EU-US Travel authorisation

Websites cash in on new US entry-system regime

By Jim Brunsden - 22.01.2009 / 00:00 CET

Official says the US will not prohibit businesses; websites charge €150 to fill out free forms.

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Fact file

What price?

Several companies have seized upon the launch of the Electronic System of Travel Authorization (ESTA) as a chance to set up private websites offering people help filling out the form. One site, www.esta.us, fills outs the ESTA form on behalf of travellers for $249.95 (€194.03) per person. Other sites include www.esta.co.uk, $199.00 (€154.57) and www.travelauthorization.org, which sells an ESTA application guide for $42.00 (€32.62). These sites appear higher up the list of search results than the link to the official site for filling out the form (http://esta.cbp.dhs.gov), if ‘US travel authorization' is typed into a popular search engine.