- The US government allows citizens of 42 designated countries to travel to the United States for business or tourism without obtaining a visa
- The Visa Waiver Programme covers nations across Europe, Asia-Pacific, and the Middle East, with several notable inclusions on the list
- Travellers must hold citizenship or nationality of a VWP-designated country to qualify, as permanent residents of those nations are not automatically eligible
The United States government operates a Visa Waiver Programme (VWP) that permits citizens of 42 designated countries to enter the country for business or tourism purposes without applying for a visa in advance.
To qualify, a traveller must hold citizenship or nationality of one of the approved countries.
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Permanent residents or holders of other immigration statuses in those countries do not automatically qualify under the scheme.
Full list of VWP-eligible countries
The 42 countries currently designated under the programme are: Andorra, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Brunei, Chile, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Monaco, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Qatar, San Marino, Singapore, Slovakia, Slovenia, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan, and the United Kingdom.
What the programme covers
The VWP applies to travel for both business and tourism purposes, making it particularly relevant for professionals seeking to attend meetings, conferences, or conduct short-term commercial activities on US soil without the delay of a full visa application process.
The list spans multiple regions, including a significant bloc of European nations, several Asia-Pacific countries such as Australia, Japan, New Zealand, Singapore, South Korea, and Taiwan, as well as Qatar from the Middle East and Chile from South America.
Notably, no African country currently appears on the VWP list, meaning travellers from African nations must apply for the appropriate US visa before travelling, regardless of the purpose of their visit.
Citizens of countries not on the list who wish to visit the United States for business must apply for a B-1 business visa or a combined B-1/B-2 visa through the standard US consular application process.
US visa-free entry for citizens of 4 countries
Legit.ng earlier reported that citizens of four countries can enter the United States without obtaining a visa, although the conditions governing their travel and length of stay differ. The countries are Canada, the Republic of the Marshall Islands, the Federated States of Micronesia and the Republic of Palau.
Source: Legit.ng