The U.S. Visa Waiver Program

What is the Visa Waiver Program?

The Visa Waiver Program (VWP) allows nationals of certain countries to travel to the U.S. for tourism or business for up to 90 days without obtaining a visa. To qualify for this visa waiver, nationals of partner countries must obtain an electronic travel authorization ESTA online.

List of VWP member countries

Israel is the latest country to be admitted to the VWP in October 2023. This brings to 41 the number of countries benefiting from the US visa waiver program for their nationals.

Germany	Spain	Liechtenstein	UK
Andorra	Finland	Lithuania	San Marino
Australia	France	Luxemburg	Singapore
Austria	Greece	Malta	Slovakia
Belgium	Hungary	monaco	Slovenia
Brunei	Ireland	Norway	Sweden
Chile	Iceland	New Zealand	Swiss
Croatia	Israel	Netherlands	Taiwan
South Korea	Italy	Poland
Denmark	Japan	Portugal
Estonia	Latvia	Czech republic

List of member countries of the U.S. Visa Waiver Program

How can I join the visa waiver program?

Countries wishing to join the U.S. Visa Waiver Program must meet certain border management requirements. The main conditions laid down by the US State Department are :

Issuing electronic passports to its nationals
Participate in sharing safety data with the United States
Continuously inform the United States of stolen or lost passports
Have a refusal rate for type B visitor passports of less than 3% for its nationals
Actively combat terrorism at border controls.

What to do if your country is not a VWP member

If your home country is not a member of the VWP, you cannot apply for ESTA electronic travel authorization. To enter the United States, you need to apply online for a B2 visa.