What you thought was going to be a dream break in the USA could become a nightmare thanks to new travel rules which came into play earlier this year.
And the biggest issue is, some people might not be aware of the problem until it’s too late…
Since last month, American rules have required anyone travelling from the UK to be in possession of a biometric passport - perhaps more commonly known as an e-passport - in order to use make us of the ESTA scheme.
And without a valid ESTA, you’ll be wasting your time even boarding the flight Stateside as you’ll not to be able to make it through immigration the other side without one.
But how do you know if you’re affected?
In short, if you got your passport after 26 October 2006 then you don’t need to worry because you’ll already have the biometric version so it’s only if you’ve not updated yours in a while that you are likely to run into problems.
If it has the symbol pictured on the front, as some passports from before the 2006 date did, then you’re good to go but if not, you’ll need to update your travel documents in order to fly.
If you do need to renew your passport, you’ll be looking at a price of £72.50 (or £82.25 through the Post Office’s Passport Check and Send service) although it’s important to bear in mind that it could take up to three weeks to get your documents back.
If you need to renew quicker than that for an impending trip, there is also the one week or same day options available, but both incur a charge in excess of £100 and require a visit in person to one of the seven passport offices located around the UK.
Once you have a valid passport, you can then get your ESTA sorted to travel. Crucially, even if you already had a valid ESTA in place before the passport changes took effect, it will only remain valid if supported by a biometric passport.
Whilst we’ll be happy to help with any queries you may have about your passport before booking your US trip, it is ultimately
your
responsibility to ensure the correct documentation is in place for your trip.So make sure you’re up to date before it’s too late…