ESTA application
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ESTA for the United States of America
An ESTA USA is a mandatory travel authorisation to travel to the United States without a visa. An ESTA application can be submitted quickly and easily with the online application form. The costs are £29.95 per person.
From 8 November, tourists and business travellers from the United Kingdom and European Union are again welcome in the USA. You do not need to undergo quarantine after arriving in the USA, nor after returning to the UK or EU. However, you need to have an official proof of vaccination, a negative coronavirus test result and a valid ESTA. Read more about the coronavirus rules for travel to the USA.
How does an ESTA application work?
1. ESTA form
Applying for an visa, ESTA or eTA starts with filling in an online application form.
2. Online payment
The ESTA cost can be safely paid for online through Visa, MasterCard, American Express or PayPal.
3. Official granting
As soon as the official ESTA USA has been granted, this will be confirmed by e-mail and text message. In urgent cases, this can happen within an hour.
Explaining the ESTA Application
Do I need an ESTA? An ESTA USA is always required for a holiday, business trip or transfer/transit in the United States of America. Travellers that do not possess a valid ESTA visa are denied entry when checking in on their flight, ferry service or cruise to the United States. Underage children are also expected to possess their own ESTA. Only travellers who enter the USA by land or possess a US visa or passport are exempt from this requirement. An ESTA application can be submitted online in full, meaning there is no need to visit the US embassy. As a result, purchasing an ESTA online is easier and faster than applying for a US visa, and the application costs are substantially lower as well.
What is an “ESTA”?
ESTA is an abbreviation and stands for: “Electronic System for Travel Authorization“. An ESTA is not a physical document, but an electronic travel authorisation for the United States. The requirement to file for this authorisation is a safety measure implemented by US Customs and Border Protection. This way, all incoming travellers can be preemptively screened, and unwanted visitors barred. Transport companies, including airlines and shipping companies, check before departure whether each traveller possesses a valid ESTA visa. This is done by looking up the traveller’s passport number in the database with approved travel authorisations by US Customs and Border Protection. Travellers without this travel authorisation are denied entry.
How long does an ESTA last?
An ESTA is valid for two years from the moment it is granted. During this validity period, travellers are allowed to make an unlimited number of trips to the USA. These can be for both tourism and business. Each stay in the USA can last a maximum of 90 consecutive days. Visits to Canada, Mexico or a Caribbean island are included in this overall period. For a longer stay, a US visa is required. When the passport with which the visa or ESTA was applied for expires, the validity of the accompanying ESTA expires as well.
Is applying for an ESTA sufficient for my travel purpose? An ESTA visa is sufficient for tourist and business trips, transits and visiting friends or family in the USA. Travellers with this travel authorisation cannot enter into employment with an American organisation. They are, however, allowed to perform paid labour if their employer is located outside the USA. An ESTA visa is not sufficient for performing journalistic activities, investing in American companies or studying in the United States of America.
Requirements of the ESTA visa
- You must abide by the coronavirus rules in in the United States. These are determined by the US government, your airline and by the government of the country you are visiting after you leave the USA.
- Travellers have to prove on arrival in the United States that they are planning to leave the USA in the future, by providing a return or transit ticket
- Applying for an ESTA online is also necessary for trips to Alaska, Hawaii, Puerto Rico, Guam, the American Virgin Islands or the Northern Marianas
- Travellers suspected of posing a threat to the safety or public order of the United States can be refused entry by Homeland Security at all times, even if they have a valid ESTA or US visa
- Travellers who after 10 March 2011 have been to Iran, Iraq, North Korea, Syria, Sudan, Yemen, Libya or Somalia, or who have ever held the nationality of one of these countries, cannot apply for an ESTA
Travellers that do not comply with the above-listed requirements for the ESTA visa risk deportation and subsequent preemptive rejections of all future applications for travel authorisations to the United States.
Applying for an ESTA online
An ESTA application can be submitted 24 hours a day with the digital ESTA form on this website. Submitting a group application is possible by adding multiple travellers to one form. Filling in an ESTA form takes about five minutes per traveller. Afterwards, the cost can be paid for, which amounts to £29.95 per person. Paying can be done safely with Visa, MasterCard, American Express or PayPal. As soon as the payment has been received, the application will be processed.
Urgent application?
Travellers who want to apply for an urgent ESTA can check the “urgent delivery” box in the application form on this website. The application will then be processed with priority. This generally results in an approved ESTA visa within an hour. As soon as the application has been approved, a confirmation will be sent by e-mail and text message. Printing this confirmation is not necessary, which means that applying can even be done at the airport.
Even urgent applications can, in exceptional cases, take longer. That is why it is advised to submit your ESTA application as soon as a trip to the USA has been planned. It is not necessary to have already arranged accommodations or designated a contact person before applying. For more information about the ESTA application procedure, check the other pages on this website, including the frequently asked questions. For other questions regarding an ESTA application, you can contact our support centre.
Summary
Purpose
Tourism, business trips or transits
Validity
730 days (2 years)
Stay
Maximum 90 consecutive days per visit
Delivery time
72 hours (urgent: on average 1 hour)
Cost
£29.95 per ESTA
Application
Users about the ESTA for the United States
207 people rate the ESTA with a 9.5/10
More information about the ESTA
e-Visa.co.uk is a professional visa bureau and supports travellers in acquiring a visa for the USA. However, e-Visa.co.uk is in no way part of the US government. It is also possible to directly apply for an ESTA at the US Customs and Border Protection website ($14 per person, via esta.cbp.dhs.gov). In that case, you will be unable to use our support centre, which is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week to resolve urgent issues and answer your questions. We also check applications for common mistakes before submitting them. We do this within 72 hours at the latest, but usually within ten minutes after receiving your payment. If we suspect errors or any incompleteness, we will contact you immediately to ensure that your application can still be processed quickly and correctly. Our services have already saved many travellers from major problems during their travels. Should an application be rejected despite our support and verification, we will refund the entire purchase cost (unless an application for an ESTA USA has been rejected for the same traveller before). Read more about our services.