ESTA for Swiss citizens
Yes — if you hold a Switzerland passport and you are flying or sailing to the United States for tourism, business or transit, you need an ESTA. Switzerland joined the Visa Waiver Program in 1989.
- Government fee — you pay CBP directly
- $40.27
The $40.27 government fee is $4.00 processing plus $36.27 authorization. If your application is denied you pay only the $4.00 processing fee.
Specific to Switzerland: Switzerland introduced biometric passports in 2006 and made them mandatory for the Visa Waiver Program from 2010. The older non-biometric Swiss passport 03 does not qualify.
What Swiss travellers need
- A Switzerland passportIt must be biometric — an e-passport with a chip and the small camera symbol on the cover.
- Switzerland citizenshipResidency is not enough. If you live in Switzerland on another passport, check whether that country is in the programme.
- A qualifying tripTourism, business or transit, 90 days or fewer, arriving by air or sea.
- Clean travel historyTravel to Cuba, Iran, Iraq, Libya, North Korea, Somalia, Sudan, Syria or Yemen since 2011 removes eligibility.
Cost for Swiss applicants
The fee is $40.27, charged by CBP in US dollars. Your card issuer will convert from CHF at its own rate and may add a foreign transaction charge, so the amount leaving your account will not match $40.27 exactly. If your application is refused you are charged only $4.00.
There is no Switzerland discount and no family rate — every traveller pays the same, including infants.
Flying from Switzerland
Most Swiss travellers depart from Zurich, Geneva. Your departure airport makes no difference to the ESTA itself — what matters is your citizenship and that you arrive in the US by air or sea. Connecting through another country on the way does not change anything either.
Apply at least 72 hours before departure. Most approvals come back within minutes, but some go to manual review, and no airline will let you board without one.
If you are refused
A refusal is not a ban. It means applying for a B1/B2 visa at a US embassy or consulate instead, where a consular officer can consider your circumstances properly. See what to do after a refusal.
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Check your details before you pay
A mistyped passport number means paying $40.27 again and reapplying. A reviewer compares every field against your passport first.