U.S. to charge European visitors $14 fee

Tourists visiting the United States from the Czech Republic will face a new $14 (270 Kč) charge for electronic travel authorization starting next month.

The new fee, which will be charged from Sept. 8, applies to all tourist visitors from the 36 countries in the U.S. Visa Waiver program, which includes 30 European states as well as Australia, Japan, New Zealand, Singapore, South Korea and Brunei.

The Electronic System for Travel Authorization (ESTA) was introduced in January 2009 and has been compulsory since January of this year. Visitors must fill out an online application form that asks if they have any communicable diseases, have abused drugs or committed serious crimes.

To apply for the ESTA, visitors must pay $4 via credit card or certain debit cards at Pay.gov. Once approved, an additional $10 is charged, and the visitor's ESTA is valid for two years. Visitors who were approved before the charge's introduction will not have to pay until their ESTA expires.

The electronic form was designed to replace the I-94 landing card that visitors completed on the plane, which will now be abolished for visa waiver countries. Visitors who require a visa will still have to complete the landing card.

Reacting to the changes Aug. 5, EU Home Affairs Commissioner Cecilia Malmstrom released a statement saying she greatly "regrets" the fee. The commissioner said she had previously raised concerns about the introduction of any fee that could deter or complicate travel to the United States.

"I remain convinced that these new requirements are inconsistent with the commitment of the U.S. to facilitate trans-Atlantic mobility and will be an additional onus for European citizens traveling to the U.S.," Malmstrom said.

U.S. Consul General in the Czech Republic David Beam defended the new fee. He told The Prague Post that the Department of Homeland Security had reserved the right to introduce a fee for the service since it was first developed four years ago.

He said that the department decided, based on a cost-of-service study, that each application costs $4 to process. The additional $10 being charged will be used to fund a new program - introduced this year under the U.S. Travel Promotion Act - that aims to boost tourism in the United States.

Asked how the public might react to the new fee, Beam said he did not wish to comment. He also denied the new fees were akin to introducing a paid tourist visa for Visa Waiver countries.

"An ESTA approval is not a visa, and it's not anything like a visa under U.S. law," Beam said. "It doesn't confer the same benefits as a visa, and we don't believe it should be considered in any way like a visa, because it's not."

The consul general pointed out that nationals from countries outside the 36 states in the Visa Waiver program face much higher entry costs.

"The fee for an ESTA is significantly less than what it would cost to get a visa," he said. "Just to apply for a visa is the equivalent of $140 for a tourist visa right now, and this fee will be $14."

Bill Lehane can be reached at
blehane@praguepost.com