Stay up to date with notifications from The Independent

Notifications can be managed in browser preferences.

The Independent's journalism is supported by our readers. When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn commission. 

Travel Question of the Day: Simon Calder on valid passports for the US

Have a travel question that needs answering? Ask our expert Simon Calder

Simon Calder
Sunday 01 May 2016 13:26 BST
Comments
Travellers need e-passports to visit Florida
Travellers need e-passports to visit Florida (Joe Raedle/Getty Images)

Your support helps us to tell the story

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.

At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.

The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.

Your support makes all the difference.

Q I am going on holiday to Florida in August. My passport was issued in 2010. I have heard I may need to get a new one because of the need to be biometric. Is that correct?

Ian Scott

A There has been concern in the past few months about some UK travellers being barred from the US because their passports did not contain a chip with biometric data. My understanding is that every British passport issued from 2007 onwards is an “e-passport” containing biometric information, and acceptable to the US authorities. The affected individuals were, as far as I know, all people who had obtained passports in 2006 that were the old type. So your passport should be valid for travel to the US up to and including the expiry date; there is no need to renew. Just make sure you get your Electronic System for Travel Authorization (Esta) approval in good time. The official site is esta.cbp.dhs.gov/esta/.

Every day, our travel correspondent Simon Calder tackles readers’ questions. Just email yours to s@hols.tv or tweet @simoncalder

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in