DCSIMG
 
 

Travel documents

Travel documents Before leaving, check what documents you will need for your journey. For other Visa, passport and health information, you can also visit SkyTeam website.

Travelling to the USA
As of October 26, 2004, Italian citizens wishing to travel to the USA must have a machine-readable passport issued by the Italian authorities, in accordance with the 'Visa Waiver Program'.
This requirement will apply to all citizens of countries which participate in the Visa Waiver Program.

Visa Waiver Program countries are, as of December 2008, the following:
Andorra, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Brunei, South Korea, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Francia, Germany, Japan, Ireland, Iceland, Italy, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Monaco, Norway, New Zealand, The Netherlands, Portugal, United Kingdom, Czech Repubblic, Malta, San Marino, Singapore, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzeland and Hunghary.
By September 30, 2004, visitors traveling under the Visa-Waiver Program have been required to enroll in US-VISIT at air and sea ports of entry. As part of the enhanced procedures, a digital photograph is taken and fingerprints upon arrival.

From the 12th of January 2009, The United States national security department has a new procedure for all visitors and natives of any nation which is part of the VWP (Visa Waiver Program). For those who are flying directly and/or in transit towards the USA, a pre-approved authorization obtainable via the web is mandatory. 
To obtain the ESTA (Electronic System for Travel Authorization), you will need to visit the ESTA website.  

Passengers without the ESTA approval will be not authorised by US authority to board their flight.

As you may know, US-VISIT is transitioning from collecting 2 fingerprints to collecting 10 fingerprints from international visitors arriving at U.S. ports of entry. This transition includes the initial deployment of this capability to 10 U.S. airports, which began on November 29, 2007, at Washington Dulles International Airport.
Since then, the following airports have also begun collecting 10 fingerprints from international visitors:
  • Atlanta Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport
  • Chicago O’Hare International Airport
  • Boston Logan International Airport
  • Houston George Bush Intercontinental Airport
  • San Francisco International Airport
  • Miami International Airport
  • Orlando International Airport
  • Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County  Airport
  • New York John F. Kennedy International Airport
As each of the airports begin collecting 10 fingerprints, US-VISIT and U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) are working to educate travelers arriving at these airports. For each port, US-VISIT and CBP are issuing a press release within the port’s state and to the top four countries from which visitors arrive at that port.
They are also holding events at each airport for local media to ask questions and view, video and photograph the new process.
US-VISIT will test 10 fingerprint collection at these 10 airports during the next few months and then use the lessons learned from the test to deploy this capability nationwide.
US-VISIT plans to have this capability at all U.S. air, sea and land border ports of entry by the end of the year. 

Following the Visa Waiver Program, you can continue to fly to the US with an E.S.T.A..entry visa only if you possess of a machine-readable passport issued before 26 October 2005.
All passports issued on or after 26 October 2005 require a digital photograph printed on the data page.

All passengers holding machine-readable passports issued on or after 26 October 2005, but without digital pictures on the data page, must obtain a visa for entry in the US.

Each and every member of a family group or of a group of travellers must hold an individual machine readable passport, including children and infants. Should the old passport be used and for children eventually registered on those of parents, an entry visa must be requested to the US Consulate or Diplomatic Authorities, before travelling to the USA.   

People who wish to travel to the USA for leisure or business with their old passports, must apply for a non-immigrant entrance visa. Remember to apply for the visa in due time at the United States consulates in Milan and Naples or at the US Embassy in Rome. At present, the application fee for a non-immigrant visa is 100 euro, non-refundable.

No changes are expected in entrance procedures according to the regulations of the Visa Waiver Program.   

For more information on visa-issuing procedures in Italy and abroad consult the US Embassy website.

For general information about the the United States’ visa policies and procedures, visit 
www.travel.state.gov/visa/visa_1750.html

Please be reminded that from 4 October 2005, the US Customs Board Protection (CBP) requests all airlines to provide personal details of all passengers travelling to and from the United States, in order to legalise their entry in the US. In addition to personal details in the passport and passport number, the CBP also requires the following information:

  • Country of residence
  • Alien Registration Number (Green Card) for US residents
  • Address at US destination for all passengers, except for North American citizens or residents
Click here to download the Apis form. Remember to fill it in and bring it with you at the time of departure.