New rules mean that come into force that day mean that citizens of all ages from the 27 countries in the US visa waiver scheme, which includes Britain, must have their own individual passport incorporating text readable by US Customs and Border Protection's scanning machines.

Suitable passports can be identified by a double strip of printed characters along the bottom of the photo page.
Until now, children on their parents' passports were able to visit the US under the visa waiver scheme without obtaining a visa in advance.

Jim Forster, British Airways' government and industry affairs manager, says: "These rules first came into effect in October 2004 but we were able to secure an eight month period of alleviation which enabled customers who did not have the correct passport type to get a single entry to the US.

"However that alleviation will run out on June 26 and it is now imperative that all customers, who wish to be eligible for the visa waiver scheme, including children, have a machine-readable passport.

"We do not wish to turn anyone away at check in before they fly off on their hard earned holiday to the US this summer, but everyone will need to have the correct documentation."

Airlines flying to the US will deny boarding to passengers without the right documents because they face a US$3,300 fine for each one.

For families leaving this Sunday, it is probably already too late to obtain a separate passport for a child if they have previously been included on their parent's document - the shortest guaranteed time for obtaining a new child's passport under the UK Passport Service's Fast Track system is a week. The 48-hour Premium service is not available for new passports.

The only other option - obtaining a B-2 holiday visa at a cost of £60 from the US Embassy - also takes some time. Children under 14 can apply by post but takes at least five working days. Children aged 14 and above need to schedule a interview with Embassy staff by calling 09055 444546 (at a cost of £1.30 per minute). The interview will take place at the US Embassy in person and last an average of four hours.

Further changes to the requirements to enter the US are also in the pipeline. The US intend to bring in a requirement for citizens of the 27 countries in the visa waiver scheme to have biometric data, such as fingerprint and iris scans, encoded in their passports.

This was originally due to come into force last October but was postponed until October 2006 last week since few of these countries were in a position to issue such passports in time.

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