Support Our Work Mailing list About / Contact
  • Home /
  • News /
  • 2008 /
  • July /
  • EU-USA: United States Plans New Travel Procedures for 27 Countries

EU-USA: United States Plans New Travel Procedures for 27 Countries

01 July 2008

Support our work: become a Friend of Statewatch from as little as £1/€1 per month.

US EU Mission (link)

Known as ESTA (Electronic System of Travel Authorisation). An application to travel to the USA has to be made and authorisation given prior to boarding a plane or boat.

This will apply to the EU countries currently included in the Visa Waiver Programme who are Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Portugal, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, and the United Kingdom. In addition, the following are being considered for inclusion at a later date include Slovakia, Hungary, Lithuania, Estonia, Latvia, the Czech Republic, Malta - all of whom have signed MOUs with the USA.

The ESTA form asks about health, any criminal record including those "involving moral turpitude or a violation related to a controlled substance" (whether spent or not under EU law), whether you are seeking "entry to engage in criminal or immoral activities" and whether you have ever been involved in espionage, sabotage or terrorism.

The European Commission has yet to decide whether ESTA constitutes a breach of the visa waiver programme (see below). See also: US to screen foreign air passengers (euobserver, link)

Our work is only possible with your support.
Become a Friend of Statewatch from as little as £1/€1 per month.

 Previous article

UK: Annual Report of the Intelligence Services Commissioner for 2007

Next article 

Council of Europe-Italy: “Immigration policy must be based on human rights principles and not only on perceived security concerns”

 

Spotted an error? If you've spotted a problem with this page, just click once to let us know.

Report error

Statewatch does not have a corporate view, nor does it seek to create one, the views expressed are those of the author. Statewatch is not responsible for the content of external websites and inclusion of a link does not constitute an endorsement. Registered UK charity number: 1154784. Registered UK company number: 08480724. Registered company name: The Libertarian Research & Education Trust. Registered office: MayDay Rooms, 88 Fleet Street, London EC4Y 1DH. © Statewatch ISSN 1756-851X. Personal usage as private individuals "fair dealing" is allowed. We also welcome links to material on our site. Usage by those working for organisations is allowed only if the organisation holds an appropriate licence from the relevant reprographic rights organisation (eg: Copyright Licensing Agency in the UK) with such usage being subject to the terms and conditions of that licence and to local copyright law.

About | Contact | Privacy Policy