Visa Waiver Program

The Visa Waiver Program (VWP) is a program of the United States of America which allows citizens of specific countries to travel to the US for tourism or business for up to 90 days without having to obtain a visa. All countries participating in the program have high HDI (Human Development Index) and most are regarded as developed countries.

Eligible countries

To be eligible for a visa waiver under the VWP, the traveller seeking admission to the U.S. must be a citizen of one of the following 27 countries:

• Europe (22)
  • Andorra, Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Iceland, Republic of Ireland, Italy, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Monaco, Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, San Marino, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, United Kingdom
• Asia (3)
  • Brunei, Japan, Singapore
• Oceania (2)
  • Australia, New Zealand

Requirements for the visa waiver program

The requirements for the visa waiver program are as follows:

Machine readable and biometric passports

All travelers must have individual passports. It is not acceptable (for the visa waiver scheme) for children to be included on a parent's passport.

Passport requirements depend on the date the passport was issued or renewed:

• Passports issued or renewed before 26 October 2005 must be Machine readable readable.
• Passports issued or renewed after 26 October 2005 must be machine readable and contain a digitized photograph, or must be biometric passports.
• Passports issued or renewed after 26 October 2006 must be biometric.

Passport validity

The standard requirement for passport validity is 6 months beyond the expected date of departure from the U.S., however some country-specific arrangements are different.

Return or onward ticket

If entering the U.S. by air or sea, additional requirements apply. The traveller must:

• Be traveling on a participating commercial carrier and;
• Be holding a valid return or onward ticket. Where the ticket terminates in Canada, Mexico, Bermuda or an island in the Caribbean, the traveller must be a legal resident of that country or territory.

Other eligibility requirements

Applicants for admission under the visa waiver program:

• Must have complied with the conditions of all previous admissions to the U.S.;
• Must never have been arrested or convicted for an offense or crime involving moral turpitude no matter how long ago. National regulations which normally expunge criminal records after a certain length of time (e.g. The Rehabilitation of Offenders Act in the UK) do not apply.
• Must not be ineligible for a visa;
• Must not have been previously denied entry to the U.S.;
• Must not be intending to visit the U.S. for a purpose other than tourism or a short term business visit. In particular, journalists cannot use the visa waiver scheme to operate in the U.S. and must instead apply for an I visa.
• If entering over the land frontier, must pay a fee of $6. For those arriving by air or sea, the cost of the visa waiver is included in the airline ticket.

Those who do not meet the requirements for the visa-waiver scheme must obtain a U.S. tourist visa from an American Embassy or Consulate.

Visa waiver program restrictions

A person entering the United States under the VWP cannot request an extension of the original allowed period of stay in the U.S. (this practice is allowed to those holding regular visas). Additionally, a person who entered the U.S. under the VWP may not request a change of immigration status while in the U.S. (e.g. one is unable to change status from say a tourist to a student). Moreover, if one seeks to enter the U.S and is denied at a port of entry, no path of appealing the denial of entry is allowed.

Travelers can leave to Mexico and other countries, but will not be granted another 90 days after reentry in the US.