United States
British passportEdit check
Travel authorisation, 90 days
Before you travel: you need a travel authorisation (ESTA).
The allowance is per visit: it starts again on your next entry.
Entry and stay only. What this covers
Entry conditions3 to check
- The passport must be an electronic passport that is fraud-resistant and contains biographic and biometric information.
- The traveller must not be a national of Iraq, Syria, a state-sponsor-of-terrorism country, or another DHS-designated country of concern, and must not have been present in those places on or after 1 March 2011 (subject to the statute's military, official-duty and waiver exceptions).
- The United Kingdom refers only to British citizens who have the unrestricted right of permanent abode in the United Kingdom (England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland, the Channel Islands, and the Isle of Man); it does not refer to British overseas citizens, British dependent territories' citizens, or citizens of British Commonwealth countries.
Your stay
Add your arrival date to work out the stay that fits this rule.
Add entry dateSource & evidence Read the original words
Official wording
The Visa Waiver Program (VWP), administered by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) in consultation with the Department of State, permits citizens of designated countries to travel to the United States for business or tourism for stays of up to 90 days without a visa. … United Kingdom§ July 1, 1988 … ‡ Taiwan refers only to individuals who have unrestricted right of permanent abode on Taiwan and are in possession of an electronic passport bearing a personal identification (household registration) number.§ The United Kingdom refers only to British citizens who have the unrestricted right of permanent abode in the United Kingdom (England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland, the Channel Islands, and the Isle of Man); it does not refer to British overseas citizens, British dependent territories' citizens, or citizens of British Commonwealth countries.
Aevamo’s reading
Section 212.1 is the DHS regulation that imposes the visa-and-passport requirement on each arriving nonimmigrant alien and then enumerates the classes that do not have to present a visa. The VWP list and the 212(f) proclamations operate as exceptions or overlays on that command; they do not replace it.
The United Kingdom line is expressly limited to British citizens with the right of abode in the UK; that is why GBD, GBN, GBO, GBP and GBS are not on this row. The list is the fact 8 CFR 217.2(a) does not print.
Source details
How the documents behind this regime are dated
eCFR Title 8 displayed as of 2026-08-18, last amended 2026-08-11; DHS VWP page last updated 2025-05-02; Proclamation 10998 effective 2026-01-01; Palau Compact Pub. L. 99-658 (1986-11-14).
What this answer covers Limits & assumptions
Work and residence rights are separate from this check. This is the entry rule and the length of stay the instrument grants. It is not a decision about you: the officer at the border decides admission, and we do not evaluate the purpose of your trip, your passport's remaining validity, an onward ticket, funds, insurance or health requirements.
Informational planning, not legal or immigration advice. The source is linked so you can check our reading.