Visas 101

Just like your relationship status on Facebook, the answer could be yes, no, or it’s complicated. So let’s break it down.

So what is a Visa?

A Visa is an endorsement of a passport that states that the holder is allowed to enter, leave, or stay for a specified period of time in a country. Depending on your nationality you may or may not need one for any given country. The most important thing to know about Visas is that the requirements, rules and regulations thereof are very different from country to country. For instance as an American citizen you can travel visa-free to 165 of the 195 countries we have on this wonderful planet.

(Note: Unfortunately the cartoon man riding a dolphin is from the Japanese aquarium, not a customs official)

Visa-Free Vs. Visa on Arrival Vs. Visa Required

Visa-free is the ability to travel to a country without the need for a travel visa. A visa-free country would only require you to have a valid passport for entry and exit – with most countries requiring a passport that is valid for 6 months after your maximum allowed time in the country.

Visa on arrival means that you are required to have a visa to enter the destination country, but it can be obtained upon arrival at your port of entry. With Visa on Arrival entry you would not have to apply ahead of your visit.

Visa required means that you would need to apply for a visa to enter the country before actually visiting. Some countries are considerably harder than others to apply for, let alone being approved for a Visa.

Ok already how do you know if you need one?

Thankfully in the age of the internet there are a ton of websites that can help you out. I find that Passport Index is the best for an initial check because it has an awesome spreadsheet. If you’re traveling somewhere with a companion from another country you can cross-reference several countries at once. Killer!

Applying for a Visa

The first thing to do would be to Google the official government immigration website of the country you want to visit. This could be easier said than done as not every country has an easily digestible website. Many countries have platforms that allow you to apply for their Visa directly from their site – usually referred to as an eVisa. Once you’re approved they email you a .pdf that contains your info that you need to bring when you enter the country. Turkey has an incredibly easy website to use and my Turkish eVisa was approved within 15 minutes.

If your destination country doesn’t allow you to fully apply online then you will probably have to download forms to fill out and mail to an embassy along with a passport photo. Fair warning: if this is the case for where you’re trying to go, be prepared for some headache. 2 countries stick out to me as the most tedious I’ve applied for: Russia*** based on the sheer amount of info you have to provide, and Uzbekistan – because the application process was bananas confusing. If your Visa is approved their embassy will mail you a copy that sticks into your passport.

Absolutely triple check all requirements before submitting your visa application. The amount of bureaucracy involved in fixing a mistake can range from maddening to catastrophic. As the saying goes “a stitch in time saves nine.”

Paying someone to do it for you

If you aren’t feeling up to the task or just don’t have the time to navigate the process yourself there are several websites that will handle all of it, for a fee of course. Depending on the complexity of the application the fee could be upwards of an additional 100% of the actual visa cost. When you’re going on a trip that requires multiple expensive visas I think this gets impractical unless you’re made of money. I really like digging into all the technical stuff though but I understand not everyone would want to. Or is rich. Here are a few sites that I recommend:

THE VISA MACHINE
TRAVISA
G3 VISAS

Warning: There are several countries that do not allow any 3rd party to apply for you. There are also countries that require a “Letter of Invitation” accompany or precede your visa application. Russia is one such country, and it’s a huge pain in the ass.