Important Changes to USA Immigration Entry Requirements

Travellers visiting the Unites States under the Visa Waiver programme need to be aware of the following deadlines regarding passport requirements.

Visa Waiver Programme VWP (see below for detailed information).

Machine Readable Passports (MRP)
Visa Free travellers entering the United States under the Visa Waiver Programme on or after October 26, 2004 will require individual Machine Readable Passports. MRPs allow data in the passport to be scanned automatically by a machine. The 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 appears as two lines of letters, numbers and chevrons (">>>>>") printed across the long edge of the personal information page.

Each person visiting the USA has been required to have either a Machine Readable Passport and a Visa Waiver Form (the green form distributed inflight) or a valid U.S. visa. VWP travelers who are not in possession of a machine-readable passport, should not anticipate to be permitted to board an aircraft or cruise ship and if VWP travelers arrive at a US port of entry they may be denied admission to the United States.

It is important to note that families requesting entry on the Visa Waiver Programme will require individual Machine Readable passports for each traveller, including children. Children who are currently included in a parent's passport will need to obtain their own Machine Readable passport for visa-free travel to the U.S.

Travellers who are in any doubt as to whether or not their passport is MRP should check with the passport issuing authority of their country.

The requirement that each traveller be in possession of a machine readable passport applies only to those seeking entry into the United States under the Visa Waiver Programme; it does not apply to those adults and children applying for visas or who currently have valid U.S. visas.

All VWP travellers, regardless of age or type of passport used, must present machine-readable passports. In addition, depending on when VWP travellers' passports were issued, other passport requirements will apply:

• Machine-readable passports issued or renewed/extended before 26 October 2005 - no further requirements.
• Machine-readable passports issued or renewed/extended between 26 October 2005 and 25 October 2006 - requires digital photograph printed on the data page or integrated chip with information from the data page.
• Machine-readable passports issued or renewed/extended on or after 26 October 2006 - requires integrated chip with information from the data page (Biometrically-encoded passports).
• Temporary, emergency, official and diplomatic passports are exempted from biometric digital photo and chip requirements, but must be machine-readable.
• Austrian, Italian, French and Temporary German Passports.

Austrian, Italian, French and Temporary German Passports

• Austria: If your regular Austrian passport was issued or renewed on or after 10/26/05, and has an Austrian visa foil with a digital photo, it is valid for travel without a visa under the Visa Waiver Program (VWP); otherwise, a U.S. visa is required.
• Italy: If your regular Italian passport was issued or renewed on or after 10/26/05, and includes a digital photo, it is valid for VWP travel; otherwise, a U.S. visa is required.
• France: France has begun producing electronic passports. However, if you are traveling to the United States for business or tourism with a French passport issued on or after October 26, 2005 that does not have an electronic chip you will need to apply for a U.S. visa.

Germany: The Department of Homeland Security has determined that as of May 1, 2006 German temporary/emergency passports will no longer be valid for Visa Waiver Program travel. Therefore, German temporary or emergency passports holders must get a regular German passport for VWP travel, or apply for a visa.

Biometrically-encoded passports (ePassport)
U.S. law originally required that travellers under the Visa Waiver Programme carrying passports issued after October 26, 2006 would need to hold biometric passports. Biometrically-encoded passports will be embedded with a chip containing the passport holder's biometric identifier, such as digital fingerprints, hand geometry, facial recognition, iris scan, etc.

The Visa Waiver Programme (VWP)
The Visa Waiver Programme allows the citizens of certain countries to travel to the USA without having to obtain a visa prior to travel.

The nationalities currently entitled to use the VWP are:

Andorra	Denmark	Ireland	Monaco	San Marino	Switzerland
Australia	Finland	Italy	Netherlands	Singapore	UK
Austria	France	Japan	New Zealand	Slovenia
Belgium	Germany	Liechtenstein	Norway	Spain
Brunei	Iceland	Luxembourg	Portugal	Sweden

Nationals of these countries are required to have a Machine Readable Passport in order to travel under the Visa Waiver Programme. All Visa Waiver Programme countries currently have the capability of issuing machine readable passports. Holders of non-MRP passports wishing to travel on the visa waiver should contact the appropriate passport issuing authorities of their country to obtain the proper passport. A non-MRP passport can only to used to enter the United States if it contains a United States visa. Applications for U.S. visas must be made at a U.S. consulate or embassy abroad well in advance of travel dates.

To enter the U.S. under the VWP, travellers from participating countries must be seeking entry for 90 days or less, as a temporary visitor for business or pleasure.

For additional information see the US-VISIT website at www.dhs.gov/us-visit

It is the traveller's responsibility to check the necessary documentation required for the trip.