Requirements for Using the Visa Waiver Program (VWP)
You must meet all the following requirements to travel to the United States on the VWP:
The Visa Waiver Program (VWP) enables most citizens or nationals of participating countries* to travel to the United States for tourism or business for stays of 90 days or less without obtaining a visa. Travelers must have a valid Electronic System for Travel Authorization (ESTA) approval prior to travel and meet all requirements explained below. If you prefer to have a visa in your passport, you may still apply for a visitor (B) visa.
Other travel documents you will need to enter the U.S.
Even if you qualify for the VWP, you will need to bring a passport from your country of citizenship to enter the U.S. Generally, a visitor’s passport must not expire less than six months from the date they plan to exit the U.S. But some countries extend the validity of their passports for an additional six months after expiration. They are known as being part of the “Six Month Club.” Learn which countries are exempt from the six-month passport rule.
When you enter the U.S., officials at your port of entry will issue you a Form I-94W, an electronic record of your entry date. Learn more about I-94W and how to apply.
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Citizens of freely associated states
Under Compacts of Free Association, citizens of the following countries may enter, reside, study and work in the United States indefinitely without a visa. These benefits are granted to citizens from birth or independence, and to naturalized citizens who have resided in the respective country for at least five years, excluding those who acquired citizenship by investment.[125][126]
Sejak tahun 2014, pemerintah Jepang memberikan kemudahan bagi pemegang paspor Indonesia, untuk memasuki Jepang dengan Visa Waiver program. Namun Visa Waiver ini hanya diberikan kepada pemegang paspor elektronik. Untuk pemegang paspor biasa, masih harus mengurus Visa sebelum berangkat ke Jepang.
Apa keuntungan dari visa waiver..? Jika paspor anda telah terdaftar dalam visa waiver, maka selama jangka waktu visa waiver tersebut, anda dapat berangkat kapan saja ke Jepang tanpa mengurus visa terlebih dahulu. Tinggal cari tiket dan berangkat.
Tapi visa waiver ini ada keterbatasannya. Pertama, anda hanya bisa berkunjung ke Jepang selama 15 hari. Jika ingin berkunjung lebih dari 15 hari, anda tetap harus mengurus visa reguler di VFS JVAC, meskipun sudah punya visa waiver. Kedua, masa berlakunya hanya tiga tahun atau sesuai masa berlaku paspor (mana yang lehuh dahulu). Ketiga, dari banyak pengalaman dan cerita pemegang e-paspor dengan visa waiver ini, pemeriksaan imigrasi saat tiba di Jepang lebih ketat, banyak pertanyaan, diminta bukti pesanan akomodasi, di cek jumlah uang yang dibawa, bahkan cukup banyak cerita pemegang visa waiver yang akhirnya ditolak masuk Jepang dan diharuskan kembali ke Indonesia dengan penerbangan berikut. Mungkin ini disebabkan tidak diperlukannya bukti kecukupan keuangan atau bukti pekerjaan saat pengajuan visa waiver, berbeda dengan pengajuan visa reguler yang diminta bukti kecukupan dana saat aplikasi.
PENGURUSAN VISA WAIVER
Bagaimana prosedur pengurusan visa waiver? Sangat mudah kok.. Syaratnya paspor anda sudah paspor elektronik, yang memiliki chip data biometrik. Prosedurnya:
PENGURUSAN VISA WISATA REGULER
Bagaimana jika anda tidak punya paspor elektronik, masih paspor biasa? Atau sudah punya visa waiver, tapi mau berkunjung ke Jepang lebih dari 15 hari? Dalam hal ini anda harus mengajukan aplikasi visa wisata reguler.
Dulu, pengurusan visa reguler juga dilakukan di kedutaan Jepang. Tapi sejak 15 September 2017, aplikasi visa wisata hanya dapat dilakukan di VFS JVAC (Japan Visa Application Centre), Kuningan City Lt.1, Jakarta.
Untuk aplikasi visa Single Entry biayanya Rp 400.000, sedangkan untuk visa Multiple Entry biaya visa Rp 800.000.
Pengajuan multiple entry bisa diproses jika anda sudah pernah ke Jepang dalam 3 tahun terakhir, atau pernah ke negara seperti Amerika Serikat dan Inggris. Jika anda dinilai qualified, visa multiple entry bisa diberikan dengan masa berlaku 5 tahun, bisa lebih panjang dari visa waiver yang masa berlakunya 3 tahun.
Selain membayar biaya visa, pengurusan visa di VFS JVAC ini dikenakan biaya pemrosesan Rp 165.000 per paspor.
Syarat Dokumen untuk visa kunjungan sementara untuk tujuan wisata:
Bawa paspor dan dokumen-dokumen diatas ke VFS JVAC, Kuningan City Lt. 1, Jakarta.
Jam buka VFS JVAC untuk aplikasi visa setiap hari kerja antara jam 9:00-17:00. Anda dapat membuat janji terlebih dahulu untuk menghindari antrian panjang, namun bisa juga langsung datang tanpa membuat perjanjian. Perjanjian bisa dibuat secara online di website VFS JVAC: http://www.vfsglobal.com/japan/indonesia/Schedule-an-Appointment.html
Setibanya di VFS JVAC, anda akan mendapatkan nomor antrian. Tunggu nomor anda dipanggil. Jika nomor anda telah dipanggil, menuju counter dan serahkan paspor dan dokumen anda. Petugas akan memeriksa paspor dan dokumem, apabila ada kekurangan, aplikasi anda akan dikembalikan dan anda akan diminta melengkapi kekurangannya. Apabila semua lengkap, anda akan diminta melakukan pembayaran biaya visa dan biaya administrasi. Petugas akan memberikan tanda terima.
Proses visa di VFS JVAC sekitar 3-5 hari kerja. Anda bisa memonitor progres aplikasi visa di website VFS, dengan memasukan kode yang ada di tanda terima pengurusan visa.
Untuk pengambilan visa dapat dilakukan pada hari kerja mulai jam 1 siang. Pengurusan visa Jepang melalui VFS JVAC dapat diwakilkan oleh anggota keluarga ataupun agen wisata.
Dari pengalaman banyak teman, sangat jarang pemegang visa Jepang ditolak masuk di bandara, sementara pemegang visa waiver yang terkena deportasi cukup banyak terdengar.
Jadi mana yang lebih baik, visa waiver atau visa reguler?
Jika anda sudah cukup memiliki riwayat perjalan keluar negeri, visa waiver jauh lebih memudahkan dan menguntungkan. Tapi jika anda baru pertama kali keluar negeri, saran saya anda mengurus visa reguler, yang syarat pengajuannya mencakup bukti kemampuan keuangan, hal ini untuk membuktikan bahwa anda adalah wisatawan yang bonafid, mengurangi resiko kena random check dan resiko deportasi saat di bandara Jepang.
How to request a travel authorization to the U.S. through ESTA
If you find out your country participates in the Visa Waiver Program:
When you complete and submit the form and processing fee, you will get an ESTA application number. Use that number to check the status of your application. It may take up to 72 hours to find out if you are authorized to travel to the U.S. under the VWP.
Each approved ESTA application is generally valid for two years and allows multiple visits to the U.S. within that period without having to apply for another travel approval. If your passport expires in less than two years, you will receive an ESTA approval valid until the passport's expiration date.
When you travel to the U.S. for tourism or business under the VWP, you may stay up to 90 days per visit.
If you have questions about the ESTA and VWP application process, visit the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) FAQ page.
Must Be a Citizen or National of a VWP Designated Country*
You must be a citizen or national of the following countries* to be eligible to travel to the United States under the VWP.
**To be eligible to travel under the VWP, British citizens must have the unrestricted right of permanent abode in England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland, the Channel Islands, and the Isle of Man.
Hungary's participation
In October 2017, U.S. officials discovered a massive passport fraud scheme in Hungary, in which hundreds of non-Hungarians obtained genuine Hungarian passports.[71][72] A U.S. Department of Homeland Security report (obtained by the Washington Post and reported in May 2018) showed that of approximately 700 non-Hungarians who had obtained the passports, 85 had attempted to travel to the United States under false identites, 65 had been admitted to the United States through the VWP, and (as of October 2017) approximately 30 remained in the United States despite the efforts of U.S. authorities to locate and deport them.[71] The fraud was enabled by a policy implemented in 2011 by Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán; under the policy, the Hungarian government provided passports to ethnic Hungarians living outside Hungary, who could prove that one of their ancestors was a Hungarian citizen, with the goal of expediting naturalization.[71][73] More than a million people obtained Hungarian citizenship through the program.[72][71] Because the program lacked stringent identity-verification procedures, it was abused by bad actors, including criminals and applicants who used forged documents to falsely claim Hungarian descent.[73][71] Some who received Hungarian passports under the program were criminals without any connection to Hungary.[73]
U.S. officials were alarmed by the risks created by the program, including the risk that the passports might be used in drug smuggling, organized crime, illegal immigration, espionage, or terrorism.[71] In October 2017, the U.S. government downgraded Hungary's status in the VWP to "provisional" and sought to develop a "cooperative action plan" within 45 days.[71][74] U.S. and Hungarian officials engaged in a dialogue for several years on resolving the security risks, but Hungarian authorities failed to resolve the issues to the U.S. government's satisfaction.[73] As a result, beginning in 2020 and 2021, the U.S. government barred Hungarian passport-holders who were not born in Hungary from obtaining ESTA pre-travel authorizations.[75][76] In August 2023, the U.S. government imposed additional restrictions on Hungary's participation in the VWP: the ESTA validity period for Hungarian passport-holders was reduced from two years to one year, and each ESTA on a Hungarian passport would be valid for only one entry to the United States.[73][72]
Of the 19 road map countries listed in 2007,[32] 12 have been admitted to the VWP. As of 2024, the U.S. government cited six countries aspiring to join the VWP:[77]
In 2014, the European Union pressured the United States to extend the Visa Waiver Program to its five member states that were not yet included in it (Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Poland and Romania).[78] In November 2014, the Bulgarian government announced that it would not ratify the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership unless the United States lifted the visa requirement for its nationals.[79] Due to incomplete U.S. reciprocity, in March 2017 the European Parliament approved a non-binding resolution calling on the European Commission to suspend the visa exemption for U.S. nationals to travel the Schengen Area.[80] On May 2, 2017, the European Commission decided not act on the resolution and hoped to restart full visa reciprocity negotiations for the remaining EU member states with the new U.S. administration.[81] In 2019, as mentioned above, Poland, which had been the last Schengen Area country not yet included in the VWP, was admitted to the program. In October 2020, the European Parliament repeated its request for the European Commission to suspend the visa exemption for U.S. nationals, and in March 2021, it filed a judicial action against the European Commission for its failure to act on the subject.[82] In 2021, Croatia was admitted to the VWP before joining the Schengen Area in 2023. On March 15, 2023, Democratic senator Dick Durbin introduced a bill that would allow including Romania in the VWP regardless of the program requirements.[83][84] In September 2023, the Court of Justice of the European Union dismissed the judicial action brought by the European Parliament, ruling that the European Commission was not obligated to suspend the visa exemption for U.S. nationals.[82] In December 2023, during a visit to the United States, Romanian Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu said that Romania's entry into the U.S. visa-free program would be announced in 2024, ahead of the 2025 deadline discussed with the U.S. representatives.[85]
As of 2024, three EU member states (Bulgaria, Cyprus and Romania) are still not included in the VWP, and nationals of Hungary born outside Hungary are automatically denied ESTA due to a passport fraud scheme described above.[3]
The Visa Waiver Program applies to all permanently inhabited U.S. territories except American Samoa.
Visa Waiver Program Improvement and Terrorist Travel Prevention Act of 2015
Under the Visa Waiver Program Improvement and Terrorist Travel Prevention Act of 2015, travelers in the following categories must obtain a visa prior to traveling to the United States as they are no longer eligible to travel under the Visa Waiver Program (VWP):
These individuals can apply for visas using regular appointment processes at a U.S. Embassy or Consulate. Consular sections overseas may be able to expedite your interview date if there is an urgent, unforseen situation such as a funeral, medical emergency, or school start date. For more information, please visit the website of the Embassy or Consulate Visa Section where you will interview.
If an individual who is exempt from the Act because of his or her diplomatic or military presence in one of the seven countries is denied ESTA, he or she may go to the CBP website, or contact the CBP information Center. The traveler may also apply for a nonimmigrant visa at a U.S. Embassy or Consulate.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection strongly recommends that any traveler to the United States check his or her ESTA status prior to making any travel reservations or travelling to the United States. More information is available on the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) website.
Find out the requirements for ESTA
If you are a citizen of a country participating in the Visa Waiver Program (VWP), you must meet the eligibility requirements to travel to the U.S. under the program. You will also need authorization through the Electronic System for Travel Authorization (ESTA) before beginning your trip. Learn about the VWP and ESTA and if your country participates in the program.
Nationals of neighboring jurisdictions
Separate from the Visa Waiver Program, 8 U.S.C. § 1182(d)(4)(B) permits the Attorney General and the Secretary of State (acting jointly) to waive visa requirements for admission to the United States in nonimmigrant status for nationals of foreign contiguous territories or adjacent islands or for residents of those territories or islands who have a common nationality with those nationals. The regulations relating to such admissions can be found at 8 CFR 212.1.[121]
Under this provision, nationals of the following jurisdictions may travel to the United States without a visa:
Restrictions on the use of the Visa Waiver Program do not affect this class of travelers unless separately provided for by statute or regulation. For example, a Canadian citizen who has briefly overstayed a previous visit to the United States (by less than 180 days) will still not require a visa for future visits, while a VWP national who overstays will become ineligible for the VWP for life and will need a visa for future visits. ESTA is not required from British Overseas Territories citizens using one of the above waivers with the respective territory's passport, but it is required if they use the VWP with a British citizen passport.
Until 2003, this visa waiver was granted not only to nationals of those countries and territories, but also to permanent residents of Bermuda and Canada who were nationals of countries in the Commonwealth of Nations or Ireland.[121]
