Brits travelling to the US will have to pay 50 per cent more for a visa from today (Thursday, May 26). The cost of a Electronic System for Travel Authorisation (ESTA) has increased from $14 (£11) to $21 (£17).
Most UK travellers use the ESTA visa for entry into the country and it lasts for two years, so if you’ve already acquired one in the last 24 months you may not need to pay the new fee.
The visa is mandatory for visitors to the US, such as those using British passports, travelling under the Visa Waiver Program, The Mirror reports. It’s also required for anyone travelling through the country on the way to somewhere else.
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ESTA allows travellers from 40 countries participating in the visa waiver programme to enter the US for stays of up to 90 days without having to acquire a visa. US Customs data shows ESTA applications slumped to just 1.2 million last year from 6.3 million in 2020 and a 15.1 million high in pre-pandemic 2019.
A similar scheme will soon take place for EU countries. Travellers from the UK will have to pay a fee for an ETIAS (European Travel Information and Authorisation System).
The new application is an electronic travel permit that has been introduced to enhance the security and enforce the borders of the Schengen zone and is expected to start at the end of 2022.
The new visa waiver is expected to be valid for three years and allow unlimited entries into the EU. UK travellers will need to complete the short ETIAS online application form. The application form should not take longer than 10 minutes to complete.
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