Since Thursday, May 26, 2022, the travel promotion fee for an American Electronic System Travel Authorization (ESTA) has increased by 70 percent, from US $10 to US $17 plus the US $4 operational fee, reaching a total of US $21.
The decision, which was previously announced by VisaGuide.World, will affect over 15 million travelers worldwide annually, who are nationals of one of the 40 countries under the US Visa Waiver Program, including here Australia, New Zealand, and most of Europe.
The new price for an ESTA authorization is set to remain effective until 2027, when the same will be reviewed.
Travelers who already have a valid ESTA for travel to the US do not need to apply for a new one, in spite of the fee changes, since they will remain eligible to enter the US territory until their current authorization expires.
Brits, Japanese, Germans & French to Be Most Affected
The increase in ESTA fees is expected to affect most countries from where the majority of visitors come to the US, which are the United Kingdom and Japan.
Official data show that in 2019, before the outbreak of the Coronavirus pandemic, British ESTA holders crossed the borders into the US over four million times, making the country the largest source of tourists and businesspersons entering the US with an ESTA.
This means that within one year alone, one in more than 14 British citizens have traveled to the US without a visa, altogether spending US $66,611,888 on ESTA-s. With the new fees, this amount would have been almost a hundred million US dollars, which is the amount that the UK has allocated to establish the Turing Scheme – a replacement for the country’s participation in the EU Erasmus+.
Second on the list of countries that sent most ESTA holders to the US in 2019 is Japan, with 3.1 million. This means that one in almost every 40 Japanese nationals traveled to the US with an ESTA, spending in total US $44,362,682 only for obtaining these authorizations. The amount would have been almost US $70 million with the new fees.
The rest of the top countries, travelers from which reached the US with an ESTA are as follows:
- France – 2,121,625
- Germany – 2,084,661
- South Korea – 1,428,913
- Australia – 1,369,492
- Italy – 1,333,907
- Spain – 1,122,063
The overall number of ESTA entries registered in 2019 is 45,896,196 – a total of 39,490,040 of them for tourism purposes and the remaining 6,406,156 for business. The total cost for these ESTA-s amounts to US $642,546,744.
Number of ESTA Holders Visiting the US Projected to Increase in Spite of Fee Hike
In spite of the visa fee hike, travel data scientists at VisaGuide.World claim that the number of visitors to the US holding an ESTA will increase in the following years.
According to their projections, due to travelers’ desire to “get back on the road,” to meet their family and friends in the US, as well as an increase in business travel, ESTA holders reaching the US will surpass the 2019 levels, before the outbreak of the pandemic, though by a slight 1.7 percent.
“A similar increase will be noted year by year, until 2027, the year when the newly increased fee is set to be reviewed. It is projected that by that year, 16,427,987 ESTA holders will pass the US borders,” travel analyst Lum Kamishi points out, adding that in 2019, 15,184,970 travelers from the VWP countries entered the US.
Revealing the foreseen number of ESTA holders expected to visit the US in 2027, Kamishi highlighted that 2019 and 2020 have not been taken into account during the calculations since, due to the Coronavirus outbreak, only 6,312,562 and 1,259,440 ESTA-s have been approved in these two years respectively.
Total Amount of Money Collected From ESTA Fees in 2027 to Spike Up by 84%
While the number of visitors from 2019 to 2027 will increase by 8.18 percent, the amount allocated from visa applications will increase from $151,849,700 in 2019 to $279,275,776 in 2027, a staggering increase of 83.9 percent due to the ESTA fee hike. The increase between 2019 and 2023, on the other hand, will be by 73 percent.
If the fee hadn’t increased, the amount collected from ESTA fees in 2027 would be $164,279,870, 40 percent less than it is calculated to be.
Once again, the top source of ESTA-collected money will be the countries under the VWP sending most tourists and businesspersons to the US.
In 2023, travelers from the UK will be spending US $97,869,450 on ESTA-s, whereas in 2027, with a slight increase in the number of ESTA entries, the amount Brits will be spending to obtain a travel authorization in the same year will reach US $100,288,671.
Travelers from Chile, on the other hand, for which is projected to occur the most noticeable increase in ESTA travelers, from 350,811 in 2019 to 631,235 – an increase of 80 percent – will be spending from US $4,911,354 in 2019, to a total of US $13,255,935 to travel to the US with an ESTA in 2027.
What the Increase in ESTA Fees Means for Top VWP Source Markets for Travelers
Australia
- The increase in the number of Australians traveling to US with an ESTA is projected to be almost unnoticeable, from 1,369,492 in 2019 to a total of 1,384,766 in 2027
- In spite of the only 1.1 percent increase, Australians will be spending 51 percent more money on ESTA fees, from US $19,172,888 paid for the ESTA-s used in 2019 to US $29,080,086 for the travel authorizations that will be used in 2027
- Australia is the seventh-largest source marked of business and tourism travelers from the VWP countries
France
- With 2,488,899 French nationals projected to be traveling to the US with an ESTA in 2027, France is the third-largest source marked of such travelers to the US, just after the UK and Japan
- 2,121,625 French travelers had reached the US with an ESTA in 2019, which means that The country will mark an increase of 17.1 percent of its citizens traveling to the US visa-free when comparing 2019 with 2027
- French traveling to the US in 2027 will spend US $ 52,266,879, which is almost twice as more as the money spent in 2019, when travelers had spent US $29,702,750 to obtain the ESTA-s they used that same year
Germany
- Germany is projected to remain the fourth top country with the highest number of nationals traveling to the US with an ESTA for business or tourism purposes, even in 2027
- In spite of its spot, the number of German ESTA holders traveling to the US in 2027 compared to 2019 is set to drop by 4.9 percent, from 2,084,661 to 1,981,285
- In spite of the drop in the number of travelers from Germany for tourism and business purposes, the US will generate US $41,606,985 from this source market, which is 42.5 percent more than in 2019, when US $29,185,254 were collected
Ireland
- Ireland is one of the countries with the highest rate of increase in the number of its nationals traveling to the US with an ESTA
- While in 2019, 588,910 Irish travelers entered the US with an ESTA, with number will grow to 815,332, thus marking an increase of 38.4 percent
- As a result, the amount of money paid for application for ESTA-s used by the Irish to travel to the US in 2027 will more than double compared to 2019, from US $8,244,740 to US $17,121,972
United Kingdom
- In 2019, 4,757,992 border crossings of British passport holders with an ESTA have been recorded by the US Border Authorities, making the country the biggest source of VWP travelers for business and tourism
- The ESTA-s obtained by the British to travel to the US in 2019 had cost them altogether US $66,611,888
- Brits are projected to spend US $100,288,671 for ESTA-s that they will use to travel to the US in 2027
Revealing the foreseen number of ESTA holders expected to visit the US in 2027, Kamishi highlighted that 2019 and 2020 have not been taken into account during the calculations since, due to the Coronavirus outbreak, only 6,312,562 and 1,259,440 ESTA-s have been approved in these two years respectively.
Total Amount of Money Collected From ESTA Fees in 2027 to Spike Up by 84%
While the number of visitors from 2019 to 2027 will increase by 8.18 percent, the amount allocated from visa applications will increase from $151,849,700 in 2019 to $279,275,776 in 2027, a staggering increase of 83.9 percent due to the ESTA fee hike. The increase between 2019 and 2023, on the other hand, will be by 73 percent.
If the fee hadn’t increased, the amount collected from ESTA fees in 2027 would be $164,279,870, 40 percent less than it is calculated to be.
Once again, the top source of ESTA-collected money will be the countries under the VWP sending most tourists and businesspersons to the US.
In 2023, travelers from the UK will be spending US $97,869,450 on ESTA-s, whereas in 2027, with a slight increase in the number of ESTA entries, the amount Brits will be spending to obtain a travel authorization in the same year will reach US $100,288,671.
Travelers from Chile, on the other hand, for which is projected to occur the most noticeable increase in ESTA travelers, from 350,811 in 2019 to 631,235 – an increase of 80 percent – will be spending from US $4,911,354 in 2019, to a total of US $13,255,935 to travel to the US with an ESTA in 2027.
What the Increase in ESTA Fees Means for Top VWP Source Markets for Travelers
Australia
- The increase in the number of Australians traveling to US with an ESTA is projected to be almost unnoticeable, from 1,369,492 in 2019 to a total of 1,384,766 in 2027
- In spite of the only 1.1 percent increase, Australians will be spending 51 percent more money on ESTA fees, from US $19,172,888 paid for the ESTA-s used in 2019 to US $29,080,086 for the travel authorizations that will be used in 2027
- Australia is the seventh-largest source marked of business and tourism travelers from the VWP countries
France
- With 2,488,899 French nationals projected to be traveling to the US with an ESTA in 2027, France is the third-largest source marked of such travelers to the US, just after the UK and Japan
- 2,121,625 French travelers had reached the US with an ESTA in 2019, which means that The country will mark an increase of 17.1 percent of its citizens traveling to the US visa-free when comparing 2019 with 2027
- French traveling to the US in 2027 will spend US $ 52,266,879, which is almost twice as more as the money spent in 2019, when travelers had spent US $29,702,750 to obtain the ESTA-s they used that same year
Germany
- Germany is projected to remain the fourth top country with the highest number of nationals traveling to the US with an ESTA for business or tourism purposes, even in 2027
- In spite of its spot, the number of German ESTA holders traveling to the US in 2027 compared to 2019 is set to drop by 4.9 percent, from 2,084,661 to 1,981,285
- In spite of the drop in the number of travelers from Germany for tourism and business purposes, the US will generate US $41,606,985 from this source market, which is 42.5 percent more than in 2019, when US $29,185,254 were collected
Ireland
- Ireland is one of the countries with the highest rate of increase in the number of its nationals traveling to the US with an ESTA
- While in 2019, 588,910 Irish travelers entered the US with an ESTA, with number will grow to 815,332, thus marking an increase of 38.4 percent
- As a result, the amount of money paid for application for ESTA-s used by the Irish to travel to the US in 2027 will more than double compared to 2019, from US $8,244,740 to US $17,121,972
United Kingdom
- In 2019, 4,757,992 border crossings of British passport holders with an ESTA have been recorded by the US Border Authorities, making the country the biggest source of VWP travelers for business and tourism
- The ESTA-s obtained by the British to travel to the US in 2019 had cost them altogether US $66,611,888
- Brits are projected to spend US $100,288,671 for ESTA-s that they will use to travel to the US in 2027