NO VISA NEEDED FOR CZECHS TO VISIT USA BY AUTUMN
BY
Ondrej Bouda- Staff Writer
Travel plans for Czechs headed to the United
States look like they're about to get a whole
lot easier. After years of attempts by the
Czech government to establish visa-free relations
with the United Stales, its citizens may finally
be able 10 enter the States without a visa
starting this autumn. All that is needed is
the implementation of an online tool called
Electronic Travel Authorization (ETA), which
is now being developed and Implemented for
all countries participating in the Visa Waiver
Program.
The assistant secretary for the Office of Policy
Development of the U.S. Homeland Security Department,
Richard C. Barth, visited Prague Feb. 8 to
discuss the Czech-U.S. agreemenl with Interior
Minister Ivan Langer. Deputy Prime Minister
for European Affairs Alexandr Vondra and Foreign
Affairs Minister Karel Schwarzenberg. Talk
included the preparation of a border security
memorandum of understanding, a necessary fIrst
step for implementing the U.S. law signed last
August that would permit the Czech Republic
to enter the Visa Waiver Program. The memorandum
of understanding is expected to be signed by
Prime Minister Mirek Topolanek during his visit
to the Umted States later this month.
The government had long sought entry to the
Visa Waiver Program, most recently coming up
against a worrisome criterion for acceptance
that said the country's visa refusal rate must
be less than 10 percent. In 2007, the Czech
Republic met that requirement when its visa
refusaI rate fell to 6.7 (from a previous level
of 9.4), paving the way for progress toward
visa-free relations.
Now, apart from the implementation of the ETA,
both sides still have other issues that need
to be addressed. The United States, for example,
is looking for proof that its national security
will not be threatened by waiving visas for
Czechs, while the Czech Republic is bound by
several obligations to the European Union,
which it does not want to breach. But, according
to Barth, great progress was made during last
week's talks and remaining hurdles such as
these - which are mostly composed of technical
details - should be easy to overcome.
Blanket policy
At this point, lhe single most important factor
required by U.S. legislation for entry
into the Visa Waiver Program is the establishment
of the ETA. It is an online tool through
which candidates apply for permissionto
enter the United States, and it
is only available to travelers with a biometric
passport.
The system, which has been used for years in
Australia and which the U.S. government would
like to improve, should be up and running by
August or September. After a period of testing
it will be made available to the general public.
According
to Barth, the establishment of the ETA
is a step toward uniting U.S. policy with
that of all EU countries, as it would go into
effect for both existing and new members of
the Visa Waiver Program. The ETA should allow
more countries that meet criteria such as low
visa refusal rates to join the Visa Waiver
Program
more quickly, while providing better security
for the United States. Greece and Estonia should
also be able to join the Visa Waver Program
this year (their refusal rates are low enough),
provided they also implement the ETA.
"All countries will have to fulfill the
same criteria," Barth said at a press
conference following last week's meeting with
Czech officials. ''The U.S. has only one policy
toward everyone and the ETA will be implemented
for all countries within the Visa Waiver Program
by 2009."
However,
for many EU countries that already participate
in the Visa Waiver Program the ETA would
represent a tightening of security, a reality
that could prompt Western nations like
the United Kingdom to retaliate by blocking
the whole
process. The EU has already proposed a similar
countermeasure for U.S. citizens traveling
to Europe.
Regarding
speculation that discussions about admission
of the Czech Republic to the Visa Waiver
Program are related to talks about building
an anti·missile radar base in the country,
U.S. Ambassador Richard Graber stressed during
the press conference that the topics are unrelated.
''They
are two completely separate issues for
the U.S. govemment," he said, echoing
statements being made previously. 'The U.S.
has consistently said that it would like to
see progress. made with its Visa Waiver Program.
We would like to see countries such as the
Czech Republic to join the program and that
is regardless of what happens to negotiations
on other issues."
Barth
also confirmed that the radar issue has
not been part of the Visa Waiver Program negotiations.
He pointed out the fact thai Poland, which
should host the missile interceptors' base,
is not being considered for the program because
their
visa refusal rate is, at approximately 25 percent,
too high to qualify for admission.
HOW THE ETA WORKS
>As
opposed to the familar pre-travel routine
of scheduling an appointment ..... at
U.S. Embassy and receiving travel permission
in person, the process of
using the Electronic Travel Authorization (ETA)
would
be simpler:
>Several
days before leaving ...... a
Czech traveller would fill out an online
form and provide biographical information
>A small fee of around 400 Kc ($23) will
alsohave to be paid (compared with 2,292 Kc
for a VIsa application). The decision to approve
or deny the request should be made within a
minute while the applicant waits
>Upon arrival in the United States, an immigration
officer can easily check within the system
to determine whether the traveler has been
granted permission to enter the country
Ondrej
Bouda can be reached at
obouda@praguepost.com
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