Passport & Visa Issues
Passports
If you don’t already have one, obtaining a passport is a critical first step in exercising your right to travel. If you already have a passport, make sure that it is still valid for at least 6 months after the date of your return as some countries require this before issuing visas. Passport issuing requirements vary among different countries so be sure to check with the proper government authorities in your home country. Although getting a passport doesn’t usually take very long, you should begin the process as far in advance of your trip as you can. You can find online resources for the major English-speaking counties on the next page of this article.
Visas
It’s not surprising that visa issues have caused travelers more frustration than just about any other aspect of travel. For the uninitiated, a visa is essentially permission to enter a foreign country for a certain length of time usually in the form of a stamp or sticker in a passport but sometimes as a separate document or even electronically. Visas are obtained from the embassy or consulate of the country you wish to visit.
Just getting the visa is only part of the battle, however. In many cases, travelers are required to show sufficient funds (in the form of cash, a credit card, or a bank statement), a return or forwarding-on ticket, and sometimes proof of certain medical immunizations and/or tests for HIV. The visa issue should not be taken lightly. A visa officer can very easily refuse you entrance to a country for any number of reasons. More than one person has had to get on a return flight back to where they came from for failure to comply with entry requirements—not much fun when you’ve spent 20 hours on a plane to get to your destination.