How To Apply For An ESTA Visa

UK citizens, when traveling abroad, especially to the US, can require so many documents. You have to have insurance, a valid passport, your visa, or an ESTA. Without these papers, you might not be able to spend your holidays in your desired states with your family. Luckily, the Visa Waiver Programme offers an ESTA in which you might not be needing a visa to travel to the USA any longer. 

What Is An ESTA?

The ESTA, or Electronic System For Traveling Authorization, is not a visa. Once you have your ESTA approved, you are actually being approved to travel to the US without needing a visa. This permits you to go to any state for not more than 90 days at a time. If you have not applied for an ESTA yet, here are the steps for your ESTA Visa application:

  • 1. Go to USA ESTA Website and click apply now.
  • 2. Fill out the applicant information (Including your passport information)
  • 3. Fill out your personal information
  • 4. Enter your Travel information
  • 5. Answer a few eligibility questions
  • 6. Review Application
  • 7. Payment

A status, whether accepted or rejected, may be given a few seconds after finishing, but sometimes you’ll be asked to check it later; a decision can take up to 72 hours. 

Once you’ve finished filling out your information and payment, take note of your reference number and keep it somewhere safe. You may need to print out the authorization page, although you would not need to present your reference number when you land in the US, some airlines may require the print-out upon checking in. 

If you lose your reference number, you can retrieve it back on the ESTA website. Just click “Retrieve my application” and fill out your name, passport number, and date of birth. 

One important thing to know about an ESTA Application is that it can only be applied online. This means that you can ask somebody else to complete the application for you. So if you happen not to have internet access at home, you can request a friend to do it for you.