Visa Changes

We are not experts on the new Visa programme and will not be held liable for any advice given on this page - We are just trying to be helpful :-)

The following extract was taken from www.passport.gov.uk and we highly recommend you check there again when planning your holiday. If you are not sure about anything check with the Passport Office before travelling.

1) You have one of the old black passports
2) One of your children in on your passport - they need their own
3) If you have less than 6 months left on any passport

USA Visa Requirements
The United States operates a Visa Waiver Programme (VWP), available to most British Citizen passport holders travelling on business, pleasure or transit from where they normally reside and who intend to stay in the US for less than 90 days. From 26 October 2004, all British passport holders, including children, travelling to the USA under the VWP will need their own machine-readable passports (MRP).

From 26 October 2004, anyone without a MRP, including children who are currently on a parent´s passport, will need a visa to travel to the USA. For further details on entry requirements for the USA, check the US Embassy website: http://www.usembassy.org.uk/cons_web/visa/niv/mrp.htm or the Foreign & Commonwealth Office: www.fco.gov.uk.

All British Passports currently issued in the UK, and the vast majority of those issued at British Missions overseas, are machine-readable. However, some older passports and some issued by British Missions overseas are not. Before travelling to the US and seeking entry under the VWP, you should check your passport. A British Passport is machine readable when the white strip at the foot of the personal data page (at the back of the passport) bears 2 lines of print. If there is no white strip, or the white strip is blank, then the passport is not machine-readable.

What is a Machine Readable Passport (MRP)?
(I have inserted this bit - Lee)
It is one of the new passports that everybody complained about. If you have an old black one you need to get it changed - even if it is not due to expire!

A MRP has the holder's personal details, eg. name, date of birth, nationality and their passport number contained in two lines of text at the bottom of the photo page. This text may be read by machine.

Additionally, the US Enhanced Border Security and Visa Entry Reform Act of 2002 requires that the 28 countries which are in the Visa Waver Programme (VWP) have a programme in place by 26 October 2004 to issue machine-readable passports that incorporate biometrics to standards established by the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO).

The primary biometric standard approved by ICAO is a facial recognition biometric (which can be derived from ordinary passport photographs). The UKPS, in collaboration with its international partners, (including the US), has a programme of work in place to implement this biometric in British passports from mid 2005.

Our understanding of the effect of the US requirements as they currently stand is:

Machine Readable Passports (i.e. the current type of British passport) issued up to and including 25 October 2004 are valid for visa-free travel to the US until the passport expires.

Machine Readable Passports, issued from 26 October 2004 onwards will need a visa attached by the US Embassy to permit travel to the USA.

Biometric Machine Readable Passports, available from mid 2005 are valid for visa-free travel to the US.

The UKPS has presented its biometric passport plans to the US to support the UK’s continued participation in the US visa waiver programme and the Foreign & Commonwealth Office is in close consultation with the US on biometrics. The FCO is negotiating with the US about their proposed timetable on the requirement for biometric passports for entry to the US to minimise the effect of these changes on legitimate British travellers. It is too early to say where these consultations will lead.

The following information was taken from the passport office web site and is reproduced here for your information.

From 12th January 2009 British travellers planning to enter the US under the Visa Waiver Program must now register details online with the US Government beore they travel.

Registration on the US Electronic Travel System (ESTA) must take place 72 hours prior to travel. Until now, registration has operated on a voluntary basis but it is now compulsory for all travellers. An ESTA, once obtained, will be valid for a period of two years, or for the validity of the traveller’s passport (whichever is shorter).

British travellers who have not registered before their trip are likely to be detained and sent home.

This may effect a wide range of British Nationals. The UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) says that it is particularly concerned that people who may not have heard of ESTA and booked their trip before enforcement of the new rule, may be caught out.

At present, US authorities have said that they will not make a charge for this service, but they have reserved the right to consider doing so in the future. If you do not have internet access a third party, such as a relative or travel agent, may apply for the ESTA for you. However, you will still be responsible under the law for the questions answered on your behalf. VWP travellers should be aware that unauthorised third parties have established websites which charge for information about ESTA and for submitting applications. These are not endorsed by, associated with, or affiliated in any way with the United States Government. UK travellers are advised to be wary of such sites and businesses, particularly those that seek fees for services offered.

Obtaining an ESTA should not be confused with the separate requirement, which will continue to apply, for you to provide your airline or carrier with details of your passport, country of residence and address of your first night's accomodation in the US.

If you have any doubts about whether you are eligible to enter the US under the VWP, or about visa matters generally, you are strongly advised to contact the US Embassy in London before your travel. The Visa Information line is 0904 245 0100 (calls are charged at £1.20 per minute).

For more information and to submit your ESTA Application go to http://www.usembassy.org.uk/cons_new/visa/niv/esta.html

The US have also slipped in something called the US-Visit programme. All passengers travelling to the USA holding a Visa will be subject to the US-Visit Programme from 5 January 2004.

The United States Department of Homeland Security's enhanced border security programme, US-Visit, will initially operate at 115 airports and 11 seaports and will involve the biometric registration on arrival and departure of all passengers holding US visas. This means that on arrival in the US, inkless fingerprints and a digital photograph of the passenger will be taken and stored by the authorities, this will take place at the normal immigration desk as part of the entry process.

It is not expected that the arrival process will take any longer as a result of US-Visit.

It should be noted that registration is a requirement of entry for visa holders and any person refusing to be finger printed and photographed may be subject to refusal of entry to the USA and immediate return home.

A Final word about arriving in the USA
You are grown ups and probably don't need my advice on travelling. I have been to the US maybe 20 times in the last few years so I thought I would share my humble take on this - Lee

Smile for the nice Customs and Immigration People. Let them take your photo and fingerprints if they want to.

US Customs may ask you to remove your shoes, belts, hats and (we have seen it) even your trousers or shirt if they feel like it. Do what they ask.

If anybody (teenagers included) in your party feels like making a joke about being a terrorist or smuggling drugs, expect to be pulled into a side room, strip searched and grilled for hours before being put back on a plane to UK.

20th January 2004 Update: I wrote the above piece a few weeks ago based on what I had observed going in and out of the US and then as if by magic this happened. She really should have read my web site! - Lee

Police said she told a security official during a baggage security check: "Hey be careful, I have three bombs in here."

Asked to repeat herself, she allegedly made the same statement another two times.

Ms Marson is being held in Miami-Dade County Jail until she can come up with £2,700 in bail money, US authorities said.

She is scheduled to appear before a court on February 6, where she will be asked to enter a plea to a charge of making a false bomb report.

Ms Marson's father, Jim, 75, said: "We are beside ourselves with worry. She phoned us and was hysterical.

"I'm sure Samantha will accept that it's a silly thing to say but she's the sort of girl who might have thought it would make people laugh."

Detective Robert Williams, of Miami-Dade Police Department, said: "After what happened on 9/11, you just cannot come on flights and make these types of jokes."

A Foreign Office spokesman said officials were seeking more information from the US authorities and Ms Marson's family.

These people have ZERO sense of humour and will refuse anyone in your party entry to the US if they start offering spouting about Civil Liberties, their rights, their opinions on the new system or cracking inappropriate jokes - you have been warned.

If you are that bothered about your rights being scuffed - go to Euro Disney :-)