Brussels, 29/07/2008 (Agence Europe) - From 12 January 2009, any national of a country enrolled in the Visa Waiver Program (VWP, currently applicable to 15 of the 27 EU member states) wishing to travel to the United States will have to obtain an “electronic authorisation” before boarding his/her plane or ship. Overland travel into the United States from Canada or Mexico is not affected by this requirement. It will be possible to log on to the Electronic System for Travel Authorization (ESTA) from this Friday, 1 August 2008 (http: //esta.cbp.dhs.gov). The system will replace the green form which all VWP passengers are currently required to complete on board the plane or ship and hand to US Customs officials on arrival. The information sought under the ESTA on the Department for Homeland Security web site will be the same as that which is currently requested on the written form: surname, first name, date and place of birth. Is the person suffering from a communicable disease or any physical or mental disorder? Is he/she a drug abuser or addict? Has he/she being convicted one or more of a number of serious crimes or drug trafficking? Has he/she been involved in espionage or sabotage, in terrorist activities or genocide, or in crimes committed by the Nazi regime and its allies between 1933 and 1945? Does he/she intend to seek work in the USA? Does he/she intend to engage in criminal or immoral activities? Has he/she ever been deported from the US, tried illegally to obtain a visa or attempt illegally to enter the US? When and why? And so forth. Initially, the questionnaire will be available only in English, other languages will, however, follow.
Passengers, including children no matter how young, who have not previously obtained an ESTA will not be allowed to board the plane or ship. Airlines will be responsible for checking each passenger's situation during check-in at the airport. Since the passenger's passport number will allow airlines to check if the electronic authorisation has been obtained, he/she will not have to print off the authorisation. Electronic authorisations are free (although a charge may be made in the future) and are valid for two years or until the passenger's passport expires, whichever comes first. During its period of validity, the ESTA will not have to be renewed for each journey, but can be updated if necessary. Requests for electronic authorisation can be submitted long before a journey, and, indeed, even if there are no travel plans. US authorities recommend that travellers apply no less than 72 hours before departure (in some cases, the response can take up to 72 hours). Travellers who are denied an ESTA will not be able to travel under the VWP, but may apply for a visa at the US Embassy or Consulate in their country of residence. Obtaining an electronic authorisation does not provide a 100% sure guarantee that the traveller will be allowed to enter the United States. It will still be for the US Customs official to decide whether the traveller will be admitted or not. The ESTA does not give any right to reimbursement of travel costs in the event of entry being denied. The requirement to obtain prior electronic authorisation from 12 January of next year means more administrative hoops for the traveller to jump through. It does, however, virtually guarantee, before the traveller sets out on a long and costly journey, that he/she will be granted entry into the United States.
On Monday 28 July, the United States Mission to the European Union in Brussels presented and explained the system to the press. The measure is seen by the US as helping to “modernise” the VWP and adapt it to the needs of the 21st century. This measure to toughen the VWP is also needed if the VWP is to be extended to other European countries in the future, said Jackie Bednarz, US Department for Homeland Security attaché. The EU has long been calling for the 12 member states which joined the Union in 2004 and 2007 (with the exception of Slovenia, and with the addition of Greece), to whose nationals the VWP still does not apply, to be swiftly enrolled in the US visa exemption system. Last week, the European Union even went as far as to threaten Washington with retaliatory measures and the re-introduction of the visa requirement for US diplomats travelling to the EU (see EUROPE 9712). The US authorities reject the claim from some that the ESTA is a kind of visa. “ESTA is not a visa,” stressed Benarz on Monday. On the contrary, she said, Washington was doing all it could to exempt Europeans from the need to obtain a visa. “Extending the VWP is a common goal” of the United States and the EU, she said. (H.B./transl.rt)