Effective July 1, 2009, all emergency or temporary passports presented for application to the United States under the Visa Waiver Program (VWP), including transit through the United States, must be electronic passports (e-Passports). An e-Passport contains an integrated chip that stores biographic data, a digitized photograph, and other information about the bearer, and is distinguished by a gold-colored symbol on the passport’s front cover. VWP applicants arriving in the United States with a non-compliant passport may be required to undergo further processing and/or denied admission. U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) may exercise discretion at the ports of entry in cases of medical or other emergency travel.

VWP applicants arriving in the United States with a non-compliant passport may be required to undergo further processing and/or denied admission. U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) may exercise discretion at the ports of entry in cases of medical or other emergency travel.

Individuals traveling to or transiting the United States under the VWP must present a DHS-approved passport as indicated below.

VWP applicants who are citizens of the following countries must present electronic passports (e-Passport) – description above):
Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, the Republic of Korea, and the Slovak Republic.

The passport requirements for VWP applicants who are nationals of these 27 countries:
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, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom.

• October 26, 2005 – Passports issued prior to this date must be machine-readable.
• October 26, 2005 – Passports issued on or after this date must have a digital photo.
  • E-Passports are acceptable for this purpose.
• October 26, 2006 – Passports issued on or after this date must be an e-Passport.