for the purpose for which it was issued. You will not need an ESTA travel authorisation until your visa expires.
What should I do?
You can apply for an ESTA travel authorisation free of charge at the ESTA pages of the US Customs and Border Protection website. You should do this as early as possible and at the latest 72 hours before your departure. It will take approximately 15 minutes per person to complete the application.
The information you must supply is the same as the information you will enter on the green I-94 Arrival/Departure Form – this is the form that is handed out by the cabin crew during the flight. Eventually, the ESTA travel authorisation will replace this form, but for now you will need to apply for the ESTA travel authorisation as well as to complete this green form before arrival.
After the approval of your application for an ESTA travel authorisation, you will receive a reference number. Be sure not to lose this: you will need it to change your ESTA information when your passport expires.
An ESTA travel authorisation remains valid for two years. During these two years, you may travel to the US as often as you like.
You might not receive an ESTA travel authorisation immediately. In this case, you should use your ESTA reference number to check to see whether a permission for departure will still be issued. You should make sure to do this well in advance since there is a possibility that you could be referred to the US Embassy or US Consulate.
Apply for the ESTA travel authorisation
When did the ESTA travel authorisation go into effect?
The need to apply for the ESTA travel authorisation went into effect on 12 January 2009. Make sure that you apply for the ESTA travel authorisation in time if you intend to fly to the United States. If you do not apply for an ESTA travel authorisation, you may be denied entry to the United States.
For more information, please read the US Customs and Border Protection Authority Official information sheet(PDF, 197KB).
