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Travel Visas

Ah, travel visas. They may trap you in stuffy embassies for hours on end or have you jumping like a circus poodle through a series of torturous hoops, but when you're sailing through that customs queue it's all worth it. And hey, lots of travel visas are pretty good lookin' - they can make your passport into something of a work of art.

The first step is to find out whether you need a travel visa or not. If you do, how does your destination like to serve it up? There are two ways of getting travel visas: you can get them from the country's local consulate before you go, or in the country upon entry. Do your research - it's no fun to turn up at a border expecting to be able to breeze through it only to find you were required to apply three months ago at the time of the full moon. And make sure you find out what your visa will cost - some can blow your budget nicely.

There are essentially five types of visa (but each can have varying categories such as length of stay, and single or multiple entry). They are transit, tourist, business, student and working-holiday visas. The ones you're most likely to be interested in are tourist, student or working-holiday visas.

Of course, if you have an EU passport, you're in a different position. You can go anywhere within the EEA (the EU plus Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland). There's also the Schengen Area, a common border and visa area for some but not all EU countries. Applications for these visas should be made at the embassy or consulate of the country you will be visiting. Confused? Start from the top down: work out where you're going and check the individual country's entry requirements. If all else fails, there's always the Thorn Tree, where helpful travellers will have heard your visa question - and loads of other types of question - before, and be able to offer specific advice.

Bear in mind the following when gearing up to apply for visas:

Nine out of 10 visas are valid from date of issue, which means that you'll be getting most of them on the road. For instance, a visa may run for three months from date of issue, so you'd only get one in advance if this was early in your itinerary.
Visa requirements can sometimes be affected by the transport you've used to enter a country. For instance, you could be able to get visas on arrival if you fly into the country, but have to arrange them in advance if you go overland.
In some instances you can get a longer visa if you apply before you travel. For instance, some visas give you six months if you apply in your home country but only 30 days if you rock up at the border.
You may have to consider the relationships between the governments of the countries you're visiting. It's rare, but sometimes if you have a stamp in your passport from earlier travels then it can cause problems when entering subsequent countries.

Which visa? Find out for free

Our recommended partner can show you quickly and easily what type of visa you'll need on your trip. They can also help you out with your application - that's one less tango with that tangly red tape.
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