PASSPORTS & VISAS

British Passports

If you, or a member of your touring party, is a British Dependent Territories Citizen, British Overseas Citizen, British Subject, British National Overseas, or a British Protected Person, they may need a visa that isn‘t required by a British Citizen.

 The Identity and Passport Service has a ten-day turnaround target for the issue of passports in the UK.  Customers who need a new passport or need to renew their current passport are asked to allow sufficient time.  Details on how to apply for a new passport or renew one, including the new photo standards, can be found at Identity and Passport Service

Effective from Autumn 2007, all first-time adult applicants will be required to have a face to face interview at one of 69 offices throughout the UK, or by video-link in remote areas.  Please note that this will not apply to passport renewals or to children below the age of 16 years.  This will require a lead-in time of six weeks.

Most British Citizen passport holders will by now have been issued with machine-readable passports.  However, please note that whilst British passports issued in the UK have been machine-readable since 1988, there are still some passports in existence, issued at UK consulates overseas, which are not.  Their holders would not, for example, be able to enter the US under the Visa Waiver Program.  Whilst these are relatively few, it is as well to ask the question and to ensure that the passport was issued in the UK and is machine-readable.

 The key feature of a machine-readable passport is the machine-readable strip (marked by chevrons >>>>including full name, date of birth, gender, nationality, passport number, country and date of issue).  This is at the bottom of the details page, which is either on the inside back cover, or is the last page.  This means that the passport details can be read by airlines at check-in to add to data contained in the PNR and can be electronically transmitted to government authorities which require the information in connection with that particular journey.

US Visa Waiver Program (VWP)

For travel to the United States –

All passengers, including children, must have their own individual machine-readable passport.

Most British Citizens can travel under the VWP, for tourism or business stays of up to 90 days or less, but there are some restrictions and clients should check these for themselves on the
US Embassy website

A list of the 27 VWP countries can be found at the above website.

Whilst other VWP countries do have biometric passport capability, there is no guarantee that all their passports issued on or after the 26th October 2006 are definitely biometric.  An additional problem is that some passports, whilst machine-readable, don‘t have integrated / digitized photographs (where the facial image is printed directly onto the document so it becomes part of the printed page).  Holders of these passports wouldn‘t be able to travel under the VWP.

The US Embassy has introduced a Visa Waiver Wizard, which will guide passengers through the basic requirements for visa-free travel under the VWP.  This can be found at Visa Wizard

Please note that this assessment is based on responses to the questions and, as such, cannot be taken as definitive advice.

ESTAs

From the 12th of January 2009, anyone travelling to, or changing planes in, the USA under the Visa Waiver Programme must also complete an online application called the ESTA (Electronic System for Travel Authorisation) at least 72 hours before travel.  The ESTA is compulsory and without it you will not be allowed to board your flight to the USA. UK Nationals are covered by the Visa Waiver Programme.  Other nationalities should apply for the US visa in the standard way.   Applications for an ESTA can be made on-line.

Visas

A visa will be required for trips to Australia, Turkey, China, Russia, and some parts of Africa.  Breakaway Sports Tours will obtain visas for you to these destinations.  We may need your passport up to 120 days prior to departure in order to process a visa application form.  If you have any other travel plans during this time and need your passport back in a hurry, please let us know in advance so that we can process your visa application form quickly and return your passport to you in time. 

For further information on passports, visas and general travel information, click on World Travel Guide.

Other information.

Some countries require that a passenger‘s passport is valid for at least six months after the completion of their journey.  Whilst this is not the case everywhere, it‘s as well to be sure.  If a passport is within nine months of expiry, IPS will issue the new British Passport for a duration of 10 years, plus the un-expired portion

Some countries, where a child is travelling with only one parent or another adult, require that a letter of authority is provided by the other parent / official guardian.

If you, or a member of your group, is not an EU citizen, please check that they have the right of abode in the UK, otherwise they might be refused entry on their return to the UK. 

Some countries also have transit requirements; the US, for example, requires customers in transit to comply with the requirements under the VWP, or obtain a visa.

This document is intended as a guide and cannot be a substitute for specific advice from the relevant embassy.