Can you get in the US with a non-chip non biometric passport

[LuS1fer]

I'm sure some of ours are not chipped so is this an issue? Don't fancy several £70 renewals if so.

[Puggit]

They need to be machine readable - but I've certainly entered without the modern chip type.

[RicksAlfas]

I don't think you can.

You also need to complete an online ESTA:
https://esta.cbp.dhs.gov/esta/

[Puggit]

All here: http://www.fco.gov.uk/en/travel-and-living-abroad/...

[LuS1fer]

Cheers. Looks like the Goodole Yew Wesser Vay won't be getting my money this year and I'll be supporting the Euro Zone again.

Seems a bit Mickey Mouse to me (yeah, yeah, had to be done...)

[Puggit]

Ummm - what's the problem?

[rhodz2001uk]

You dont need a biometric chip passport - I do but Mrs Rhodz doesn't. We had no problems getting through U S immigration over christmas.

[RedWhiteMonkey]

You just need a valid passport and esta approval.

[GCH]

A machine readable passport and an approved ESTA - that is all that is required. No chip is required for the USA (yet).

[davepoth]

When it says "Machine Readable", it refers to the the two lines of data written along the bottom of the data page:



So long as your passport has that, you're fine. I'm pretty sure that all mainstream UK passports should now have that format, but there may still be a couple of extremely odd situations where an old style one is still valid.

[Deva Link]

davepoth said:

So long as your passport has that, you're fine. I'm pretty sure that all mainstream UK passports should now have that format, but there may still be a couple of extremely odd situations where an old style one is still valid.

UK passports have been machine readable for over 20 years.

[Deva Link]

LuS1fer said:

I'm sure some of ours are not chipped so is this an issue? Don't fancy several £70 renewals if so.

If you're not sure, the chipped ones have a biometric symbol at the bottom of the front cover:

[Stu R]

Yes, no problem whatsoever.

[ViperDave]

They let me in last month without a chip

[davepoth]

Deva Link said:

UK passports have been machine readable for over 20 years.

The MRP was introduced in 1988. But if you had a passport issued at an embassy they were not Machine Readable until much later. If that passport had then been extended (which was possible with the non MRP books) it could still be valid I think. We're talking about miniscule numbers of passports though.

[ollie j]

If you're referring to "biometric" passports ie the ones with the solid feeling rear page and the symbol on the front that someone posted a couple of posts ago, of course you can enter the USA without a passport of this type.

Look here:


Pretty self explanatory map but do you think the USA will not let people in from any of the countries in grey or light green?