An ESTA visa is mandatory for all flights to the United States, including short transits or transfers.
One of the major benefits of living in a country that has warm relations with the United States of America is that as a citizen, you can become exempt of its otherwise mandatory visa requirement if you want to travel to the country. Poland was the most recent country to join America’s highly desired Visa Waiver Program, an event that was cause for much celebration in the European country. Poland joined 38 other countries in being able to travel to the USA without a visa, including a large part of the European Union. But the ESTA comes with its own rules and requirements, and not observing them can even lead to a travel ban for future trips.
ESTA mandatory for all flights.
Following the 9/11 terrorist attacks, Homeland Security came to the conclusion that the current American visa system was outdated and did not offer sufficient protection to foreign threats. To remedy that, the ESTA system was introduced. Through this system, travellers can be quickly and efficiently screened before departure, limiting any potential safety risks.
The ESTA is mandatory for all flights to the USA. If you arrive by land, you only need to fill in a form at the border. However, since this mainly applies to Canadian or Mexican residents, the average international traveller will have to apply for an ESTA to fly to the US. Applying for an ESTA is also required for any flights temporarily landing in the US. If your flight is simply stopping in the US to then continue onward to another final destination, you still need to have a valid ESTA in your possession. The same applies if you are switching planes at an American airport. The only people that are exempt from the ESTA requirement are American and Canadian citizens.
Applying for an ESTA
The reason so many countries want to join the US’s Visa Waiver Program is that it circumvents the need to go through the arduous visa process. This can easily take weeks, and required several trips to the embassy. What’s more, visa applications are in part dependent on the person handling the mandatory interview. If you are unlucky, you can get refused for seemingly very minor reasons. The ESTA, on the other hand, is processed entirely online. All you need to do is fill in the online form, make the payment and wait for the confirmation to be sent by email. Printing an ESTA is not necessary, as you will automatically be added to the database of approved travellers.
