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PEP

PEP

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Benefits - frequently asked questions


seta pequena What is the Visa Waver Program?


It is a Visa Exemption Program under which the United States Government has mutual agreements with 27 Countries, including Portugal, allowing the respective citizens to enter the USA either for Business or for tourism without a visa, provided the period of permanence is inferior to 90 days.


All persons wishing to enter United States territory must hold a machine readable passport or a machine readable Visa issued by the United States Embassy. All beneficiaries of the Visa Waver Program (VWP) must hold a machine readable passport. In addition to this, all passports issued after the 26th October 2005 must be machine readable and contain a digitalized photography in order to fulfil the requisites of the Visa Waver Program. The format of the new Portuguese passport fulfils all requirements of the Visa Waver Program.


Hence, your passport must fulfil the following conditions:


- Passports issued (or renewed) before the 26th October 2005 must contain a machine readable device;


- Passports issued (or renewed) after the 26th October 2005 must contain a machine readable device and a digitalized photograph of the respective holder;


- Passports issued (or renewed) after the 26th October 2005 must contain a chip with the biometrics of the holder (e-passport).


If your passport has been issued before January 2001, you should replace it by the new Portuguese Electronic Passport, since all passports issued after that date fulfil the requisites of the Visa Waver Program.


Those citizens, who already have a PEP (Portuguese Electronic Passport) and wish to travel to USA territory as of the 12th of January 2009, do have to register in the new electronic system for travel authorization in https://esta.cbp.dhs.gov.