U.S. Embassy Canada
U.S. Embassy Canada
Visa Waiver Program Overview

The Visa Waiver Program (VWP) allows foreign nationals from certain countries to be admitted to the U.S. under limited conditions and for a limited time without obtaining a visa. Visitors to Canada who wish to travel on to the United States, and who are citizens of countries included in the program, have only to present their passports at any U.S. port of entry.

The advantage of entering the U.S. under the VWP is that tourists and people wishing to conduct business in America can travel to the U.S. spontaneously without obtaining visas, unless they are otherwise inadmissible.

Citizens of VWP countries may still be refused entry to the U.S. under a variety of circumstances. This page presents information that will be sufficient for most travelers. If your circumstances are unusual, it is strongly recommended that you follow the links provided for more detailed information.

Passports issued between October 26, 2005 and October 26, 2006 must contain a digitized photograph of the bearer to be eligible for entry under the VWP. Passports issued after October 26, 2006 must be e-passports - that is, include an integrated computer chip in order to be eligible for entry under the VWP.

Countries in the Visa Waiver Program

Below is the list of countries currently in the VWP. Please note that the U.S. Attorney General, in consultation with the U.S. Secretary of State, may add countries to the program or remove them from the program at any time.

Note: Please read beyond the list of qualifying countries as there are specific passport requirements and other eligibility requirements which will require some citizens of VWP countries to apply for a U.S. visa.

Most notably: Visitors to the U.S. are required to present a Machine Readable Passport in order to utilize the Visa Waiver program.

Citizens or nationals of the following countries are currently eligible to travel to the United States under the VWP:

Andorra Iceland Norway
Australia Ireland Portugal
Austria Italy San Marino
Belgium Japan Singapore
Brunei Liechtenstein Slovenia
Denmark Luxembourg Spain
Finland Monaco Sweden
France the Netherlands Switzerland
Germany New Zealand United Kingdom*
Czech Republic Latvia Estonia
Lithuania Hungary Slovakia
Republic of Korea Greece Malta

* United Kingdom: For citizens with the unrestricted right of permanent abode in the U.K. only. A passport which states that the holder has "Right of Abode" in the U.K. does not qualify for visa-free travel under the Visa Waiver Program.

Eligibility

To qualify for the Visa Waiver Program, you must:

  • Intend to enter the U.S. for 90 days or less for business or pleasure.
  • ALL VWP travelers must carry passports that are machine-readable and valid for six months beyond the intended visit unless the applicant's country is part of the "six month club". See here for details
  • Passports issued between October 26, 2005 and October 26, 2006 must contain a digitized photograph of the bearer to be eligible for entry under the VWP.
  • Passports issued after October 26, 2006 must be e-passports - that is, include an integrated computer chip in order to be eligible for entry under the VWP.
  • Be a national of the VWP country that issued your passport.
  • Be cleared by the ESTA system. (see below)
  • Have a return trip ticket.
    • This requirement is waived in the case of travelers arriving at a land border.
  • Not pose a safety threat to the United States.
  • Not have failed to comply with the conditions of any previous admission under the visa waiver program.
  • Convince the examining immigration officer that you are clearly and beyond a doubt entitled to be admitted and that you are not inadmissible under section 212 of the Act, and
  • Waive any right to challenge an immigration officer's decision as to your admissibility, other than on the basis of an application for asylum.


Visa Waiver Program (VWP) travelers are required to obtain a travel authorization via the Electronic System for Travel Authorization (ESTA) prior to boarding a carrier to travel by air or sea to the U.S. under the VWP. (Canadian citizens are exempt from this requirement.) ESTA is now accessible online for citizens and eligible nationals of VWP countries. This modern system enhances the security of the VWP and will allow the U.S. government to continue and expand the VWP, which allows visitors from participating countries to travel to the U.S. for business or pleasure for 90 days or less without first obtaining a visa.

Beginning September 8, 2010, the Department of Homeland Security will require travelers from the Visa Waiver Program countries to pay operational and travel promotion fees when applying for the Electronic System for Travel Authorization (ESTA). The new fee will be $14.00 USD and may be paid through the following credit cards: MasterCard, Visa, American Express, and Discover. Payments may also be made with a debit card that holds the Visa or MasterCard symbol. You are not required to re-register when the new fees go into effect if you already have a valid ESTA.

For additional information please consult the following:

When to apply for a visa

Citizen of VWP countries who intend to visit the United States for more than 90 days must obtain a non-immigrant visa before arriving at the U.S. port of entry.

The Immigration and Nationality Act provides that the U.S. Immigration officer may refuse entry to a citizen of a VWP country under certain circumstances. The link below provides detailed information about the general classes of persons who may be found ineligible for admission to the United States.

If you believe that any grounds of inadmissibility may apply to you, you should apply for a non-immigrant visa.

The Arrival/Departure Form

A form I-94 (Arrival-Departure Record) shows the date you arrived in the United States and the "Admitted Until" date, the date when your authorized period of stay expires. You will receive a Form I-94 from a U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services inspector when arriving in the United States at a port of entry. The form must be completed and presented to a USCIS inspector who may ask you questions about the purpose of your trip, how long you will be in the United States, and your residence abroad.

When you leave the country, you should give the Form I-94 to your airline; if leaving by land or sea please see the link below.

Re-admission to the U.S.

Generally, VWP applicants admitted under the VWP may be readmitted to the U.S. after a departure to Canada or Mexico or adjacent islands for the balance of their original admission period; provided they are otherwise admissible and meet all the conditions of the VWP.

More Information
 
How countries qualify for VWP participation
Refusal Rate

In order to qualify for VWP participation, the non-immigrant visitor ("B-1/B-2" visa category) refusal rate for nationals of a country who have applied at a U.S. Embassy or Consulate in that country must average less than 3% for the previous fiscal year.

Other Criteria

Once a country meets the refusal rate criteria, a number of other factors must be evaluated before a decision on VWP nomination can be made:

  • Reciprocity: VWP candidate countries must provide reciprocal visa-free travel for U.S. citizens.
  • Passport security: A country must have a machine readable passport (MRP) program in place in order to qualify for VWP participation. In addition, VWP candidate countries must demonstrate that adequate safeguards against fraudulent use of their passports are in place, including proper storage of blank passports and sufficient screening of passport applicants. Consideration will also be given to the ease with which host country citizenship can be obtained.
  • Political and economic stability: Countries under consideration for VWP participation must be sufficiently stable to ensure that conditions which could affect VWP qualifying criteria (such as overstay rates in the U.S.) are not likely to change dramatically in the future.
  • Border controls: VWP candidate countries must demonstrate that effective border controls are in place for all territory under their control. Factors taken into consideration include the thoroughness and consistency of entry checks as well as the extent to which the country's territory is used as a transit point for alien smugglers.
  • Law-enforcement cooperation: The degree to which host country law enforcement agencies cooperate with U.S. counterparts as well as international entities such as Interpol will be considered. The Attorney General, in consultation with the Secretary of State, must evaluate the nominee country's interest in enforcement of U.S. immigration laws, and the existence and effectiveness of extradition agreements with the U.S., including extradition of its own nationals who violate U.S. laws. The Attorney General must submit a report to Congress on the country's qualification for designation that includes an explanation of a favorable determination.
  • Security concerns: Any security concerns that could be raised by a country's admission into the VWP program will be considered.
 
Transit Without Visa

The U.S. has suspended its policy of allowing travelers to pass through U.S. airports without a visa.

Travelers who qualify under the Visa Waiver Program, and Canadian citizens, remain unaffected.

Eligibility

It is important for you to read beyond the list of qualifying countries.

There are specific passport and other eligibility requirements meaning that some citizens of VWP countries will need to apply for a U.S. visa.

Phone numbers

U.S. Embassy information lines:

1-888-840-0032 from either the U.S. or Canada - you will be asked to provide your credit card number. CA$1.59/minute

Links related to this page
Visa Waiver Passport Requirement

Passports issued after October 26, 2006 must be e-passports - that is, include an integrated computer chip in order to be eligible for entry under the VWP.

Bookmark and Share Click here for the print version of this page This page may be adapted from an official web site elsewhere