United States FAQ
Should you hold citizenship of a country in the US Visa Waiver Program (VWP), but also hold citizenship of Iran, Iraq, Sudan or Syria, you won’t be eligible for an ESTA. Also, if you’ve travelled to and/ or stayed in Iran, Iraq, Sudan, Libya, Somalia or Yemen after March 1st 2011, you won’t be eligible. Legislation can change, however; so, you’re advised to check.
No.
Technically, possessing an ESTA ensures you’re *eligible* to enter the United States; when you arrive at a point of entry, your right of entry will be determined by an immigration official, whom has it in their power to refuse you entry, according to United States law.
Under the VWP, citizens/ nationals can apply for an ESTA should they hail from Andorra, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Brunei, Chile, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Monaco, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Portugal, Republic of Malta, San Marino, Singapore, Slovakia, Slovenia, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan or the UK. However, should they be a citizen of/ hold a passport supplied by Curacao, Bonaire and St Maarten, they won’t be able to enter the USA under the VWP.
Administered by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), the VWP enables citizens of eligible countries to travel to the United States without a full visa; instead, they can travel with the short-term visa solution that’s an ESTA for a stay of up to 90 days, per visit.
No.
An ESTA is a short-term alternative to a longer-term visa for the United States; an ESTA is intended for travel and a stay of up to 90 days, at a time (within a two-year timeframe). If you have a valid visa for the USA, you should travel on that (so long as you do so for the purpose of its issue).
No.
You can book your flights to the USA/ finalise your travel itinerary after you apply for your ESTA.
An ESTA allows multiple entries to the United States within a fixed two-year timeframe; you cannot exceed 90 days in the country per entry.
Should the ESTA expire during your stay in the country, it won’t impact on you being able to leave the country with ease; however, you’ll definitely have to renew your ESTA in order to enter the country next time.
The situation in each country during the Covid 19 pandemic is changing rapidly.
Please check with the foreign office of the country in order to ascertain the most up to date entry requirement for vaccination and Covid tests.
It’s not a legal requirement to quarantine upon your entry, but it’s arguably an expectation to do so for between seven and 10 days after arrival – and to take a coronavirus test, too, like it or not.
Also, bear in mind that different states have different mandatory quarantine rules, so check what’s required for exactly where you’ll be visiting and staying.
If you reside in or you’re travelling from a yellow fever-affected country, you’ll be required to present proof of vaccination against the disease.
There’s no getting away from it, the United States is a vast country, one that stretches the width of an entire continent. Indeed, if you take a flight from NYC to LA, it’s likely to take as long as flying from NYC to London. Needless to say, you can’t discover any sort of majority of the USA on one visit, so you’ll have to draw up a sensible itinerary to take in as much of the variety of colour, culture, sights and sounds as possible.
A word on shopping, too. Beware that the shelf-price of a product won’t match the price at the check-out because a product’s tag price won’t include the tax you’ll also have to pay. Tipping, too, while it’s technically voluntary, is unique here because, really, it’s entirely expected. The reason being that waiting staff depend on tips for their living. That also means tipping’s generous; usually 15-20% of a bill’s total.
Food-wise, some cities in the USA boast truly fantastic restaurants. NYC and San Francisco, for instance, are packed with Michelin-starred restaurants. Although, most impressive of all, the United States is blessed with stunning natural beauty; it features simply some of the most beautiful national parks in the world, so try not to restrict your visit to just urban areas, if you can.
ESTA stands for the Electronic System for Travel Authorisation, a computerised visa waiver programme that allows the US authorities to see if the traveller is authorised for entry into the country.
The main difference between the ESTA and a paper visa is that the ESTA is done compeltely online, making it a lot easier.
If your ESTA application’s unsuccessful, you’ll have to then apply for and obtain a full United States visitor visa (i.e. a B-2 Tourist Visa).
The ESTA is not a visa, but a visa waiver. The main difference between the ESTA and a paper visa is that the ESTA is done compeltely online, making it a lot easier and efficient to complete.
An ESTA’s valid for two years after the date of your arrival; so, you’d be sensible to obtain one as soon as you can.
However, at the latest, you’re advised to make sure you obtain one three days before travelling.
90 days, with the option of multiple entries.
An ESTA has a two-year window of validity after your arrival date in the USA but, being tied to your passport, it becomes invalid when your passport expires (should that happen before the two-year window closes). When the ESTA’s no longer valid, you’ll have to reapply.
An electronic passport with digital chip and biometric information. This passport should also be at least valid for 6 months from the date of entrance tothe USA.
You will also have to provide your passport number and Personal Identification Number (PIN).
You need an email address to receive the ESTA.
Lastly, a debit/credit card for payments.
There are two situations when you’ll need a full United States visa and not an ESTA to enter the country – if you wish to stay for more than 90 days or if your visit’s for a purpose other than short-term leisure/ business.