Are you planning to travel to the United States soon?
Prepare to pay more for your ESTA.
This electronic travel authorization, which allows nationals of forty countries to travel without a visa for tourist or business stays of less than 90 days, saw its price go from 14 to 21 dollars on Thursday, May 26, an increase of 50%.
This is the first increase since 2015.
This increase is explained by both the increase in the ESTA travel promotion fee from $10 to $17, in addition to an operating fee of $4 collected by the United States Customs and Border Protection. United (US Customs and Border Protection), specifies the American administration in a press release.
This fee of 4 dollars being collected until September 30, 2027, the price of ESTA should drop by the same amount from October 1, 2027.
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An exemption for travelers from 40 countries
For the rest, nothing changes.
The ESTA remains valid for two years from its date of issue and should preferably be requested up to 72 hours before departure.
The form must be completed on the official website esta.cbp.dhs.gov, the only one authorized by the American authorities.
The request
“must be renewed in the event of a change in situation (surname, first name, sex, nationality, passport, different answers to the questions asked, etc.), or if the validity date of the passport is less than this 2-year period” ,
details the France Diplomacy website.
Travelers who have been to Iran, Iraq, Syria, Libya, Somalia, Yemen or Sudan since March 1, 2011 and people with Iranian, Iraqi, Sudanese or Syrian nationality cannot benefit from this exemption regime. visa and must therefore apply for a B1/B2 visa from a US embassy or consulate.
Closed for more than a year and a half due to the Covid-19 epidemic, the United States reopened its borders to tourists in November 2021. To get there, travelers must have proof of vaccination and a negative test (PCR or antigen) carried out no later than the day before departure.
