Nationals of the following 34 countries may apply to enter the United States without a visa under the Visa Waiver Program: Andorra, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Brunei, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Monaco, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Portugal, Republic of Korea, San Marino, Singapore, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom. Qualified citizens of these countries must travel on a participating carrier with an unexpired, individual, machine-readable, tamper-resistant passport and a return ticket.
New passports issued by Visa Waiver Program countries on or after October 26, 2005 must also include a digital photo; otherwise, the applicant will be required to obtain a visa for travel to the United States. The only passports issued on or after October 26, 2006 that will be valid for travel under the Visa Waiver Program are e-Passports, which include an integrated computer chip capable of storing biographic and biometric information and a digitized photograph.
All international travellers seeking to enter the United States under the Visa Waiver Program will be required to obtain travel authorization under ESTA before boarding an air or sea carrier. The application, which must be completed on-line, consists of basic biographical information and questions regarding eligibility. The application may be submitted any time prior to travel but DHS recommends that travellers complete the application at least 72 hours before departure. Travel authorization under ESTA will be valid for two years or until the individual’s passport expires, whichever date comes first. Links to additional information regarding ESTA and the ESTA application may be found on our Resource Links page.