In order to apply for ESTA and travel to the USA, applicants must first ensure that their country qualifies for visa-free travel. European countries such as Switzerland, France and Belgium are among those eligible. For this reason, Swiss nationals can apply for ESTA on specialized websites or on the U.S. government website. This online application takes the form of an online form to which the necessary information must be supplied. You need to be very careful, as the answers to the questions can be eliminatory and you may receive a refusal of authorization.
What you need to know about ESTA
The ESTA USA application has been imposed by the US Immigration Service and the Department of Homeland Security.
This is to reinforce security measures and prevent any attacks on American territory.
This is why the ESTA authorization is an official travel document if you want to travel to the USA from Switzerland.
To be eligible, you must :
- be a citizen of Switzerland or another VWP (Visa Waiver Program) member country;
- stay in the USA for up to 90 days;
- on American soil for tourism, business or transit;
- a valid electronic or biometric passport.
To ensure the safety of all travelers to the United States of America, travel authorization must be received prior to boarding the plane or ship.
Without this travel authorization, the traveler will not be able to enter the United States.
Once the authorization has been requested and validated by the American authorities, it can be used for the full duration of its validity, i.e. for two years, unless your biometric or electronic passport expires.
Applying for ESTA from Switzerland
An ESTA application is made online, meaning that filling in the questionnaire and your personal details, sending the ESTA form and paying the fee are all done online.
This can be done via a private website, or via the U.S. government website, all of which have translations of the form in several languages.
You must provide appropriate, accurate and clear answers that will facilitate processing of the online form by the electronic systems and then by the US authorities.
Obtaining authorization to travel to the USA will depend on the information you provide.
Given that an application may be placed on hold, in which case the immigration authorities will give themselves a maximum of 72 hours to act on your request, it is advisable to submit the form at least 3 days in advance, although most of the time, the majority of responses are positive and given within minutes or even hours of submission.
If you receive an ESTA refusal, it is still possible to travel to the USA, using another form of permission: the US visa.
To obtain a USA visa, you’ll need to go to the American embassy.