As you’ll have gathered from this site, there are various criteria for obtaining an ESTA for travel to the USA. Let’s go through them one by one, to help you with your application. First, a quick reminder of what ESTA is.
ESTA: definition
ESTA, for Electronic System for Travel Authorization, is a U.S. visa waiver. This means that nationals of countries covered by the program can travel to the USA without a US visa. Currently, 38 countries participate in the Visa Waiver Program. Here is a summary table of member countries by date of entry:
| 1988 | United Kingdom and Japan |
| 1989 | France, Switzerland, Germany, Sweden, Italy and the Netherlands |
| 1991 | Andorra, Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Monaco, New Zealand, Norway, San Marino and Spain |
| 1993 | Brunei |
| 1995 | Ireland, Australia and Slovenia |
| 1997 | Slovenia |
| 1999 | Portugal and Singapore |
| 2008 | Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Slovakia, South Korea and Malta |
| 2010 | Greece |
| 2012 | Taiwan |
You’ll notice that it’s not justSchengen countries that are concerned.
Please note that the ESTA only applies to transit, business and tourist travel. Temporary stays of any kind must not exceed 90 days.
What are the ESTA requirements?
To obtain ESTA authorization, you must meet certain strict criteria. These criteria are of various kinds.
Firstly, you must have a valid passport. This can be a biometric passport, or if you applied a few years ago, an electronic passport. What’s important is that it contains up-to-date data (if you’ve changed your marital status or address, for example), and that it’s valid long enough to cover the duration of your stay in the USA.
You’ll need to use one of the shipping or airline companies approved by the U.S. government for your stay in the USA.
Applicants must apply online using the ESTA form. This form is divided into different parts:
- Applicant information: nationality, surname, first names, date of birth, address, etc. ;
- information on valid passport: passport number, date of issue and expiry, etc. ;
- closed questions about your criminal and medical history in order to maintain the homeland security of the United States.
The online form is available on the official government site or on private sites. So you don’t need to go to the U.S. embassy or consulate to obtain it and travel to the USA. Your ESTA authorization request will not be free: the price depends on whether you use the official site or a private one.
After obtaining ESTA
Once obtained, ESTA authorization is valid for two years. If the American authorities do not allow you to travel to the USA with an ESTA, you can still apply for a visa.
