People who do not need a visa to fly to the US will have to answer questions about their health and criminal record under a new electronic system unveiled in Brussels on Monday.
The Electronic System for Travel Authorization (ESTA), unveiled at the US embassy ahead of a pilot test starting on Friday, will be needed by all US-bound travelers from the 27 so-called visa waiver countries from Jan. 12.
It will oblige people those from nations including 15 EU states, Japan and Australia to supply details, preferably three days prior to travel, which they usually fill out on flight cards before arrival at US airports.
They will be asked about communicable diseases or mental and physical disorders, drug abuse, whether they have been arrested for certain crimes or involved in spying, terrorist activities or genocide.
The permit, which lasts for two years, can be filled out by the person concerned, a relative or a travel agent, with the authorization being granted, in most cases, almost immediately, US officials said.
The European Commission has said it is monitoring the scheme to make sure it is not a visa in disguise, and is due to hand down its verdict in November, around a month after the pilot program is set to end.
The US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) says it targets passengers who pose a risk to security and that by providing details before they fly out, legitimate travelers cut the risk of being turned back once they arrive.
“The ESTA is not a visa,” said DHS security attache Jackie Bednarz, adding: “We do recognize that it is an additional step” which will take “a couple of minutes” to complete.
“We think the ESTA will clearly help those persons who have any kind of a travel problem that is not known,” she said.
Seeking ESTA authorization, which will be posted on the DHS Web site, is currently free, but Bednarz said that could change.
“In the future, there may be a fee,” she said, but declined to speculate about when or why.
She said entry could be refused for reasons ranging from a criminal record to problems during a prior visit, such as overstaying a visa.
ESTA will also apply to people entering the US by ship, but is not needed if crossing a land border, by car for example.
As of Friday, ESTA forms can be found at esta.cbp.dhs.gov.
AIR SUPPORT: The Ministry of National Defense thanked the US for the delivery, adding that it was an indicator of the White House’s commitment to the Taiwan Relations Act Deputy Minister of National Defense Po Horng-huei (柏鴻輝) and Representative to the US Alexander Yui on Friday attended a delivery ceremony for the first of Taiwan’s long-awaited 66 F-16C/D Block 70 jets at a Lockheed Martin Corp factory in Greenville, South Carolina. “We are so proud to be the global home of the F-16 and to support Taiwan’s air defense capabilities,” US Representative William Timmons wrote on X, alongside a photograph of Taiwanese and US officials at the event. The F-16C/D Block 70 jets Taiwan ordered have the same capabilities as aircraft that had been upgraded to F-16Vs. The batch of Lockheed Martin
GRIDLOCK: The National Fire Agency’s Special Search and Rescue team is on standby to travel to the countries to help out with the rescue effort A powerful earthquake rocked Myanmar and neighboring Thailand yesterday, killing at least three people in Bangkok and burying dozens when a high-rise building under construction collapsed. Footage shared on social media from Myanmar’s second-largest city showed widespread destruction, raising fears that many were trapped under the rubble or killed. The magnitude 7.7 earthquake, with an epicenter near Mandalay in Myanmar, struck at midday and was followed by a strong magnitude 6.4 aftershock. The extent of death, injury and destruction — especially in Myanmar, which is embroiled in a civil war and where information is tightly controlled at the best of times —
Taiwan was ranked the fourth-safest country in the world with a score of 82.9, trailing only Andorra, the United Arab Emirates and Qatar in Numbeo’s Safety Index by Country report. Taiwan’s score improved by 0.1 points compared with last year’s mid-year report, which had Taiwan fourth with a score of 82.8. However, both scores were lower than in last year’s first review, when Taiwan scored 83.3, and are a long way from when Taiwan was named the second-safest country in the world in 2021, scoring 84.8. Taiwan ranked higher than Singapore in ninth with a score of 77.4 and Japan in 10th with
China's military today said it began joint army, navy and rocket force exercises around Taiwan to "serve as a stern warning and powerful deterrent against Taiwanese independence," calling President William Lai (賴清德) a "parasite." The exercises come after Lai called Beijing a "foreign hostile force" last month. More than 10 Chinese military ships approached close to Taiwan's 24 nautical mile (44.4km) contiguous zone this morning and Taiwan sent its own warships to respond, two senior Taiwanese officials said. Taiwan has not yet detected any live fire by the Chinese military so far, one of the officials said. The drills took place after US Secretary
RSS