For those used to travelling around Europe with just their passport, visiting countries that require visa’s can be a little confusing. This needn’t be the case however, and once the different visas have been explained, you shouldn’t think of travelling to countries such as the US any differently from taking a trip within Europe.
If you are taking a holiday or business trip to the US you will need a short travel entry permit. There are various ways to get this type of visa, one of which is ESTA, or Electronic System for Travel Authorisation. These are available online depending on the applicant meeting one main condition, that you are passport holder from a country designated as part of the Visa Waiver Programme, or VWP.
The UK is part of this so applying online for your visa is very straightforward. This short stay holiday and visitor visa is valid for 24 months or the life left on your passport, whichever is sooner. The long stay business visas are valid for the life of the passport from the date of issue. The former grants multiple visits of up to three months at a time, and they allow you to undertake various tasks in addition to tourism and business tasks.
These include looking for work or checking out educational establishments, but you are not allowed under any circumstances to engage in paid work you find on your trip, study or undergo training. There are separate visas for these for which the details can be found easily online.