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Back to help homepageEuropean Health Insurance Card (EHIC)
A European Health Insurance Card (EHIC) may be necessary during your visit in order tom receive healthcare. A European Health Insurance Card (EHIC) entitles UK ersidents to reduced-cost, medical treatment that becomes necessary while you're in a European Economic Area (EEA) country or Switzerland.
Travellers can apply for an EHIC online at www.dh.gov.uk/travellers
EHIC is not a suitable replacement for travel insurance. It does not cover cancellation insurance or re-patriation. We advise you to make sure that you have both.
Travel to USA from October 4, 2005
When travelling to the USA, please be prepared to give full details of where you will be staying on your first night, including address and full Zip code (post code). This information was previously collected from your landing card. However, from October 4 2005 these details will also be required to give this information prior to your flight departure. In view of this please allow extra time to check in.
The details, which need to be provided to US customs, are termed ?Advanced Passenger Information? (or A.P.I. for short) and must be provided before one enters the country.
The API details that need to be provided include:
1. The address of the place where the passenger is spending his/her first night in the USA
2. And the addresses of all the places the person plans to visit during that first day within the country (e.g. such as a business address)
If the address of the first night stay is not known (e.g. in the case of a fly-drive) then a general itinerary needs to be supplied.
If one is entering the country via a Cruise ship or sea vessel, then US regulations will accept a ?transit to? address followed by the Vessel/Cruise Name and the U.S. City of cruise embarkation, as a destination address in this scenario.
Failure to provide this information on entering the country could cause severe delays to the immigration process and may lead to fines being imposed on the airlines.
'Transit passengers' (i.e. those passing through the country, spending less than 8 hours in the USA and not leaving the airport) are exempt.
Many of the major airlines are also making every effort to ensure that the API requirements are fulfilled in a timely fashion before entering the country and are assisting passengers in getting the details to US customs in a timely fashioned.
We advise that all persons travelling to the US allow an extra hour for check in and plan ahead to have details of where they are staying in the US before leaving the UK along with passport and flight tickets.
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