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