Visas on the Road: Preparing the Route for Bureaucracy!

One of the many things that scares the crap out of me when planning my RTW trip is the headache that comes in dealing with visas.  Visas, for lack of a better description, are little stickers that get placed in your passport confirming that you have permission to be in the country after a lengthy application and review process.  These could range from not even being required, free to all, or cost up to $131+ if the country charges based on reciprocity, where you pay whatever a citizen of their country would pay to visit yours.  Confused yet? It gets worse.  Some countries offer visa on arrival, while others force you to have a visa before entering the land, others offer visa on arrival, but only for certain countries and at specific entry points.  All flaunt deportation and monetary fines as being your only way out if you're caught without one or staying longer than you are approved for.

I've written multiple posts in the past discussing these topics, including the infamous proof of onward travel and the relative enforcement by airlines to have such proof.  In these posts I briefly discussed my general plan for getting all my visas, and now that I am about to send my passport out to obtain my Chinese visa before my August departure, I thought it would be a good time to expand on my general plan of attack - partly to inform, and partly to ensure I don't forget and get denied entry at a border somewhere in the middle of nowhere or worse - deported.

The two biggest tools to use when planning out the visa process is your local state department page, and Embassies Abroad.  The first will tell you what type of visas are required for someone of your nationality, and the second lists the location of every embassy around the world.  Want your Indian visa in China?  The location is easily provided.  Most are even linked to their personal sites to inquire further about application time, visa types offered, and more important information every traveler should know.  Some embassies and consulates only offer visas to locals of that country, so its best to know which ones offer visas to all.  Now, you might say, "can't I just get all my visas before I leave and not have to deal with this headache?" I wish.  Many are only for a fixed duration, 1, 3, 6 months, which some begin at the moment of approval.  This makes getting visas at home useless for most individuals unless you plan on entering the country within the approved time period; so for the year long RTW traveler, visa collections along the way are a must.

The key to keep in mind while planning your visa collections is this: unless you are willing to pay hefty fees for expedited processing, most consulates recommend 4-5 business days for processing.  That is not to say that they will all take that period, but if you want to err on the side of caution and save money, its best to get visas in the cities you expect to spend that long of time in anyway.  For someone such as myself, who wants to average 3-4 days per city, this may be a bit difficult, which is why I must plan ahead to cities that I would be willing to hunker down in for some period of time.  So after careful planning I have made a tentative scheme for getting visas for the countries on my list that do not have visa on arrival.

The Visa Plan

China - The second country on my route, China is the first that requires a visa not issued upon arrival.  Since Japan is expensive, and my rail pass will be on limited time, I will not have the luxury of getting a visa while touring the country.  Instead I plan on sending my visa out to the local consulate and paying the mailing fee for my multi-entry visa which is required for those intending to visit Hong Kong or Macao.  Special permits are necessary for those entering Tibet that I wont even begin to discuss here.

Vietnam - The Vietnamese visa is a bit more difficult.  Conflicting sources indicate that there is either a 3 month or 6 month validity of new visas.  I am in the process of contacting the consulate to determine what is accurate as I wont be arriving for at least 3 months after I feel comfortable sending my passport out. If 3 months is the max, it looks like i'll be spending a few extra days in Beijing to get my Vietnamese visa for my first round of attempting local bureaucracy overseas.

Cambodia - Cambodia offers online visas at specific border crossings.  Luckily the crossing from Ho Chi Minh City is now included.  I'll be filling out my application while in Vietnam, and hoping everything goes lucky from then on.

Laos - While Laos approves visas on arrival at airports and some crossings, the main crossing from Cambodia does not.  I will be getting my visa processed while in Hanoi to get visa as long as my Bangkok by Christmas deadline allows a stop over.  Chances are I may have to leave my passport at the consulate for a few days while I go on a Sapa or Halong Bay tour.

Thailand - Thailand offers 15 day visas on arrival from border crossings, and 30 days from the airport free of charge.  Unfortunately I am looking at spending 6 weeks in Thailand.  You could do border runs to get another free visa, but this seems like a headache.  I'll just pay the cost for a longer visa at the consulate in Ho Chi Minh City and eat a few extra bowls of pho to pass the time.  In the long run, it is likely more cost effective.

India -  Ideally, I would shoot for getting an Indian visa in Singapore, but conflicting information on the consulates site suggests it may not be possible for non-locals.  I do not want to spend a week in Jakarta when I could be running overland to Bali, so unless new rules pop up, it looks like I will be getting my Indian visa while in Bangkok and arrive in India right at the end of the entry window.  For those who want to leave India and return on the same visa, much like I am doing going to Nepal, there is a new rule that requires permits to those travelers who want to enter within a 2 month window unless on the same itinerary.  This rule does not indicate how strict the itinerary has to be, but it is best to work this out with the consulate on an individual basis so you are allowed back in.

Brazil - Brazil is the trickiest of all my visa endeavors, as I have outlined in previous posts.  They require you enter within 3 months of approval, which would force me to acquire the visa while in India or Nepal unless I want to risk being near the end of the validity period when arriving.  Unfortunately the only consulate in these countries is in Delhi, which was to be my last stop in the country.  Looks like a week of Delhi belly is in store for me.

Argentina/Chile - Reports regarding visas for these countries is still conflicting.  While it appears they are integrating a visa program for those arriving by air, land based travelers are still in the clear or so it seems.  I am hoping for such luck as to avoid another $260 in visa fees from these, but I'll be keeping an eye on the situation from the road.  At the very least, it looks like visa on arrival is a popular idea here, so I may be lucky and not have to require advance copies.


The rest of the countries on my intended RTW trip all have visas on arrival at all major ports and would not need thinking ahead of time.  With that being said, my itinerary, much like most every other open ended long term and RTW traveler, is open ended.  With these thoughts in mind, keep this in mind for that next on the fly itinerary change as to not avoid an embarrassing and costly mistake at the border!

Posted in: On the Road,Planning,Visas