Travel Documents – Visas and ETAs

Posted On by Jack Edwards

Whenever you plan to travel internationally from the United States, you need to check to see if you need to have a visa. Many countries are on a short list that approves travelers with US Passports without a visa. Many of them who do require a visa, do not require that you get one before you leave home. You can often get one at a border crossing or at the airport.

You do need to make sure that you have adequate room in your Passport for the stamps and for most countries, you need at least 6 months left on your Passport’s expiration date to enter a foreign country.

When we went to South Africa in 2015, we got our visa online before we left home, but picked up our visa for Zambia at the airport after we landed.

When we went to Kenya and Tanzania in 2018, we needed to go online to order our mulit-visit visa for Kenya. On the other hand, we did not get our Tanzania visa before we left home. We didn’t want to send them our passports and hope we get them back before we left for our trip. Also, there is more than one type of visa to visit Tanzania. There is one for people who are transiting the country. At the time of this writing, that is about $30. For those who are visiting Tanzania, the fee is about $100. Also, they want newer, clean, crisp $20 dollar bills, or in the case of the transit visa, a couple of $5 dollar bills to go with your $20. Also, if you are with a guide, they won’t believe that you are transiting the country so make sure to have the $100 in clean cash.

Another thing to think about when we discuss getting a visa. For many years, most countries listed the United States on a short list of countries that did not have to apply for a visa to visit that country. Things are changing. Many countries, such as Canada, New Zealand and Australia, now require us to apply online for an ETA (Electronic Travel Authorization). Check the rules closely since they can vary based upon your method of travel. For example, as of September 2019, to go to Canada by air, you need an ETA, but by ship or car, you don’t need one.

You need to do this before you leave home, so don’t forget to check the countries you are visiting to make sure you are good to go.

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Turning Dreams into Memories,
One Vacation at a Time.
Bon Voyage!!!

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