Entry requirements for USA
What are the entry requirements for the USA?
Visa Waiver Programme (VWP):
The VWP allows the citizens of certain countries to travel to the US without having to obtain a visa prior to travel providing their stay is for less than 90 days, they have a confirmed return or onward ticket (or e-ticket) and all required passenger information has been collected.
The nationalities currently entitled to use the VWP are as follows:
Andorra, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Brunei, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Monaco, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Portugal, San Marino, Singapore, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and the UK.
When travelling to the USA, each person wishing to visit the under the VWP (Visa Waiver Programme) must have either:
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An e-passport - if your passport is issued after 26 October 2006. (e-passports are easily identified as they all have a symbol on the front cover to indicate that the document contains an integrated chip.)
Or:
- A Machine Readable Passport (MRP) - if your passport is issued after the 26 October 2005 (It must contain a digital photograph) and a Visa Waiver Form (obtained at the airport on departure or on the aircraft). Or:
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A valid passport and a valid visa which must be obtained before travel from the US authorities.
If you do not have the correct documents, your will not be permitted to travel. If you have any doubts about whether you are eligible to enter the USA under the VWP, or have any other questions about visas for the USA, we strongly advise that you contact the US Embassy in London before making a booking.
US Embassy, Grosvenor Square, London W1A 1AE
The Visa Information line is 0904 245 0100 (calls are charged at £1.20 per minute).
Additionally, you are required to provide information for the US government prior to travel – Advanced Passenger Information. This information is collected from you on our website or by our airport staff at check-in.
More about machine readable passports:
Anyone without a MRP, including children who are currently on a parent’s passport, will need a visa to travel to the USA.
A British Passport is machine-readable when the white strip at the foot of the personal data page (at the back of the passport) has two lines of print. If there's no white strip, or the white strip is blank, then the passport is not machine-readable.
All British Passports currently issued in the UK, and the vast majority of those issued at British Missions overseas, are machine-readable. However, some older passports and some issued by British Missions overseas aren't. Before travelling to the US you should check your passport.
More about Advanced Passenger Information:
Laws in force in the USA require Silverjet to collect the following information from all passengers travelling to and from the USA, prior to travel.
Passport information, including:
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passport number
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country which issued passport
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passport expiry date
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given names (as they appear on the passport)
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last name
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gender
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date of birth
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nationality
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the Alien Registration Number (Green Card) if applicable
In addition, the following information is required for passengers travelling to the USA from the UK:
Other useful information:
For further details on entry requirements for the USA, check the following websites:
US Embassy website: www.usembassy.org.uk
Foreign & Commonwealth Office: www.fco.gov.uk
Please note, should you require a visa for entry into the US, the process can be lengthy so ensure that you apply for this well in advance of your flight.
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