NEWS
U.S Plans Sweeping Overhaul of Visa-Free Travel as Social Media History, Biometric Data, and Personal Information to Become Mandatory for ESTA Applicants
— Proposes Mandatory Five-Year Social Media History For Visa-Free Travellers
The United States is proposing a major change to its visa-free travel programme, a move that could affect millions of international travellers worldwide.
Under new guidelines announced by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) on Wednesday, individuals seeking entry through the Electronic System for Travel Authorisation (ESTA) will now be required to provide their social media history from the past five years.
This proposed revision, published in a public notice ahead of its formal listing in the Federal Register, is part of a broader effort to enhance national security.
The new rule is a direct response to Executive Order 14161, signed in January 2025, which calls for increased screening measures to identify foreign security threats.
Currently, travellers applying for ESTA are only asked to voluntarily submit their social media accounts. However, under the new rules, this disclosure will become mandatory.
“The data element will require ESTA applicants to provide their social media from the last five years,” the DHS notice states.
US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) explained that the change is necessary to better verify identities, flag fraudulent applications, and detect potential security risks.
Beyond social media, the new regulations will expand the amount of personal information required from applicants. CBP plans to include several new “high-value data fields,” such as email addresses used in the last 10 years, phone numbers from the past five years, IP addresses, and even metadata from photos submitted during the application process.
The revised rules also call for more detailed family information and a wider array of biometric data, including facial recognition, fingerprints, iris scans, and even DNA samples.
The department said that the expanded data collection aligns with updated federal biographic-data requirements issued earlier this year and strengthens “our ability to verify identities.”
Another major change in the proposal is the transition from the ESTA web portal to a mobile-only application system.
If approved, the changes would affect travellers from the 40 countries currently participating in the US Visa Waiver Programme. With over 14 million ESTA applications processed annually, the impact on global travel could be significant.
The DHS is seeking public feedback on the proposed changes before they are finalised. Comments will be accepted for 60 days from the date of publication in the Federal Register.
If the proposal moves forward, it will represent one of the most extensive expansions of digital identity and social media vetting in US immigration history.