ARTICLE IN THE INDEPENDEDNT re VISA WAIVER SCHEME

[Rob Ford]

I e-mailed the Independent foreign editor on Saturday night but have yet to receive the courtesy of a reply.

As both the UK and US government websites still maintain their stances that you need to have a machine-readable passport issued prior to 26/10/05 to travel on the Waiver Scheme & a search on google produces nothing about this, I stronly suspect that the Independent, not for the first time, has its facts wrong.

I hope.

 

[littlegreydonkey]

The Mail has the same story online today (which is why I'm checking it out with you guys)- but I'm figuring they just copied it off the Independent! I just can't see that they can have everyone in the world with a EU passport (remembering us ex pats too) travelling to the US needing to either renew their passport or get a visa and only have six months to get it started - can they?

Whenever they do bring in the new passports though I hope they are better than the old ones - my partner and I just had to have our UK passports replaced 5 years early as the picture pages were lifting at the corners (after going through the machine readers) and Air New Zealand weren't going to carry us to LA last Xmasas they felt it was a security risk. It cost us a over 200 GBP to get two new passports issued over here, plus to have our residency visas transferrered (which had only been put in two months earlier) - so we now have lovely new ten year passports - but with no biometrics. hey ho!!!

 

[Goofyish]

Once the biometric passports are introduced where will people get their faces scanned, their irises scanned and their finger prints taken to put onto the passport?

There will have to be some pretty advanced passport photo machines

Littlegreydonkey - where are you in NZ? My Aunt and Uncle live in Blockhouse Bay near Auckland

 

[Obi Wan Kenobi]

This site
http://travel.state.gov/visa/temp/without/without_1256.html

is the official fact sheet with regards to passports and the VWS.
It does say:-
In August 2004, President Bush signed legislation (H.R. 4417) that extends by one year, to October 26, 2005, the requirement for VWP countries to issue biometrically enabled passports. Passports issued on or after that date will be required to be biometrically enabled to be valid for use in VWP travel.

the key words are "on or after that date"

then on the Uk passport site, http://www.passportagency.gov.uk/news/news.asp?strAreaNo=320&intelement=808 the following appears:-

Biometric Passports:
US law originally required that travellers under the Visa Waiver Programme carrying passports issued after 26 October 2004 would need to hold biometric passports. The President has agreed a one-year deferral of this requirement, to October 2005.

The Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) and UK Passport Service (UKPS) welcome this decision, which will now enable British travellers with valid machine-readable passports issued before the new deadline to travel to the US under the Visa Waiver Programme up to, and beyond, October 2005.

The primary biometric identifier approved by the International Civil Aviation Organisation is a facial recognition biometric (which can be derived from a passport photograph). The UKPS and FCO, in collaboration with international partners, (including the US), have a programme of work in place to implement this biometric in British pass"ports from late 2005/early 2006. "

so good old UK government, after Oct 2005 to around "early 2006" what are they going to do???

 

[Obi Wan Kenobi]

Now,
here is the Foreighn & commonwealth office take on the matter:-
http://www.fco.gov.uk/servlet/Front...7029390590&a=KCountryAdvice&aid=1013618385531

"ENTRY REQUIREMENTS

Most British Citizen passport holders do not need a visa to visit the US on business, pleasure or in transit if they intend to stay in the US for less than 90 days and as long as they have a Machine Readable Passport. This is called the Visa Waiver Programme, and more information on this is available on the US Embassy website (details at the end of this section). If you are unsure whether you are eligible to travel to the USA without a visa, the following Questions and Answers may be helpful.

Is my passport machine readable?

If your passport is machine-readable it will have at the foot of the personal information page (at the back of the passport) 2 lines of text as letters, numbers and chevrons (>>>).If there are no lines of text, then the passport is not machine-readable and you need a visa. The personal information page should also describe your nationality status as, "British Citizen".

Why might I need a visa?

There are reasons why a British traveller will need a visa. These include one or more of the following: (If you think that your situation falls into any of the following categories, you should consult the US Embassy about whether you need to apply for a visa – you must do this well in advance of any plans to travel to the US.)


* The personal information page of your passport does not describe you as a "British Citizen", but instead says "British Subject", "British National (Overseas)", "British Overseas Territories Citizen", "British Dependent Territories Citizen", "British Protected Person" or "British Overseas Citizen"
* You intend to stay longer than 90 days
* You have a passport that is not machine readable
* You intend to travel to the US for a reason other than business, pleasure or transit
* You have been arrested, even if not convicted
* You have a criminal record
* You have a serious, communicable disease (including HIV)
* You are HIV Positive
* You have been refused entry to the US on a previous occasion
* You have been deported from the US
* You have previously overstayed the 90 days permitted under the Visa Waiver Programme (ie travel without a visa)
* You are a child included on your parent's passport


In all of these cases, you need to apply for a visa, or seek further information from the US Embassy Visa Information Service on 09055 444546 – (calls are charged at £1.30 a minute) or www.usembassy.org.uk.

The US Government has legislated that anyone travelling to the US under the Visa Waiver Programme with a passport issued on or after 26 October 2005, will have to have a biometric passport in order to travel visa free. Biometric passports will contain data about the holder’s face, and may also contain other unique personal information such as fingerprints and iris details. The UK is working on its programme to introduce biometric passports, but it will not be fully ready in time for the 26 October 2005 deadline. British Citizens who would normally travel under the VWP may therefore require a visa, which will include biometric data, to enter the US on or after 26 October 2005, if their passport is issued after that date and is not biometric."

 

[SimonV]

Probably in response to the Independent's garbage masquerading as a story, the US Embassy in London have today issued the following press release which makes things pretty clear, and should set most people's minds at rest. It seems there is a STILL a slight doubt over whether the Oct 26 date for biometric data in new passports will be enforced, but at least we know the position as it stands now.

VISA WAIVER PROGRAM AND
PASSPORTS WITH BIOMETRIC IDENTIFIERS
Recent media reports may have left the mistaken impression that, from
later
this year, all UK citizens who currently travel to the U.S. visa-free
under
the Visa Waiver Program (VWP) will be required to obtain a U.S. visa
for
such travel. This is not the case.
Under existing U.S. law, British passports issued on or after October
26,
2005 must contain biometric identifiers in order to qualify the bearer
for
visa-free travel on the VWP. Passports issued prior to October 26, 2005
are
not affected by this deadline and continue to qualify the bearer for
visa-free travel, so long as the passport is machine-readable.
Passports
issued on or after October 26, 2005, and which do not contain biometric
identifiers, will fail to qualify the bearer for visa-free travel.
Journalists who have been following this story will recall that the
initiative to encourage the issuance of passports containing biometric
identifiers originated in the UN's International Civil Aviation
Organization
(ICAO, of which both the UK and the U.S. are leading members) a number
of
years ago. In order to improve U.S. border security for the benefit of
both
the American public and foreign visitors, the U.S. Congress ordered
improved
passport standards as part of the Enhanced Border Security and Visa
Entry
Reform Act of 2002. In response to the widespread concern in Britain
and
elsewhere that the October 26, 2004 deadline in the Act would be very
difficult to meet, the Administration successfully lobbied Congress to
extend the deadline by one year. Currently, it appears that some VWP
nations
will begin issuing passports with biometric identifiers by that new
deadline, while others will not be able to meet it. The Administration
is
discussing the current state of VWP nations' biometric programs with
the
U.S. Congress and we have made clear our concern about the current
deadline.

Press Office
American Embassy
24 Grosvenor Square
London W1A 1AE
Tel: 020 7499 5261

 

[littlegreydonkey]

Simon: don't forget the Mail who recycled the 'garbage' pretty much verbatim there on their website - now how did that I happen I wonder?

And goofyish, I'm the other side of Auckland from your rellies, over the bridge on the north shore - and its' a mightly long way from florida trust me!!!

 

[Frances999]

Thanks for posting the article, Simon. More sensationalist news it seems!