US to charge £9 ESTA fee to enter the country

By Darren Cronian on Tuesday, August 10th, 2010

Since early 2009, British holidaymakers have applied for entry into the United States as part of the visa waiver program. You complete the ESTA form online; it takes 72 hours to authorise, lasts for two years, and is currently free to enter the United States.

That is all set to change, in that, from the 8 September though it will cost you £9 ($14).

Promoting US tourism

I personally, do not think that it is a lot to pay, but, surprisingly a number of consumers have contacted me lately to rant about their frustration of having to pay for entry into the US. Apparently, most of the fee will go towards promoting US tourism. Hm. Yes, I bet it will.

Clampdown on rogue ESTA sites

There are a number of rogue websites, where the traveller completes pretty much the same form as on the ESTA website, but the company charges the consumer for “completing the application on their behalf”. No, what they do is, take advantage of people who haven’t a clue what the official website is.

So, will the US Department for Homeland Security clamp down on these sites? Surely, the fact that it isn’t the traveller that is completing the ESTA form brings up security issues? I would like to see the likes of Google rejecting these rogue sites on their sponsored ads.

Concern over confusion for consumers

The concern that I have, is that if more countries started to charge for entry into their country then it could make travel more confusing for consumers. My advice would be if you are looking to travel to the US, apply before the 8 September.

Frustrated British travellers

Surfing around the internet there seems to be a number of people ranting about the ESTA fee, but I really cannot see what all of the fuss is about. Now, if they increase the fee annually, then yes, I will probably not feel the same as I do right now.

Should we be paying to enter countries when we already pay a huge fee for our British passports. As usual, I am interested to hear what you think about the new ESTA fee in the comments.

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6 responses to “US to charge £9 ESTA fee to enter the country”

Jack | 11 August, 2010 at 12:24 pm

The fee is… pretty poorly conceived.

The average tourist to the U.S. spends USD 4,000 or so, which helps the local economy. This is what’s removed from the economy for each traveler denied a visa or deciding to go elsewhere because immigration policies are so arbitrary and unfriendly.

Charge tourists money so that they can be marketed to and spend a lot of cash per visit? Not exactly smart, is it?

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Alex | 11 August, 2010 at 3:27 pm

The idea behind the whole thing still dont appeal to me.
but after I paid almost over a 100 euros for visa this year, this 9 dollar dont bother me that much, at least i dont have to go to an embassy and apply!

So, as you said, as long as they dont increase the fee all the time, im okay with that!

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Nick | 11 August, 2010 at 11:03 pm

Darren

By Law $10 will go to the new (and first) national tourist board for the USA. The other $4 dollars is basically a credit card fee. If you place this next to the £50 that the UK goverment collects it a small charge.

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Edward | 12 August, 2010 at 8:56 am

The £9 fee is really not much compared to what other countries charge. For South Africans to visit the UK for in stance the charge is R1000 (about £90).

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