European passport holders who visit the United States may now be charged for a required electronic registration form.

The $14.50 fee will be applied to US-bound travellers from visa waiver programme (VWP) countries.

Persons travelling on European passports including those issued by the UK have been required to fill out the electronic form since January.

The requirement does not affect most Bermudians, US citizens returning from overseas, or citizens of VWP countries travelling on a valid US visa.

Persons carrying passports issued by Andorra, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Brunei, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Monaco, The Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Portugal, San Marino, Singapore, Slovakia, Slovenia, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom, are required to complete the registration at least 72 hours before their intended flight.

The Electronic System for Travel Authorization must be paid by credit card at pay.gov at the time of enrolment.

VWP travellers are required to log onto the ESTA website at https://esta.cbp.dhs.gov/ and complete an online application. The web-based system prompts applicants to answer basic biographic and eligibility questions typically requested on a paper I-94W form.

Existing ESTA registrations remain valid for travel through their expiration date; there is no need to re-register when the new fees go into effect.