Our advice on How to Apply for an ESTA

International travellers who are seeking to travel to the United States for business or as a tourist via land and sea and who intend to stay for less than 90 days under the Visa Waiver Program (VWP) must apply for an ESTA (Electronic System for Travel Authorization).

The VWP cannot be used if you intend to stay for more than 90 days or if your purpose of travel is for study, employment or to take up permanent residence. If you are arriving in the United States via a land border from Canada or Mexico then you will require a handwritten I-94W unless you already have a valid ESTA.

• For stays over 90 days, or if you intend to work in the US, a Visa will be required. Please refer to the official US government website for up to date information.
• UK passport holders are eligible to apply for an ESTA, as are passport holders from many other countries. For a full list of eligible countries please refer to www.uk.usembassy.gov/visas/visa-waiver-program/
• Online application for an ESTA takes just a few minutes and everybody that is travelling needs to apply, although this can be done by a third party.
• Please only use the official US government website when applying for an ESTA https://esta.cbp.dhs.gov/esta Do not use a third party website that charges more than the $21 application fee – this is unnecessary. All these companies will do is fill out the online form on your behalf and charge you a considerable amount of money for doing a few minutes of simple work.
• You also have the option to download the ESTA app for completing your online application. This can be found on the Google Play Store for Android users or the App Store for iOS users. Download the app by clicking the links above.
• The current fee for an ESTA is $21, which is $4 towards the administrative costs of issuing the ESTA and $17 which the US government uses to increase tourism. This fee can be made using debit or credit cards as well as American Express and PayPal. If your application is unsuccessful for any reason you will be refunded the $17.
• An ESTA lasts for 2 years from the date of application, or until the expiry date of the passport. If you need to renew your passport at any stage you will need to apply for a new ESTA, regardless of how long you have left on it.
• Always print out your ESTA and have it with you when you check-in with your airline. You will not have to produce it to the Customs & Border Protection (CBP) officers on arrival, they will have an electronic record of your eligibility, but some airlines will want to see it before boarding. On occasions, computer links might not be working as they should between airlines and the CBP so a print-out could save you a lot of stress at the airport and could mean the difference between catching your flight or not.
• Having an ESTA does not guarantee that you will be granted admission into the US, it just gives you permission to travel there. The CBP officer at the point of entry decides if you can enter the country, so be polite and respectful!
• ESTA approval is normally granted within a few minutes but can take up to 72 hours. It is not uncommon for most members of the same family to be approved almost immediately but one person might take a little longer. This might be worrying and frustrating but please don’t get too upset or anxious about it.
• Ideally you should apply for your ESTA before you book your holiday. Refunds will not be given if you or a member of your party are unable to travel because an ESTA has not been approved.

ESTAs can only be applied for online before travel and when making your application you will be required to provide the following information:

• Passport number, expiry date and issuing country details
• Full names of traveller (including middle name)
• Parents name (if known)
• Address you will be staying in whilst you are in the US
• Emergency contact information (this can be somebody in the UK)
• Current employer details (if you are employed)
• Social media information (names you use on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram etc)

If you have visited the following countries after March 1st 2011 you will not be eligible for an ESTA, instead you will have to apply for a US Visa:

• Iran
• Iraq
• Libya
• North Korea
• Somalia
• Sudan
• Syria
• Yemen

Travellers who will also not be eligible for an ESTA and who must apply to the US Embassy for a Visa include:

• Those who have been arrested (even if the arrest did not result in a criminal conviction)
• Those with a criminal record
• Those who have ever been refused admission into the US
• Those who have been deported from the US
• Those who have previously overstayed under an ESTA
• Those with certain communicable illness

The Rehabilitation of Offenders Act does not apply to US visa law and spent convictions, regardless of when they occurred will have a bearing on a traveller’s eligibility for admission into the United States.

If you have a minor traffic offence which did not result in an arrest and/or conviction you may travel visa free under the Visa Waiver Program, provided you are otherwise qualified.

If the traffic offence occurred in the United States, and there is an outstanding fine against you, or you did not attend your court hearing, it is possible there may be a warrant out for your arrest, and you will experience problems when applying for admission into the United States. Therefore, you should resolve the issue before traveling by contacting the court where you were to appear. If you do not know the address of the court, the information is available from the Internet at www.uscourts.gov

For further information, or for clarification on anything, please refer to the official US Embassy website: uk.usembassy.gov/visas/visa-waiver-program