Most British nationals with a full UK passport will not need a visa to travel to the US for tourist and certain business purposes.
The US government has established a programme, known as the Visa Waiver Program ('VWP') which enables citizens of certain countries to travel to the US for periods of up to 90 days without a visa provided they meet the following criteria:
- The traveller must have a valid machine-readable passport.
- If the traveller has a passport issued after October 26 th 2005, the passport must also contain a digital photograph.
- The traveller must be entering the US for tourist or legitimate business activities
- The traveller must have an onward or return ticket and, if entering by land or sea, must be travelling with a carrier who has agreed to participate in the program
The following British citizens will NOT qualify for the Visa Waiver Program and MUST apply for a visa:
- Persons who have ever been arrested or convicted of any offence (excepting certain fixed penalty driving offences that did not result in a conviction). Note: The Rehabilitation of Offenders Act does not apply in respect of US immigration law - if you have ever been arrested or convicted of any offence, no matter how long ago it was, you must apply for a visa before travelling to the US.
- Persons who have ever overstayed in the US, been refused entry or not complied with the rules of the visa under which they were present in the US
- Persons who have certain serious communicable diseases or conditions
If you do not qualify to travel on the Visa Waiver Program but wish to holiday in the US you must apply for a B-2 visa. If you do not qualify to travel on the Visa Waiver Program but wish to enter the US for a business visit you must apply for a B-1 visa. Please see our application packs for details on how to make your application.
In addition to British nationals, citizens of the following countries can also take advantage of visa-free travel for tourist and business visit purposes:
Andorra, Australia, Austria, Belgium Brunei, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Monaco, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Portugal, San Marino, Singapore, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden and Switzerland.
