Passport Validity And Travel To The US
Traveling to a foreign country requires you to have a valid passport. So, if you are willing to visit the US, you will need to have a passport before you can apply for a Visa or ESTA America (ESTA amerika). Without a valid passport, it is impossible to get any permission to visit the US or for that matter, any foreign country. Your passport plays an important role in gaining you entry to the US.
That said, having a passport isn’t enough. It must still be valid and not just on the date you request ESTA for America. Many travelers to the US face problems regarding their passport validity. In general, your passport must be valid at least six months after your intended date of return from the US. However, this rule has been relaxed for some countries like the Netherlands where nationals must ensure that their passport is valid at least till the date of the return. If this is not followed, you can be booked by the security for traveling without authorization.
ESTA and Passport Validity
For those willing to fill up the ESTA form on Estavisumamerika, it is important to understand how passport validity affects your ESTA. As you already know, your ESTA is valid for two years from the date of approval. However, that is subject to your passport validity. If your passport expires, your ESTA becomes invalid as well. So, even though the ESTA may not have expired, it becomes invalid when your passport expires. You will need to apply for a new ESTA after you get your passport renewed.
So, if you are applying for an ESTA America, you have to make sure that you have more than two years on your passport. This will ensure that your ESTA doesn’t become invalid before the actual expiry date. If you see that you have less time on your passport, it is better to renew it before making plans for your travel to the US.
What should you do before you request ESTA for America?
If you are making plans to go to the US, it is advised that you apply for your ESTA first to avoid last-minute hassles. But even before you do that, you should check your passport validity. If you find that your passport is expiring soon, it would be useless applying for an ESTA with it. What you need to do is apply for renewal first and once you have renewed your passport, you can fill up the ESTA form (ESTA formulier). Now, if your ESTA is approved, you wouldn’t need to worry about it getting invalid because your passport expired. Renewing your passport shouldn’t take more than a few days. If you are in a hurry, you can also try for the urgent renewal which will cost you more.
Once that is done, you can apply for the ESTA with no troubles at all. Make sure that you get a biometric passport because ESTA travels are not possible without one. If you take care of your passport and ESTA validity, you shouldn’t have any problems traveling to the US.
