Information about the ESTA USA

Do I need to apply for an ESTA? If you are travelling to America for a holiday, business trip or transfer, you will need an ESTA. It does not matter whether you arrive in the United States by plane, (cruise) ship or by land. Children also need their own ESTA. Travellers without a valid ESTA will be stopped at check-in or boarding. Only travellers with an American visa or a passport issued by the United States or Canada are exempted. Instead of an ESTA, you can also apply for a visa, but this is more expensive and takes longer. For a visa, you need to visit an embassy or consulate. You can apply for the ESTA entirely online.

What is an ESTA? The abbreviation ESTA stands for Electronic System for Travel Authorization. The ESTA is a security measure by U.S. Customs & Border Protection aimed at keeping unwanted travellers out. For each ESTA application, U.S. Customs & Border Protection assesses whether the applicant could potentially pose a security risk. If the applicant is not expected to pose a risk, the application is approved.

An ESTA is not a physical document, but a digital travel authorisation. After the application is approved, you will receive a confirmation in the form of a PDF document. You do not need to show this document anywhere. The ESTA will be linked to your passport number at the time of approval. When checking in, your passport number will be used to check whether you have a valid ESTA.

Validity period of the ESTA

From the moment it is granted, your ESTA USA is valid for two years. During this validty period you may travel to America an unlimited number of times. Each stay in the USA may last a maximum of 90 consecutive days. Any interim or subsequent visits to Canada, Mexico, or a Caribbean island during your travels are also counted as part of the 90-day limit. Do you want to stay longer in the USA? Then you must apply for a visa for America. Did you get a new passport? Then you will also need to reapply for an ESTA with your new passport.

What activities are allowed in America if I travel with an ESTA?
With an ESTA, you may travel to America for a holiday, business trip or transfer. Visiting friends, family or business associates and attending business meetings and conferences are also allowed. You are not allowed to be employed by a US organisation with an ESTA. You may not conduct journalistic activities in America, invest in US companies or attend training at a US educational institution with an ESTA. Performing paid work during your trip is only allowed if it is work you are performing on behalf of an employer based outside America.

Requirements of the ESTA USA

To use an ESTA USA, below are some of the requirements you must meet:

• You must comply with the Covid-19 measures in place in America. Check these again just before departure.
• Upon arrival in America, you must be able to prove that you intend to leave the United States again. A simple way to do this is by presenting a return or transit ticket.
• You must not pose a potential threat to the public health, security or public order of the United States. Upon arrival in America, if a Department of Homeland Security official suspects that you pose a possible threat, you will not be allowed to enter the country, even if you have a valid ESTA or visa.
• You must also apply for an ESTA for travel to Alaska, Hawaii, Puerto Rico, Guam, the US Virgin Islands or the Northern Mariana Islands. However, UK nationals do not require an ESTA (or visa), but need to fill out a Form I-736 before their travel to the Northern Marianas or Guam.
• An ESTA will not suffice if you have been to Iran, Iraq, Syria, North Korea, Sudan, Yemen, Libya or Somalia after 1 March 2011. Also, if you have ever held the nationality of one of these countries, an ESTA will not suffice. In both cases, you must apply for a visa.
• You cannot apply for an ESTA if you have been in Cuba as from 12 January 2021. This is because, with effect from 12 January 2021, Cuba has been added to the list of countries the United States considers State Sponsors of Terrorism. It is still posible to apply for a US visa.

Apply for your ESTA online

You can easily apply for your ESTA online with the application form on this site. Filling in this ESTA application form only takes a few minutes and can also be done for several travellers at the same time. In the case of a group application, you only need to fill in the contact and travel details once. After filling in the form, you will pay for the cost of the ESTA. This can be done securely using a credit card or PayPal. You will then need to digitally submit a scan or photo of your passport. Applications are processed 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, including holidays. Once your application is approved, you will receive confirmation of this by email and text message. On average, this takes 3 days. It is not necessary to print out the granted ESTA.

Do you need an ESTA urgently? Please indicate in the application form that you wish to submit an urgent application. You can do this by ticking the ‘Urgent deliveryʼ. Urgent applications are approved after 60 minutes on average. However, keep in mind that even rush applications may be delayed by several days in exceptional cases. The US immigration authorities reserve the right to take longer to process your application. It is therefore recommended that you already apply for your ESTA as soon as you know approximately when you will be travelling to America.

At the time of submitting your application for the ESTA USA, you do not yet need to have a residence or contact in America. You may also deviate from the filled in expected arrival date after the travel authorisation has been granted. You can therefore start your ESTA application immediately. Do you still have questions about the ESTA America? Then have a look at the frequently asked questions and their answers.