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 exempt. Instead of an ESTA, you can also apply for a visa, but this is more expensive and the process of obtaining the visa takes longer. For a visa, you need to visit an embassy or consulate. You can do the ESTA application 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 preventing unwanted travellers from entering the country. U.S. Customs & Border Protection assesses if applicants 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 to the immigration service. The ESTA will be linked to your passport number at the time of approval. An airline employee will use your passport number to check whether you have a valid ESTA.

Validity period of the ESTA

Your ESTA USA is valid for two years as soon as it is granted. During this validity 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. If you wish to stay in the USA for a longer period, you must apply for a visa for America. If you recently obtained a new passport, you will need to reapply for an ESTA with this 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 trainings at a US educational institution with an ESTA. You can only get paid for your work if your employer is based outside the US.

Requirements of the ESTA USA

You will find some of the requirements of the ESTA USA below:

• You must comply with the Covid-19 measures in place in America. Check these again just before departure.
• You must be able to prove that you intend to leave the United States again upon arrival in America. 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. 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 in Iran, Iraq, Syria, North Korea, Sudan, Yemen, Libya or Somalia after 1 March 2011. Also, if you have ever held the nationality of Iran, Iraq, Syria, North Korea or Sudan, you cannot apply for an ESTA. In both cases, you must apply for a visa. Travellers who visited the countries for military purposes or government affairs may be eligible for an exemption.
• You cannot apply for an ESTA if you have been in Cuba on or after 12 January 2021. This is because, as of 12 January 2021, Cuba is included in the US list of State Sponsors of Terrorism. In this case applies to you, you can still travel to the USA with a 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. You can apply for multiple travellers with the same form. When making 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 through PayPal, Trustly, Google Pay or Apple Pay. You will then need to submit a digital 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 a confirmation by email and text message. On average, this takes 3 days. It is not necessary to print 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 option. Urgent applications are approved after 60 minutes on average. Keep in mind that even urgent 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 apply for your ESTA as soon as you decide that you will be travelling to The United States.

At the time of submitting your application for the ESTA USA, you do not need to have booked an accomodation or have a contact person in America. You may also deviate from your 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 USA? Then have a look at the frequently asked questions and their answers.