Netherlands


 

Information about travel to the USA

Entry requirements for travellers to the U.S.A.

For security reasons, entry requirements for travellers to the U.S.A. have been intensified. The US government requires information about specific personal data in various formats. As of 29 December 2009 additional measures apply, click here for more information.

 

Airlines are legally obliged to allow, customs and immigration authorities, access to all the passenger details as mentioned in the airline booking. For more information see the Notification of the European Commission.


Click below for more information about:

Personal data delivery.
Passport requirements
Speedy border-crossing with FLUX
U.S.A. departure form still in your possession?
Baggage requirements and information.


Personal data delivery.

Online application form (ESTA-system) 

Travellers to the U.S.A. who are nationals of a country that takes part in the Visa Waiver Program, such as The Netherlands, must register and answer a few questions through the new online system (ESTA). The questions are regarding passport and medical details and legal or criminal aspects etc.

This procedure does not yet replace the paper I-94 form which the passenger must complete upon arrival.

The entered data will be valid for two years or until the passport expires. More information about this program can be found on the ESTA website.

 

Secure Flight Data.

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) conducts a Secure Flight program for air travelers. Secure Flight transitions the responsibility for pre-departure passenger watch list matching from the airlines to the U.S. Transportation Security Administration (TSA).


This program was introduced for domestic flights in the U.S.A. since August 17th, 2009 and will apply to international flights on U.S.A.-based airlines per october 31st, 2009 and for other airlines per october 31st, 2010.

 

APIS - Advance Passenger Information System.

For the purposes of ensuring aviation safety and security, the US government use the Advanced Passenger Information System for international travellers. This means that international travellers provide certain information to the airline before travelling to or via the U.S.A., about themselves and about their place of stay.


Exceptions:
The following passengers do not need to provide an address within the U.S.A.:

  • Passengers residing in the United States
  • Transfer passengers with a destination outside of the United States and a transfer time of up to 8 hours. They can suffice with “Transit to Non-U.S.A. country” and the flight number of the connecting flight.
  • Passengers boarding a cruise can suffice with “Transit to Cruise Line” on the address line, adding the city and state code from where the cruise departs, as well as the name of the vessel.

 


The airline will pass this information on to the authorities.
In order to minimise unnecessary delays at the airport, we recommend you to provide the APIS-details prior to travelling to the airport, preferably beforehand on the internet or at the time of internet check-in.

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Information required on trips to/from/via the U.S.A.:

Program/authority

Required information

When

How

Secure flight

(Transportation Security Administration)
  • Family name
  • 1st name passport
  • Date of birth
  • Gender
  • If applicable Redress nr

Before departure

Via travel agent in the booking

APIS

(Advance Passenger Information System

(US Customs and Border Protection)
  • Family name
  • 1st name passport
  • Date of birth
  • Gender
  • Nationality
  • Pasport number
  • Passport issuing country
  • Passport expiration date

At latest upon

check-in

Preferably by the passenger

on the internet or at time of (internet) check-in

ESTA

Electronic System for

Travel Authorization (CBP)

Open the ESTA form at the CBP website

72 hours before

departure

The passenger must complete the ESTA form

min. 72 hours before departure at the CBP website

Form I94-W

Arrival Departure Record

for Visa Waiver Program (VWP)

applicants

Open the information on the CBP I-94 form at the CBP website

Upon arrival

The paper version of ESTA, to complete during the flight or upon arrival

Arrival Customs and Border Protection Declaration

Open the information on the Declaration Form 6059B at the CBP website

Upon arrival

Customs form to complete during the flight or upon arrival

 

Passport requirements

The passport must contain a facial scan. Dutch passports are provided with a facial scan since 2006. The picture submitted when applying for a passport will be scanned. A digital image of that scan will be stored in the chip of the passport. The chip also contains name, first name(s), date of birth, gender, document number, citizen service number and expiration date of the passport. Children, also babies, need to have their own passport.

 

Passengers travelling under the Visa Waiver Program (VWP), such as The Netherlands passport holders, must produce machine readable passports with digital photographs.


Travellers with a passport from a non-VWP country must apply for a visa when travelling to the U.S.A.. More

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Speedy border –crossing in the Netherlands and the U.S.A. with FLUX

The Dutch and American government have joined forces in the area of speedy border-crossing. Under the name FLUX, Dutch and American citizens that meet the requirements, can cross the border faster at Schiphol Airport with Privium, and at a growing number of  U.S.A. airports through the Global Entry programme.

 

Among the participating airports are New York JFK, Washington Dulles, HoU.S.A.ton, Los Angeles, Atlanta, Chicago O'Hare, Miami, Newark, Dallas Fort Worth and Detroit. Around 20 U.S.A. airports are expected to have joined FLUX by the end of 2009. This Dutch and U.S.A. ‘pilot’project’ will run until the end of 2010. After that date other countries can join the FLUX alliance as well. 

 

Persons of over fourteen years old with a valid US or Dutch passport can register for FLUX.  They will have to undergo a security check by the Dutch and U.S.A. authorities. Both countries must agree to the registration. If this is the case, the registrant will become a member of both Privium and  Global Entry.

 

At Schiphol, the border can be crossed quicker with the U.S.A.e of special equipment that identify the passenger through an iris scan.  In the U.S.A., also the passenger’s fingerprint will be read at the special Global Entry checkpoints.
The costs for FLUX are built up in three parts:

  • The Privium-membership of 109 or 159 euro per year (depending on the service level)
  • A one-off registration fee of  100 euro, including five year Global Entry membership  
  • A yearly FLUX fee of 159 euro.

You can register through the website www.flux-alliance.eu

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US departure form still in your possession?

If, after you've come home, the US departure form I-94 (white) or I94W (green) is still in your possession, this means that your departure has not been registered. You still need to arrange this. The departure form with supporting proof of your departure from the U.S.A. (eg. original boarding pass with departure from the U.S.A., in- or outbound travel stamps from another country, salary counterfoils showing that you have worked in another country after leaving the U.S.A., bank statements with transactions in another country after leaving the U.S.A.) can be sent to:

ACS-INS SBU
P.O. Box 7125
London, KY 40742-7125
U.S.A.

 

Please be sure to send the departure form or further information exclusively to the address above, and not to an American embassy, an American consulate or other address. Only at this address it's possible to make the necessary corrections into the departure details, in order to avoid any inconvenience at future visits to the U.S.A. 

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Baggage requirements and information.

Keep checked baggage unlocked.

For travel to, from and via the U.S.A., the US Department of Transportation advises to keep checked baggage unlocked. In case damage or delay may occur as a result of checking locked baggage, the US DOT accepts no liability for this.

 

Payment for checked baggage.

On several flights to/from/in the U.S.A./Canada it is no longer by default allowed to bring along two pieces of checked baggage. A growing number of airlines -especially in lower fare classes- charge fees for checked baggage on flights to/from/in the U.S.A. and Canada. The freely allowed number of checked items is mentioned in your ticket (box: baggage allowance).

For details of the local policies, see our overview of the locally applied rules and conditions.

 

Prohibited baggage

The US Transportation Security Administration (TSA) has decided to forbid the transport of lighters and matches on board of all flights from, to and within the United States. This is applicable on both cabin and checked baggage.

 

Passengers need to bear in mind that all lighters and matches will be collected at the control post on the airport. With reference to the items, which may not be transported in the (hand) baggage, we refer to the General Transport conditions of KLM, the warning on the ticket and the overview list of permitted/prohibited items of the TSA.

 

U.S.A. customs policy on checked and cabin baggage

U.S.A. CU.S.A.toms officials are allowed to inspect documents, computers, disks, hard drives, and other electronical or digital data devices of travellers at border checks, and if necessary hold back for further investigation. This measure has been set up to be able to track down terrorist or other criminal activities. More information

 

Further security measures on (hand) baggage

Airlines have sharpened their security measures for a.o. flights to/via London Heathrow and other British airports and/or with destination the U.S.A. or Canada.
The measures mostly concern hand baggage. We advise you to check the website of the airline you're flying for the most recent information about this subject.

American authorities also have taken security measures for air travel to and from the United States.

 

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