We're looking for the definitive answer on passports and travel to the USA. We replaced our passports during Summer 2004, but have since heard rumours that these may no longer be valid....something about passports needing to have a chip on the back page.....can anyone help?
If you have a current ten year passport then that's fine to travel to the USA with any time up until it expires.
When it expires, you should automatically get a biometric passport issued to you - you've got another eight years to go on your current ones.
And that's the definitive answer! [msnwink]
blott
I think I understand - but what about the visa waiver programme and the amended deadline of Oct26 2006 for biometric passports?
Will we still be able to travel using our machine readable passports and the visa waiver in place or will we now have to apply for visas to enter the USA on our current passports?
You only need to worry about 26 October 2006 if your passsport expires between that date and your travel date. And, in any case, the British Passport Office is now issuing biometric passports - they've been trialling these since earlier on in 2006 on a random basis so some people have them already. You don't need one as your current passport doesn't expire for another eight years and is fine to use for the USA.
No, you don't need a visa if you didn't need one before. Your passport will be valid for visa waiver in the future, as it has been in the past, until it expires.
And that's also the definitive answer! [msnwink]
blott
thanks Blott...
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