Advanced Passenger information required by the USA

 

 

Airlines are now required by new laws introduced in the US and other countries to give border control/government agencies access to passenger data. Accordingly any information we hold about you and your travel arrangements may be disclosed to the customs and immigration authorities of any country in your itinerary.

At the time of booking, any information, which airlines hold, about passengers will be made available to the US Government and any others who adopt the same or similar policies.

This can include payment details, contact information and special requirements.

They can be passed onto Border controls, Customs and enforcement authorities (for the purpose of preventing and combating terrorism/criminal offences)

 

Some countries, including the USA will now ask for information pre-board (even if you are transiting).

You will have to provide: Passport number, citizenship, FULL names, date of birth, country of passport issue, expiry date and any visa info

 

We ask for your cooperation in these matters to enable your travel to run smoothly. In addition to this when going through USA immigration the US-VISIT programme is in effect and involves collection of further data on individuals consisting of fingerprinting (by scanners) and digital photographs. This will happen on arrival and departure.

 

Therefore we strongly advise to allow for this when arranging flights and connecting flights to other countries through the US ensuring you follow the procedures at both the beginning AND END of your visit to ensure there are no problems when you next visit

 

For more information you can check http://www.dhs.gov/obim-what-expect

 

*If you are travelling to the USA on the existing visa waiver programme (e.g. if you are a UK Citizen) you will have to hold a valid unexpired machine-readable passport.

 

The USA advise that if your country is part of the VWP then you will not be allowed entry unless you hold one of these passports. To find out more you can log on to http://travel.state.gov/visa/temp/without/without_1990.html

                                          

                                   The US Immigration Service now requires you apply for an ESTA prior to travel

 

This replaces the form that passengers fill in en route and completion is mandatory before travel commences, this is your responsibility as the traveller to ensure this is actioned.

 

Please use the following link and have your passport details ready for completion:

https://esta.cbp.dhs.gov/esta/esta.html?_flowExecutionKey=_c0A300368-5CBB-64E6-D7B2-6E711278ABE2_k04F6EA75-1D8B-F9FB-5116-9F082194A2CC

For more information you can click on: http://cbp.gov/xp/cgov/travel/id_visa/esta/

 

 

 

Any new passport issued from 26OCTOBER2005 must have a digital photograph printed on the data page in order for the holder to travel on a visa waiver entry.

From 26OCTOBER2006 any new passports issued will have to have an integrated chip with biometric details on the data page

Any new passports issued after these dates that do not have the information for travel to the US will need a US visa for entry.

You can travel after these dates with a passport without the digital photo or biometric details as long as it has been issued before 26OCT 2005.For more info see: http://travel.state.gov/visa/temp/without/without_1990.html

 

For other information on passports, visas and entry requirements go to https://www.gov.uk/browse/abroad

 

 

 

Please ensure you hold the correct documents and visas for your destination. If you have any questions or queries please contact us for help and advice