Filling out your official ESTA application

Planning a trip to the United States requires some preparation: finding airline tickets, organizing your itinerary once you get there, but also filling out your official ESTA application to obtain authorization to travel there. This online process can be done quickly by clicking on the online form.

Before the official ESTA application

First of all, before you start filling out the form, it is important to make sure that you are eligible. The ESTA is a procedure available to nationals of countries participating in the Visa Waiver Program. In addition to this, it is necessary to have a passport which must be biometric or electronic.

You must also check if your stay meets the ESTA rules. The latter must not exceed 90 days and must be for tourism or business purposes. If so, you can proceed to the next paragraph. If not, you must apply for a B2 tourism visa because the authorization will not be granted.

Filling out your official ESTA application

The official ESTA form can only be found on the Internet. It is divided into 3 parts covering different types of information about you.

You start by filling in information about your identity: your last name, first name, date and place of birth, your gender, your status (couple, single, married, …) or your e-mail address, your parents and your employer. You will also be asked to fill in your social network profiles.

You will then be asked to enter your passport information. Again, it is imperative that it be an electronic or biometric passport.

The last part is a series of eligibility questions that you must answer yes or no. It is a wide range of questions where you will be asked details about your criminal history, your health status or if you wish to commit a terrorist act on American soil.

You are advised to check all your answers carefully because if you make a careless mistake, your ESTA may be refused. The final step is the mandatory payment of the application fee. We recommend that you print out your ESTA authorization to be prepared for any eventuality, but it is not mandatory.