ESTA charges to start in September - UPDATED 22 AUG

[honey lamb]

Just tried to do Aer John's and the site is down!

Well I finally managed to get it done with numerous hits at the refresh button. Each page took several goes to reload and the first two pages kept on sending me back to the beginning. Once the data was entered that didn't happen but it took three or four refreshes each time to get on to the next page all the while getting the error message that it could not connect to the ESTA server! It took the best part of half an hour to complete

[Darren Wheeler]

Glad I did mine yesterday. I'm more than happy to lose a day.

Glad I did mine yesterday. I'm more than happy to lose a day.

Ditto - did mine a couple of weeks ago, Will do me for about 4 trips if my usual travel pattern stays the same. and when I need to pay will leave it till I actually travel.

had no luck getting it to respond most of the day, will leave it till much later, and maybe first thing tomorrow morning.

I have 5 to do, and am kicking myself for for forgetting over the weekend.

Never in the field of ESTA applications was so much owed by two people to one refresh button. y)

I know of a certain V-Flyer :w who tried to complete her application several weeks ago & the system had to think about her for 24 hours

R-P

Well, 90 minutes later and lots of re-freshes mid process I now have 5 approved and active for 2 years.

Hope everyone else gets theirs done in time.

I too did ours last night as I'd "lost" them (we v-flyers seem to be suffering with a significant degree of cerebral atrophy of late ii) ). Mr DLs and mine were processed immediately but Dragonbaby's didn't. Do I just enter her application number to check she's been granted (her previous application processed immediately)?
Thanks
DL

[Darren Wheeler]

No doubt someone in the DHS is cursing us forgetful Europeans...

Do I just enter her application number to check she's been granted (her previous application processed immediately)?
Thanks
DL

Yes - I assume you got 'authorization pending' though.

Do I just enter her application number to check she's been granted (her previous application processed immediately)?
Thanks
DL

Yes - I assume you got 'authorization pending' though.

Yes - for some reason I thought I'd get an email confirmation and have just realised that it's the Aussie ETA that emails you (suffering from blondeness tonight).
DL

[honey lamb]

Never in the field of ESTA applications was so much owed by two people to one refresh button. y)

How true!

I did mine last night and suggested to Aer John that he did his but his response was that he would do it today. I was missing for the morning - and indeed first thing would have been prime time to do it but I couldn't find his passport and by mid-afternoon everyone eligible for the visa waiver program was on-line! :0

It wasn't helped by the likes of Martin Lewis urging the British public to do same on that new Breakaway program (which I have decided I don't like. Why does Adrian Chiles always seem to be peering at the autocue?)

It wasn't helped by the likes of Martin Lewis urging the British public to do same on that new Breakaway program (which I have decided I don't like. Why does Adrian Chiles always seem to be peering at the autocue?)

I think you mean Daybreak. I saw about 30 seconds worth this morning and that was 29 seconds too long.

Breakaway was a choccy biccy in a yellow wrapper

The less said about Mr Chiles the better this, afterall, is a family website ....

[honey lamb]

It wasn't helped by the likes of Martin Lewis urging the British public to do same on that new Breakaway program (which I have decided I don't like. Why does Adrian Chiles always seem to be peering at the autocue?)

I think you mean Daybreak. I saw about 30 seconds worth this morning and that was 29 seconds too long.

Breakaway was a choccy biccy in a yellow wrapper

The less said about Mr Chiles the better this, afterall, is a family website ....

Thank you, tonty dear. You are obviously right and my brain has been fuddled by the said Adrian Chiles and Christine whatshername (who gives a great disservice to all Christines in the world) I think I might have to revert to the BBC (which is totally acceptable at weekends) or Ireland's TV3 offering which Daybreak now makes look sophisticated. I think ITV have shot themselves in their foot!

Checking this morning, the ESTA website is responding very quickly and now at Step 4 has a 'Make Payment' addition.

Considering the Immigration and Customs fees are already added to your ticket price anyway, or you have to pay in cash if you cross a land border, it's a poor decision for countries in the 1st World to charge people to enter.

I do hope we Europeans implement something reciprical, a little like the Brazillian Photograph system that was adopted after the US started photographing and fingerprinting everyone.

[Scrooge]

Luckily, I don't need one, however, it does seem a little stupid to me to be charging a fee to tourists to promote tourism, then again it could be a lot worse, they could of matched the UK airport taxes :0

[Bazz]

A lot of people may be disappointed if they are relying on the info on the BBC News website which states:

"The compulsory Electronic System for Travel Authorisation (Esta) is free at present, but from 9 September visitors to the US will have to pay for it."

We managed to get both of our ESTAs done without difficulty thank goodness the Passport Office did a remarkably quick turnaround issuing our renewals in under two weeks!

I redid ours at the weekend after "losing" the original ones Unfortunatly mine came back denied !!!! Even though i already had one !

So now i need to get a piggin visa, which wasn't the best thing to find out 5 weeks before i travel.

Couple of hours later had an email saying it had been granted !

Checked the status and it had changed from denied to granted

[mitchja]

You always used to have to pay for an Australian ETA which only lasted 12 months, but I believe you don't have to pay for these now?

I certainly had to pay for mine last time I flew to SYD several years ago.