ESTA visa application

ESTA visa stands for Electronic System for Travel Authorization, and is a document allowing travel to the USA from VWP member countries. The document is issued by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). It can be requested for tourist travel, transit to the USA or business travel.

What is the ESTA visa?

The ESTA visa serves as a pass for travelers on a tourist, transit or business trip. But that’s not the only condition. To obtain an ESTA, the duration of your temporary stay must not exceed 90 days. Contrary to popular belief, an ESTA is not comparable to a visa; it’s a simpler, less expensive option. A reply is usually delivered within 72 hours, and the document is valid for 2 years unless your passport expires. It’s important to note that ESTA does not guarantee 100% entry into the United States. Customs officials have the final say on whether you enter the U.S. or not.

The ESTA does not allow you to live or work in the USA, or to study at an American university. To do this, you need to apply for a visa from the relevant US authorities.

How to get an ESTA?

Before you apply for ESTA, you’ll need to check your eligibility for the program. First of all, check that you are a citizen of one of the member countries participating in the Visa Waiver Program.

All participating countries are listed below:

Andorra, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Brunei, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Great Britain, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Monaco, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Republic of Korea, San Marino, Singapore, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and Taiwan.

If your country is on the list of countries concerned, please check all the formalities listed below:

• you must have a biometric or electronic passport and a valid passport;
• you are travelling to the United States by sea or air;
• your stay is for a maximum of 90 days;
• the purpose of your stay is tourism, business or transit.

If you meet all these requirements, you can apply for an ESTA visa. To apply, we advise you to use a private company such as ours, to avoid having your ESTA application rejected, which can happen for a simple typing error. The American authorities are very strict.

To complete the form, please bring your passport with you, as you will be asked for your passport number.

There is no deadline for filling in the ESTA form. You can apply a few hours in advance, but we encourage you to do so as soon as you know the date of your trip to the USA. Issuance is fairly rapid, but in the event of refusal, it’s better to have time to reapply online or find another solution.

With ESTA authorization, you can take your American road trip to Niagara Falls, the Statue of Liberty, Las Vegas, Florida, the national parks or Arizona!