When planning a trip to the USA, it’s essential to obtain a residence permit. For the USA, there’s a new alternative to a visa:
ESTA: travel authorisation for the USA
A visa is the most common way to travel abroad. Since 2009, the American authorities have introduced a new system of residence authorization for travel to the USA. This is simpler and quicker to obtain than the US visa.
However, the ESTA authorization is not intended to replace the visa. In fact, the eligibility requirements for these two travel documents in the United States are different.
To obtain a temporary residence permit, the following requirements must be met:
- the stay in the United States must be for tourism, business (business travel) or transit;
- the traveler must be a national of one of the member countries of the Visa Waiver Program. European countries are part of this scheme, and their nationals are eligible for ESTA;
- The duration of the trip to the United States must not exceed 90 days;
- ESTA applicants must have a valid passport, either biometric or electronic.
The ESTA takes the form of a questionnaire, which the applicant must complete in order to apply. Once this application has been submitted, the travel authorization for the USA is issued.
The ESTA form: now a paying step
To obtain ESTA authorization for travel to the United States, you need to fill in the official online form. You can access this questionnaire on the official U.S. government website.
To fill in the ESTA form, you must complete :
- your marital status ;
- information about your identity document (passport number, date of issue, country of issue);
- your reason for travelling.
Finally, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security asks you to answer a few personal questions about your health, previous travels and criminal record.
Once you have completed the questionnaire, you will be asked to make a payment in order to finalize your ESTA application. Following the introduction of a tourism tax, the ESTA application is no longer free of charge. You will be required to pay a $40 application fee.
ESTA application: cheaper than a visa
The ESTA application is now subject to a fee. But it still saves you time and money compared to applying for a visa. In general, it takes a maximum of 72 hours to obtain your ESTA document, compared with several weeks for a USA visa. What’s more, the cost of a tourist visa is around $185, and may be higher for certain specific visas.
Last but not least, the ESTA process is entirely remote. To apply for a visa, you must go to the U.S. embassy or consulate general.
