New visa requirements for Britons visiting USA from this Autumn

Headline in the Telegraph yesterday:

Visitors to US warned to update passports early

US immigration has stated that Britons travelling to the USA will only be able to use the Visa Waiver scheme after 26th October if they're travelling on a passport issued prior to that date, or they're travelling on a passport that's a biometric document with embedded face recognition technology. The UK's foreign office has asked for an extension of the deadline as they doubt that they'll be issuing biometric passports by then ...

This means that UK wives / husbands with USA partners who are used to travelling on Visa Waiver won't be able to do so after their first passport renewal after 26th October. A Visa will be required and "Applicants will have to obtain them in Person from the US embassy in London, a process that currently takes several hours". Yes, and I bet the queues would get a lot longer very quickly in the run up to Christmas and with the new higher volume!

A quote on the subject "Thers is still some confusion at the moment".   Yes, and I expect there would be some sort of 11th hour deal when the US realised it might loose a lot of hollidaymakers, but I'm posting here in case any of the other UK partners on UK-Y have passports that expire in the fairly near future, but after 26th October.  Note that you can renew up to 6 months early and get another 10 years 

Yes, glad that I renewed my passport in 2004. But a situation where you're essentially penalised for renewing your passport after 26 October has the potential for great difficulties.

wait, so i'm clueless.

Does DH have to renew before 26th oct and get a biometric one to be able to travel without a waiver???!!

Help the Monday brain damage.

I'm reading it to mean that your husband can travel on his current passport as it was issued before 26 October 2005.  If he got a new passport on the 27th, he'd need a visa (assuming his new passport was a non-biometric one).

So, my DH can travel on his current passport until it expires (2010, I think) because it was issued before 26 October 2005.  When he gets a new passport, it should be a biometric one (and I'm hoping the UK are issuing biometric ones by then!).

I'm reading it to mean that your husband can travel on his current passport as it was issued before 26 October 2005.  If he got a new passport on the 27th, he'd need a visa (assuming his new passport was a non-biometric one).

Yes, that's what I intended to say but twice as clearly and in half the words 

Simon is coming (to Michigan) at the end of May.  He lost his passport and is awaiting the replacement any day now.  I'm assuming, based on the information here, that he should be ok.  Right?   

~Liza

yes, he'll be fine.


Basically if you have/get a passport before Oct 26th you're in the clear.

You know, I wouldn't be surprised if the U.S. backed down on the Oct date for biometric passports, seeing as the EU countries will not be able to meet the deadline. Some countries could start producing them, but they're waiting for the final EU legislation which won't make it on time.

Oh, and here's a handy tip for those of you whose passports expire more than 6 months after the deadline: you can always lose your passport... oopsie.

So if you order a new passport next year - will it be biometric???

I understand that the British Government will not be in a position to issue biometric passports by the current deadline specified by the US authorities. They (British Government) are working towards them and plan to have them available late 2005 / early 2006. See http://www.ukpa.gov.uk/identity.asp

So ... if you get a new British passport early next year then it might not be biometric.   It should be if you get a new one later in the year, but big IT project schedules have a habit of slipping

What a pain !!!!! :\\\'(

Please help to aavert a mild panic attack ... who should I check with to make sure we don't fall foul of UK/US immigration ... here is the situation ...

We are travelling to the US this August with our three kids who all have dual US/UK nationality - our daughter's US and UK passports both expire in September. We are returning in August, well before the passports expire.  She will enter the US on the US passport and return to the UK on her UK passport. All straightforward so far??!!

Well, our travel agent advised us to check with the airline and the relevant embassies as 'they(?!) can be a bit funny' about letting people travel on passports that are about to expire.  Is this right??  Or is this a non-issue.

Any experience/thoughts??

No experience, but a couple of thoughts.

Firstly, in the circumstances I think your travel agent's advise to check with the embassies is good - better safe than sorry. Second - why not renew before you go?  Have you still got time?

My understanding is that countries are reluctant to let in non-nationals on passports that are due to expire in the near future.  That's to ensure that people don't get stranded away from home in, for example, the extent of an illness while away that stops them catching their scheduled flight home.  I don't think that this actually applies in your daughter's case since she's entering the passport's "home" country in each case - but all it would take is one "jobsworth" at the airline checkin desk to deny her boarding.   Best renew ahead, or check - but that's just my humble thought.

Further thought - your question is rather hidden here on the end of a thread on a different topic - you might have more people see it if you started a fresh thread ... and pehaps on an area of the that's read by the USA end of partnerships as well as the UK ends.

Mine has 18 months left to run but I think I may renew before October (the old one is a bit battered after being put through the wash  ).  Knowing the UK Gov't as I suspect they will not get the bio data set-up in the next few years which means a hell of a lot of people will be in a long queue outside the US embassy.

The US has agreed to postpone the requirements by a year.
http://www.pcworld.com/news/article/0,aid,121408,00.asp
(sorry, am having difficulties linking)

Thanks for that Coffeebean, good to know.