U.S. GOVERNMENT TIGHTENS ENTRY REQUIREMENTS

As of October 1, new passport rules issued by the US State Department require all children entering the country (including babies) to have their own passports. Travellers to the US from 27 (mostly Western European) countries also must have the newer machine-readable passports or a visa will be necessary (see article below). Canada has already introduced both machine-readable passports and the requirement for all children to have their own passports. However, for parents who hold a valid Canadian passport that lists the name(s) of their children, the passport will remain valid for both parties until it expires.

As part of recently increased security measures, the U.S. government has discontinued two programs that had formerly allowed international arriving passengers to transit through the U.S. without visas when they were connecting to flights outside of the United States. The affected programs are:
1. Transit Without Visa program
2. International-To-International transit program
These two programs have been cancelled effective immediately. However, this does not affect passengers from those countries that have a visa waiver agreement such as Canada, but it could affect non-Canadian citizens living in Canada.

Please note that airport screening has been further stepped up, which may increase wait times when traveling to, from, and within the United States.

New regulations also went into effect August 1st requiring U.S. embassies and consulates to conduct in-person interviews with potential visitors applying for U.S. visitor visas.

For more information, visit:
http://canada.usembassy.gov/content/content.asp?section=embconsul&document=index

NEW PASSPORT RULES FOR PASSENGERS TRAVELLING TO THE U.S./VISA WAIVER PROGRAM

The Visa Waiver Program (VWP) enables citizens of certain countries to travel to the United States for tourism or business for 90 days or less without obtaining a visa. Starting October 1, 2003, each Visa Waiver Program traveler must present a machine-readable passport (MRP) at the U.S. port of entry to enter the U.S. without a visa. Those without MRPs must obtain a nonimmigrant visa.
Families and groups seeking to enter the U.S. under the VWP will need to obtain an individual passport for each traveler, including infants. Machine-readable passports typically have biodata for only one traveler in the machine-readable zone. Based on this, families may be denied visa-free entry into the U.S. if the biodata for only one traveler is machine-readable.
Currently, 27 countries participate in the Visa Waiver Program, as shown below:
Visa Waiver Program - Participating Countries (Subject to Change)

Information regarding the new visa policy and procedures can be found at the Department of State's Visa Services Web site, http://www.unitedstatesvisas.gov or on the State Department's Web site for travelers at http://travel.state.gov/visa/tempvisitors_novisa_waiver

REMINDER FROM PASSPORT CANADA

Effective immediately, the old two-page adult passport application form will no longer be accepted by Passport Canada. The new form can be downloaded from their website
http://www.ppt.gc.ca/forms/index.aspx or picked up at any Canada Post outlet or regional Passport Office.

Reminders for Clients Traveling to the United States:

With heightened U.S. security now in place, longer lineups, delays and detailed searches at airports and border crossings are more common. Passengers are reminded to arrive even earlier than usual at the airport, with proper documentation. While a passport is not mandatory for Canadian citizens traveling to the U.S., it is highly recommended. Landed immigrants in Canada must now present a non-immigrant visa in order to enter the U.S., as well as a valid passport from their country of citizenship. An exception is made for landed immigrants from countries that have a visa waiver agreement with the United States, such as the UK, Australia and New Zealand (see www.amcits.com/waiver.asp). It can take two weeks to get the required visa, which will cost $100US.

For more information please send an e-mail to Customer Service or call 1-800-267-9372. Premiere Travel E-News is a regular update on travel news and issues, and what they mean to travelers.

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