News report | | 16/03/2022 | ±2 minutes reading time

Malta is at risk of being excluded from the USA Visa Waiver Program, also known as the ESTA program. The reason behind this is Maltaʼs so-called "Golden Passport" scheme.

A passport in exchange for investment

The "Golden Passport" scheme allows individuals to get a passport faster than usual by investing in Malta. Critics claims that the scheme makes it easy to buy passports rather than having to meet the strict requirements that apply to others. As a result, these schemes are popular among criminals like human traffickers, who can easily arrange passports which would be a lot more difficult to obtain in other countries. Malta is not the only European country with a "Golden Passport" scheme: Bulgaria and Cyprus offer this possibility as well. The European Union has called on countries to end this type of scheme. Bulgaria and Cyprus have indicated that they will do so, but Malta has not yet made any commitments.

ESTA coveted by many countries

Admission to the USA Visa Waiver Program is coveted by many countries. Travellers from countries that are part of the program do not need to apply for a visa to travel to America for less than 90 days. Instead, they can opt for an ESTA. ESTAs are not only cheaper than visas, but also acquired much faster, often vetted the same day. The burden on embassies in eligible countries is significantly reduced, too, as an ESTA does not require an inyterview. Once the ESTA form is filled out and payment goes through, the application gets processed.

The requirements to be admitted to the Visa Waiver Program are strict. For example, the countryʼs total number of rejected visa applications to the USA must be less than 3%. Additionally, the travellersʼ personal information must be shared with the American security services. 40 countries are currently part of this program. Others, such as Israel, have been in talks with the American government for years in order to be admitted.

USA not content to wait

The United States do not seem intent on waiting for Malta and other “Golden Passport” countries to get their act together. Two members of Congress have introduced a bill that would make it possible to exclude such countries from the ESTA program. Applying for an ESTA is a lot easier than a visa, making it easier to enter the USA. One of the congressmen announced that the decision will hit human traffickers especially hard. Currently, a “Golden Passport” is just as valid for international travel as other passports. It is difficult for authorities to tell if a passport was granted through the scheme.

The bill also states that the United States will work with the EU and the UK to restrict visa-free travel to the Schengen area for “Golden Passport” countries.

Please note: this news article about the ESTA for the USA is more than one year old. It might contain outdated information and advice, and no rights can therefore be derived from this article. Are you going on a trip soon and do you wish to do know what rules currently apply? Read all about the up-to-date information about the ESTA for the USA.

e-Visa.co.uk is a commercial and professional visa agency, and supports travellers in obtaining, among others, the ESTA USA. e-Visa.co.uk is an official partner of the International Air Transport Association, IATA, with membership number 57231226, acts as an intermediary, is no law firm, nor does it employ lawyers, does not provide legal advice, and is in no way part of any government. You can also apply for a ESTA directly with the immigration service (21 USD per ESTA, via esta.cbp.dhs.gov). However, not with our level of support. If you submit your application via e-Visa.co.uk, our support centre is available to you 24/7. In addition, we manually check your application and all the documents you provide before submitting it to the immigration authorities on your behalf. If we suspect any errors or omissions while doing so, we will personally contact you to ensure that your application can still be processed quickly and correctly. To use our services, you pay us 21 USD in consular fees, which we pay to the immigration service on your behalf, as well as £33.51 in service fees as compensation for our services, including VAT. Our services have saved many travellers from major problems during their trip. Should an application be rejected despite our support and verification, we will refund the full purchase price (unless an application for a previous USA ESTA was rejected for the same traveller). Read more about our services here.