US-bound travellers subject to e-passport requirement

FROM July 1, people travelling to the US under the Visa Waiver Programme (VWP), with passports issued after October 2006, will be subject to an electronic passport requirement.

Any citizen or national of a VWP member country, such as Ireland, intending to apply for admission under the VWP with an emergency or temporary passport that was issued on or after October 26, 2006, and which is not an e-passport, will be required to apply for a US visa prior to travel or to apply for a waiver when they reach the US.

According to the US Embassy, for any traveller who arrives with a non-compliant emergency or temporary passport and is otherwise admissible, Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers may exercise their discretion to grant a no-fee waiver.