Traveling may be fun, but there are several requirements you must meet before you can feel the soft sand between your toes or rugged wilderness of a pristine forest. Although the last one hundred years has seen more traveling freedom than ever before, there are still certain regulations and rules that one must follow in order to successfully enter another country. For example, members of the European Union have the most freedom to travel, says an index from Henley & Partners (a renowned citizenship planning consulting firm).
“Visas are a standard requirement for most countries as certain non-nationals wish to enter their territory. At the same time, visa requirements or lack thereof, are also an indication of the relationship between individual nations and the status of a country within the international community of nations. Visa restrictions are an important tool for governments to control the movement of foreign nationals across borders.” (Source: IBTimes)
To be fair, travelers don’t really care about government movements, but they do care whether or not they can enter a country that they wish to visit. The bottom line is that without proper paperwork you will remain stuck between borders. The only way to avoid this is by being informed. A couple of months ago I decided to travel to Norway, but I had no idea what the document requirements for entry in the country, and the information I found online was confusing, to say the least.
After hours of frantic searching and phone-calls to the Norwegian Embassy I found my answer. Believe me, there is nothing more distressing than not knowing if you have the right paperwork required for entry in another country. For this purpose I have decided to put together a list of credible resources for overseas travels, document requirements for entry in various countries, websites for obtaining visas and more.
As a general rule, we advise you to always check the country’s embassy website, as it should contain relevant information regarding paperwork. If you are still not convinced about the veracity of the information contained on embassy websites, here are a few useful sources that you should check out. They vary from general sites, to sites for individual countries and even boards.
GENERAL SITES
1. VisaHQ
Researching information for travel visa requirements is a vital part of planning an international trip. VisaHQ is an excellent independent website that provides information of visa requirements for most destinations around the world. All you have to do is use the tool available on the official page. Enter your citizenship and destination, and VisaHQ will automatically display requirements for paperwork & other details. On this website you can also request Visas of your own. In order to do this you must apply online (this will also help you skip the never-ending consulate lines) and wait for your visa or passport to be issued.
Here are a few services provided by VisaHQ:
- New passports
- Lost or stolen passports
- Second passport
- Passports for children
- Passport renewal
- Passport name change
- Add passport pages
Naturally, you will have to pay for these services, but costs are displayed prior to placing an order. For more information on visas and documents, please check out the official website.
2. Travel.State.gov
Travel.state.gov is among the most comprehensive resources for overseas travel. All the information on the website is useful, but there is one feature in particular that might come in handy. On the “Learn About your Destination” page you can see a map of the world and a search query where you can enter a destination.
All you have to do is to zoom in to your desired destination, or type in the country or area, and Travel State will offer you all the information you need including passport validity, vaccinations, currency restrictions, entry & exit requirements, embassies & consulates, local laws & circumstances, travel & transportation and more. If you are simply searching for legal and health information about a country that you wish to visit, this is arguably the best place to go.
3. GOV.uk
Granted, this may not be a website dedicated to traveling, visas and entry requirements, but there is a section on it related to this subject. You could say that it is more of an information aggregator. On the “Foreign travel advice” page you will find a list of 225 countries or territories. At the top of the page you can type in your destination, or you can search for it manually. Upon clicking on a territory name you will be presented with the following information:
- Safety & security
- Terrorism
- Local laws and customs
- Health
- Entry requirements
- Natural disasters
- Money
The information on this website is updated on a monthly basis, so you needn’t worry about its accuracy. Gov.uk is an authoritative website that only posts correct information. So if you are trying to find out more information about a country you wish to visit, you have come to the right place.
4. Project Visa
The home-page of Project Visa is somewhat similar to the “Learn about your destination” page on travel.state.gov in that you will be presented with a map of the world. You can search for your destination manually, or you can simply fill out the “Continent” and “Country” tabs.
The great thing about Project Visa is the fact that it displays passports that do not require Visa to visit for over 90 days, entry information, embassies and consulates. Once you decide on a destination you will be redirected to the country’s official embassy page for visa requirements & travel documents. In other words, this general website connects to individual country sites that provide accurate information for document requirements.
5. A Briggs
A Briggs consists of a team of visa specialists that ensure expedited handling of important documents. It is not only a valuable source for country-specific entry requirements, but a good service for obtaining valuable paperwork needed for traveling.
The prices for their services are displayed on the right column of the About Us page. If you aren’t interested in making your passport or Visa with them, you are still free to navigate their website for country-specific information.
Individual Countries & Specific Areas Sites
Many countries in Europe are part of the European Union, which means that members are free to travel only with their passport and identity card, but what about Americans traveling to Canada, or non-Schengen members traveling to Schengen territories? The following websites offer specific information for different countries, continents and territories.
1. SchengenVisaInfo
The 26 countries which compromise the Schengen Area have agreed to free movement of citizens between borders. Other countries such as Bulgaria, Romanian, Cyprus, Croatia and Ireland will also become members of the agreement in the future. This means that the vast majority of European countries will offer free access between borders in no-time.
However, countries and citizens that are not members of Schengen countries are requested a mandatory Schengen Visa to receive entrance permission. There are also several major types of Schengen Visas such as USV, LTV and National Visas. Find out more about requirements on the official page.
2. Australian Government Page
Are you planning a trip to Australia? That sounds really fun, but do you have all the required paperwork to be allowed to enter the country? The go-to source for Australia travelers is www.immi.gov.au. On this website you will find valuable information including travel documents required for Australian citizens, for New Zealand citizens and for other travelers.
You can also read more about the ADV (Australian Declaratory Visa), and options for permanent residents with ATR, RE or RRV documents. You probably have no idea what I’m talking about here. That’s not a problem. Simply head over to the Australian Government Page and read all the information that is relevant for your trip.
3. Government of Canada
This is the official website for Canadians traveling and living abroad. It specializes in offering information to Canadian globe trotters. On the official page you can scroll to the “Where do you want to go” section and insert a country. Click “Go” and the website will automatically display travel requirements, security, laws & culture, assistance, natural disasters & climate information.
There are countless examples of websites such as this, and the Australian Government page. If you do a bit of research you will find that each individual country has an official website on its own that contains extensive information about issues concerning travel. We will not list all of them here.
4. Your Europe
Europe.eu also contains a seemingly infinite amount of travel information for EU nationals, Non-EU family members and Non-EU nationals. Besides the documents you need to travel to Europe, you will also gain access to passenger rights, money & fees, safety information and package travel data.
5. Homeland Security
Yes, this is the official website of Homeland Security. This organization has one vital mission: to secure the nation from its external and internal threats. What you will care about is the regulations displayed regarding the crossing of U.S. borders.
On this website you will not only find information about entry requirements, but also data about air travel, land/sea travel, trusted traveler programs and more. You should definitely check this website out.
These are the best websites that we could think about. Of course, there are also useful boards, forums and bulletins that you could use. We will list some of them below; it is up for you to decide whether or not they contain the information you need. Let’s just say that the data available on the websites listed above is provided by specialists and government officials.
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