PRAGUE, Oct. 27 (Xinhua) -- The U.S. visa requirements for Czechs will be abolished as of Nov. 17, Czech Prime Minister Mirek Topolanek said after meeting U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff on Monday.
Instead of visas, the Czechs traveling to the United States will apply for entry permit within the ESTA (Electronic System of Travel Authorization) on condition they have a passport with biometric data, the Czech news agency CTK reported.
Within the ESTA procedure, the applicant fills in an e-form, giving basic data on himself, his past and the reason of his travel. People formerly provided this information only aboard flights to the United States.
The new system's advantage, Chertoff said, is that the Untied States will have the information in advance and will have more time to assess it.
The Czechs will be able to use the visa free regime to go to the United States for business and tourist purposes. Work and study stays will remain subject to visa requirements.
The Czechs should apply for ESTA permit 72 hours before the planned journey at the latest. Those whose application is rejected have to apply for visa.
Those who have passports with a valid tourist visa can use the passport to travel to the United States until the visa's date of expiry.
This is an important milestone, Chertoff said, adding that the visa abolition promotes the Czechs up to the level of other states that have had visa-free relations for many years.
Chertoff said the important part of the visa lifting is the exchange of information on perpetrators of serious crimes, which is useful for fighting against terrorism, according to CTK.
The United States is introducing the ESTA for all states with which it has had a visa free regime so far, including the old EU 15 members, CTK said.
Measures like the ESTA have helped persuade some U.S. Congress people that the visa waiver program can be extended to include more states, Chertoff told the Czech daily Hospodarske Noviny.
Apart from the Czech Republic, the other states to be admitted to the U.S. visa waiver program are Slovakia, Hungary, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and South Korea.
0 comments:
Post a Comment