View Full Version : $10 fee to enter USA looks likely
greggx101
19th Sep 2009, 09:23
U.S. set to charge $10 ESTA fee for visa-waiver UK tourists | Mail Online (http://www.dailymail.co.uk/travel/article-1214093/U-S-set-charge-10-ESTA-fee-visa-waiver-UK-tourists.html)
Apologies if this has been discussed before but its the first i heard of it.
Ridiculous.
PAXboy
19th Sep 2009, 10:46
Not really. Dozens of countries do this not least the Brits who charge a Visa for some countries but not for others. It's all money and most countries are broke. If they implement this, it's a good level as it is high enough to generate good revenue but not high enough to deter people from travelling. Expect more countries to do this.
strake
19th Sep 2009, 12:52
Not bad value really. Better than the five quid it costs to fly out of Norwich.
jghill
19th Sep 2009, 22:06
I've no problem with this - I'd be even happier if they'd make it $100 to ensure you're at the front of their immigration queue...!
Papa Sierra
20th Sep 2009, 02:38
I would expect them to pay me more than $10 to enter the States!! $50 at least for the pleasure of having one of their "Border" people click their fingers at me in that "bored/suspicious/patronising" manner that must have taken years to cultivate!!
raffele
20th Sep 2009, 12:19
$10 is nothing - I don't have a problem with it.
However - it appears that the US govt isn't that bothered about finding extra funding. The article says the charge would apply when you get your ESTA. Seeing as it's valid for 2 years, it's only $10 every 2 years, not $10 per visit.
ConstantFlyer
20th Sep 2009, 12:25
$10 fee to enter USA looks likely
How about us paying US citizens £10 to visit the UK? Would pay for itself many times over in increased takings from certain emporia....
davidjohnson6
20th Sep 2009, 12:31
Looks to me like the Australian ETA scheme - i.e. a visa fee but by another name. If this is not the case, why would a visa waiver that requires submitting personal details attract a fee ?
Note - I'm referring to a visa as not necessarily a stamp in your passport, but the authorisation (subject to the whims of an immigration official) to enter a particular country for which the individual doesn't enjoy nationality, above and beyond that which comes from having a valid passport. As with flight tickets, there is no need for it to be formally printed on paper - an electronic visa stored on a computer counts just as well.
It should also be noted that many countries offer the purchase of a multi-entry visa lasting a year or more subject to a passport not having expired, just like the ESTA scheme.
muppetbum
21st Sep 2009, 21:50
Doesn't the visa waiver already cost 6 bucks
I know it does at Canadian land borders
raffele
21st Sep 2009, 23:12
Doesn't the visa waiver already cost 6 bucks
I know it does at Canadian land borders
You have to pay a fee at the land borders yes. But ESTA - which you have to obtain in order to enter the States as a visa waiver passenger regardless of entry method - does not yet incur a charge
powerstall
22nd Sep 2009, 00:52
$10 fee to enter the USA..... very affordable!!! But a free Cavity Search upon reaching immigration??? ...... Priceless!! :E
RevMan2
22nd Sep 2009, 07:17
Given that the $10 will be collected during the online ESTA application process, it's not so much an entry fee as a processing fee, albeit one in disguise to hide its true purpose of funding the travel industry's inept commercial activities.
An ESTA approval is valid for 2 years and multiple entries. So it's less than 50c a trip for me.
The chances are that the fee will be more than $10.
The actual act passed by the U.S Senate states that the charges will initially be
(I) $10 per travel authorization; and
(II) an amount that will at least ensure recovery of the full costs of providing and administering the System, as determined by the Secretary
As with most Government projects around the world, the cost of running the system will probably add up to a fair amount of money which will be added to the fee payable.
racedo
28th Sep 2009, 11:02
US share of World Tourism decline massively in last 8 years, adding this and other fees is not going to show a big Welcome.
The cost of administering it will outweight the benefit so they will just increase it.
... who don't need a visa. They don't even need a machine readable passport!
Now, considering that more Canadians travel to the US than any other nationality, why are they overlooking this opportunity?
racedo
28th Sep 2009, 18:56
I think you will see EU reciprocate fairly quickly.