Visa Waiver Program - Passport Requirements

Visa Waiver Program for USA

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Overview
Eligibility Requirements
Passport Requirements
Restrictions

Passport Requirements

Those who wish to travel under the Visa Waiver Program (VWP) must have an appropriate passport that meets specific requirements. These requirements vary based on when it was issued, renewed, or extended.

The Patriot Act legislated that everyone traveling under the Visa Waiver Program must have a machine readable passport.

If you have any further questions about your passport, you should contact the passport issuing agency of your country.

Most of the countries participating in the Visa Waiver Program already offer the e-Passport. However, some countries give a choice of using either an e-Passport or a regular passport as long they are still producing them.

If anyone has a passport that is not compliant, it will not be confiscated. However, if the passport is made by fraudulent means, it may be confiscated.

If any traveler attempts to enter the United States without a compliant passport, he/she may be denied admission and may be detained pending removal. If you are denied entry under the VWP due to a noncompliant passport, you can still attempt to enter the United States in the future provided you have a compliant passport at that time.

e-Passport

Passports issued on or after October 26, 2006.

All passports issued on or after Oct 26, 2006, must be e-Passports.

These are also called "smart passports."

An e-Passport has an integrated computer chip that holds essentially the same information printed on the passport's biographic data page, such as name, digital photograph of the holder, date of birth, and other biographic information.

The e-Passport incorporates data related to an individual's identity and includes facial recognition data. The contours of individuals' faces are digitally mapped and stored on the chip so that a comparison of facial data for the bearer of the passport and the facial data of the person to whom the passport was issued can be made.

The e-Passport has an international symbol at the bottom of the front of cover the passport, as shown in the picture on the left.

The e-Passport must comply with international technical standards established by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO).

If your passport lacks this feature, you can still travel without a visa if you meet any of the passport requirements mentioned in sections "digital photograph" or "machine readable zones."

If your passport was issued on or after October 26, 2006, and if it is not an e-Passport, you cannot travel using the Visa Waiver Program. You must first obtain a visa.

Digital Photograph

Passports issued between October 26, 2005, and October 25, 2006.

If your passport was issued between October 26, 2005, and October 25, 2006, your passport must have a digital photo printed on the data page.

A digital photo is printed right on the page; it is not glued or laminated into the passport.

Look at the image on the left for an example.

Digital photographs provide more security against counterfeiting than traditional photographs made of paper and glued to the passport. Even though it is possible to counterfeit digitally printed photographs, it is much more difficult and expensive compared to traditional photographs.

Digital photographs are not affixed to the passport by adhesive and/or laminated; they are electronically printed onto the data page of the passport.

A digital photo is an integral part of the data page. Therefore, it is completely smooth to the touch. When you run your finger across it, you feel no aberration of the page or variation of the photo area. If the photo had been affixed to the passport, you would feel a difference.

If your passport does not have a digital photograph, you may still be eligible to travel under the Visa Waiver Program if your passport meets either of the requirements mentioned in "machine-readable zone" sections or has an e-Passport.

If your passport was issued on or after October 26, 2005, and if it does not have the digital photograph or it is not an e-Passport, you must first obtain a visa.

Digital photo requirement do not apply to the Guam Visa Waiver Program.

Machine-Readable Passport

Passports issued before October 26, 2005.

If your passport was issued before October 26, 2005, it must have a machine-readable zone.

Machine-readable passports must follow the standards set by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO). ICAO specifies standards regarding passport size, photograph size, arrangement of biographic data fields, and two lines of text as letters, numbers and chevrons (<<<) at the bottom of the data page, along with the passport holder's picture.

Machine-readable passports contain data that can be scanned automatically by a special machine.

If your passport doesn't have machine-readable zones, you must either get a new passport that meets the requirements or you need to apply for a visa.

Passport Validity

Passports must be valid for a minimum of 90 days from the date of entry into the United States. Otherwise, you will be admitted until the expiration date on the passport.

Exception: If your passport was issued from Andorra, Brunei, or San Marino, your passport must be valid for at least 6 months from the date of entry into the United States.

British Passports: Only British citizens qualify for the Visa Waiver Program. British subjects, British Dependent Territories Citizens, British Overseas Citizens, British National (Overseas) Citizens, British Protected Persons or permanent residents of the UK are not eligible to travel under the Visa Waiver Program.

Family Travel

Machine-readable passports, passports with digital photographs, and e-Passports have biographic data only for one traveler.

Therefore, if any children are added on the parents' passports, they are not eligible to travel under the Visa Waiver Program.

Each traveler must obtain his or her own passport as per the requirements mentioned above.

Emergency Passport Requirements

With the exception of Germany, those who are traveling on emergency, temporary, official or diplomatic passports are not subject to digital photo requirements or e-Passport requirements. Machine-readable passports are valid for this travel.

Germany: German temporary and emergency passports are not valid for travel under the Visa Waiver Program, but official and diplomat passports are.