From this Monday (12 January) Australians travelling to the United States of America will be required to follow new border entry procedures, the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade recently advised in a bulletin.
All Australian passport-holders eligible to travel to the US under that country’s Visa Waiver Program must, before they travel, obtain approval through the US’ Electronic System for Travel Authorisation (ESTA). This also applies to passport-holders from other countries participating in the Visa Waiver Program.
ESTA is an online system administered by the United States Government which determines the preliminary eligibility of visitors to travel under the Visa Waiver Program prior to boarding a carrier to the United States. ESTA has been operating on a voluntary basis since 1 August 2008 and will become compulsory on 12 January 2009.
The ESTA website is at: https://esta.cbp.dhs.gov. Prospective travellers will be required to provide basic biographic, travel and eligibility information online in order to receive authorisation prior to their departure. There is no charge to complete the application.
Most travellers can expect to receive authorisation within a few minutes. However, travellers are advised to complete an ESTA as soon as they begin to plan their travel, and at least three days in advance, to avoid any last-minute delays.
Travellers who do not have a valid ESTA on or after 12 January 2009 may be denied boarding, experience delayed processing or be denied admission at a United States port of entry. Once granted, electronic pre-clearance will be valid for up to two years and for multiple-entry visits to the United States.
The DFAT bulletin recommends that travellers keep a print-out or record of their ESTA application number for reference, if required, at airports or seaports.
Australian passport-holders who hold a valid visa for travel to the United States are not required to obtain an ESTA.
By way of background, the Visa Waiver Program allows eligible visitors from Australia and other participating countries to travel to the United States for business or pleasure for 90 days or less without first obtaining a visa.
Based on figures from the Australian Bureau of Statistics, The Filipino Australian has gathered that nearly half of all Australian short-term departures were to New Zealand, the UK, the USA, Indonesia and Fiji, the top five destinations for Australian departures. Most people travelling to these countries were going for a holiday, except for travellers to the UK, where many were visiting friends and relatives.
In January 2008, short-term resident departures from Australia totalled 478,000 movements, an increase of 0.5% over the immediately preceding month’s movements.
When someone writes an piece of writing he/she retains the thought of a
user in his/her mind that how a user can know it. Therefore that’s why this piece of writing is perfect. Thanks!
Thanks for one’s marvelous posting! I quite enjoyed reading it, you will be a great author. I will remember to bookmark your blog and will come back in the foreseeable future. I want to encourage you to definitely continue your great writing, have a nice morning!