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Czech military police to guard U.S. radar base ... with the Electronic System Travel Authorisation (ESTA) that the United States started testing on Friday. Passengers will have to obligatorily fill in the ESTA forms as of January, 2009. So far the United States has visa-free relations with 27 countries.The extension of the U.S. visa waiver programme to include the Czech Republic along with other countries, is expected this autumn. Bednarz told CTK that the electronic system would replace the current paper forms. Tourists will electronically send an application for travelling to the United States that is compared with the U.S databases. The authorisation result should appear on the screen almost immediately. Only in some cases the applicant will have to wait longer for up to 72 hours, U.S. authorities say. This is why a 72 hour deadline is set for submitting the application forms. If the applicant is rejected, he must apply for visa. The permit for travelling to the United States for up to 90 days will be valid for two years or until the passport validity expires. However, the United States will demand that new data on the flight and stay on its territory be added ahead of every journey, Bednarz said. The ESTA website is so far in English only, other language versions will be available in mid-October. After new countries, including the Czech Republic, enter the U.S. visa waiver programme, the ESTA Internet forms will be available in their respective languages, Bednarz said . She stressed that ESTA does not mean visas, but it is only the upgrading of the visa waiver programme in he Internet era. During the testing phase, no fees are charged for joining the ESTA system, but this may change in the future, Bednarz admitted. The ESTA form includes 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 involvement in espionage and terrorist activities. 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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