Traveling Without Visa

If you are going to travel without a visa under the Visa Waiver Program you:

• Must have a valid passport from one of the Visa Waiver Program (VWP) countries (see list below);
• Your principal purpose of travel should be: tourism, business or transit;
• Can stay in the United States for a maximum period of 90 days;
• Must travel with a roundtrip ticket;
• You must have a passport valid for at least 90 days after your entry date into the United States.
• You must obtain an Electronic Travel Authorization. The Electronic System for Travel Authorization (ESTA) is accessible via Internet for citizens and eligible nationals of Visa Waiver Program (VWP) countries to apply for advance authorization to travel to the United States under the VWP.

List of the countries included in the Visa Waiver Program:

Andorra, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Brunei, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Japan, the Republic of Korea, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Monaco, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Portugal, San Marino, Singapore, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan* and the United Kingdom.

*Important Notice/ Taiwan: On October 2, 2012, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Napolitano announced the designation of Taiwan into the Visa Waiver Program (VWP). Eligible Taiwan passport holders can travel on the VWP beginning November 1, 2012, but may apply for travel authorization approval through the Electronic System for Travel Authorization beginning immediately.

Every passport from a country that is a member of the Visa Waiver Program (VWP) must have an electronic integrated chip that contains biographical information and a digital photograph of the passport holder to enter the United States without a visa.

If your passport does not contain the chip, you can still use it to travel to the United States without a visa, if it was issued or renewed:

• Before October 26th, 2005 the passport must be machine readable:
  
  This machine readable code is located at the bottom of the biographic data page with your photograph. Example:
  
  >>>>LAST NAME>>> FIRST NAME>>>>>>
  >>PASSPORT NUMBER>>>>DATE OF BIRTH (written back to front) >>>>
• Between October 26th, 2005 and October 26, 2006, the passport must be machine readable and contain a digital photograph of the passport holder.

If your passport was issued or renewed after October 26, 2006, and does not contain the above mentioned electronic chip, you must apply for a visa for entry into the United States.

Important notes

If your final travel destination is Canada, Mexico, Bermuda, or the Caribbean, you must be a legal resident of those countries.

If you desire to study, work, or visit the United States for longer than 90 days, you must apply for a visa.

You will NOT be allowed to enter the United States if at any time you have been denied admission or been deported from the United States because you overstayed your authorized period of stay.

You are NOT permitted to extend your authorized period of stay in the United States.

Children included in your visa waiver program passport MUST have their own individual visas.