ESTA is an electronic program that determines the eligibility of visitors to travel to the United States without a visa. It stands for Electronic System for Travel Authorization.

ESTA is the main requirement of the Visa Waiver Program, and those who do not have an approved or valid ESTA cannot enter the United States even if they fulfill all the other requirements of the VWP. The US Department of Homeland Security introduced this system in 2009 to make travel more secure and issue authorizations much faster.

The ESTA allows its holders to stay in the US for a maximum of 90 days. The ESTA is a document only for temporary stays and you do not qualify to stay longer than that. This is the main difference with the US Visitor Visas with which you are allowed to stay for 6 months and then extend your stay in the US.

ESTA is only a document that you can use to try to enter the US. It is not a visa and cannot be used instead of a visa. It will only allow you to use it for tourism and business travel purposes, but if you need to go to the US for other activities, you must apply for a valid visa.

What Are the ESTA Countries?

Here is the list of countries eligible for the ESTA:

Andorra-1991

Australia-1996

Austria-1991

Belgium-1991

Brunei-1993

Chile-2014

Czechia-2008

Denmark-1991

Estonia-2008

Finland-1991

France-1989

Germany-1989

Greece-2010

Hungary-2008

Iceland-1991

Ireland-1995

Italy-1989

Japan-1988

South Korea-2008

Latvia-2008

Liechtenstein-1991

Lithuania-2008

Luxembourg-1991

Malta-2008

Monaco-1991

Netherlands-1989

New Zealand-1991

Norway-1991

Poland-2019

Portugal-1999

San Marino-1991

Singapore-1999

Slovakia-2008

Slovenia-1997

Spain-1991

Sweden-1989

Switzerland-1989

Taiwan-2012

United Kingdom-1988

Croatia-2021

In 2016, the US started implementing a change in the Visa Waiver Program under the “Visa Waiver Program Improvement and Terrorist Travel Prevention Act of 2015”. Since then, certain travelers would no longer be eligible to travel to the United States under the Visa Waiver Program. The following groups of people are affected by that change:

Nationals of visa waiver countries who have been in Iran, Iraq, Sudan, Syria, Libya, Somalia or Yemen since March 01, 2011. It should be noted that there are some exceptions for diplomats and military personnel.

Nationals of visa waiver countries who also hold a nationality of Iran, Iraq, Sudan, or Syria.

Starting on August 06, 2019, travelers who have visited North Korea after March 01, 2011 will not be eligible for ESTA.

Since January 1, 2021 (when Cuba was included in the “state sponsor of terrorism” list (SST)), any foreign visitors can enter the US with their ESTA if they have visited Cuba before 2021. Those who went to Cuba after this date cannot use their ESTA to enter the US but must obtain a visa. All foreign visitors are encouraged to check their ESTA status and consult with a local US embassy before departure.

ESTA Requirements:

To qualify to get the ESTA, you must fulfill its requirements. You are allowed to apply for this travel authorization documents if you:

*Have citizenship of one of the 40 countries which are part of the Visa Waiver Program.

*Are planning to stay in the US for 90 days or less.

*Do not have a valid US visitor visa (B-1 visa or B-2 visa).

*Are traveling to the US for tourism or business.

If you do not fulfill even one of these requirements, then you are not eligible to apply for the ESTA and must go through visa applications to be allowed to travel to the US.