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www.snowbirds.org
CSA TRAVEL INFORMATION GUIDE
Electronic System for Travel Authorization (ESTA)
Effective in January 2009, the Electronic System for Travel Authorization (ESTA) is an automated
system of the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) to determine the eligibility of visitors travel-
ling to the United States under the Visa Waiver Program (VWP) by air or sea where the traveler does
not require a formal travel visa for their trip. At this time it does not apply to eligible VWP individuals
arriving by land from Canada or Mexico.
ESTA approval is not a visa. Under VWP the ESTA program authorizes a traveler to simply board a
carrier (air or sea) for travel to the United States. As a result, some airlines may wish to see a printed
copy of your ESTA approval before issuing a boarding pass for travel on their airline or ship. As ESTA
does not meet the legal requirements to serve in lieu of a formal U.S. visa, if you require a U.S. travel
visa, you will still need to obtain one from a U.S. embassy or consulate before commencing your trip.
Travelers who already possess a valid U.S. visa may alternatively travel to the U.S. on that visa (for the
purpose it was issued) instead of registering for ESTA as well. If you have a U.S. visa, but are travelling
under the Visa Waiver Program (VWP) instead of your visa, then you will need to apply for ESTA.
Example: If you have an F-1 visa but are travelling to the United States for business or pleasure
for less than 90 days (visa category B-1 or B-2), and you are a citizen of a VWP country, then
you would be travelling for a different purpose to that of your F-1 visa and will need to apply
for ESTA before you travel as a citizen of a VWP country.
At the time of printing, and subject to change without notice, the list of U.S. visa waiver countries
included:
Andorra
France
Latvia
Portugal
Austria
Germany
Liechtenstein
San Marino
Australia
Greece
Lithuania
Singapore
Belgium
Hungary
Luxembourg
Slovakia
Brunei
Iceland
Malta
Slovenia
Czech Republic
Ireland
Monaco
Spain
Denmark
Italy
Netherlands
Sweden
Estonia
Japan
New Zealand
Switzerland
Finland
Republic of Korea Norway
and…
United Kingdom (for citizens with the unrestricted right of permanent abode in England, Scotland,
Wales, Northern Ireland, the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man).
Registration for ESTA is completed electronically by logging into your computer and visiting
https://esta.cbp.dhs.gov/esta/
. Registration is free and, if you are approved, your ESTA application
will remain valid for two years (but this does not allow you to stay in the U.S. for two years) as well as
permitting you to make multiple trips during that period without needing to reapply for each trip.
It is important to note that when traveling to the United States with the approved ESTA, you may
only stay for up to 90 days at a time. You must also ensure that there is a ”reasonable” amount of time
separating each trip back to the U.S. so the CBP officer will not think that you are really trying to live
full-time in the United States. That being said, while there is no set “waiting-time” between each trip,
you will still need to use your own good judgment in planning the time between your next trip back.