Czech citizens so far need U.S.
visas, but the extension of the U.S. visa waiver programme to include the Czech Republic, along with other countries, is expected this autumn. The Czech Foreign Ministry said it hoped that the Americans would announce lifting visas for Czechs at the end of October and the beginning of November. Then Czech tourists will have to use the ESTA system as well. The United States will start testing ESTA as of Friday. Passengers will have to obligatorily register and fill in the ESTA forms as of January 12, 2009. The Czech, US experts close talks on industrial cooperation agreement ...
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Czech military police to guard U.S. radar base ... U.S. embassy says they will receive a travel permit within a couple of minutes. Only in some case the applicant will have to wait longer and in rare case, he/she will be recommended to apply for visas, the embassy's press section told CTK. The permit for travelling to the United States for up to 90 days will be valid for two years. Passengers will not be charged fees for joining the system, though the U.S. authorities do not rule out the introduction of administrative fees in the future. The ESTA form will include questions about personal data, the address in the United States, details of the journey, previous stays in the United States, as well as about possible criminal charges, infectious diseases and mental and physical disorders of the applicant, drug use and possible involvement in espionage and terrorist activities. According to the United States, the new system will help increase safety and protect against terrorism. It critics, mainly from Europe, point out that this is actually the re-introduction of visas. The United States dismiss the objections. Australia has for a couple of years applied a similar system that is commonly referred to as "electronic visas." The Czech Republic's representatives and their U.S. counterparts will soon sign agreements necessary for the visa-free regime, they include an agreement on cooperation with the U.S. National Counterterrorism Centre.
(Ceske Noviny)
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