Keeping Up With the Rules of the Visa Game

Quick! Mail me your passport, let me hold onto it for two weeks or so, and if I lose it--well, too bad.

Would you strike this bargain with a stranger? Millions of travelers do each year when they apply for visas to visit foreign countries. The U.S. government may hold your hand when you apply for a passport, but with visas you’re largely on your own. Fail to get the right stamp on your passport, and you could find yourself banned from taking off, languishing in line at your destination airport or even detained and sent home.

Novice and veteran globe-trotters alike have trouble keeping up with which nations require visas and what the rules are. “One of the challenges of dealing with Africa is that the governments are so fluid” and, consequently, so are the visa regulations, says Anne Bellamy, vice president of Glendale-based tour operator African Travel Inc.

Fortunately for the casual traveler, many popular destinations don’t require U.S. tourists to have visas. Foreign embassies’ Internet sites have information on those that do, and travel agents, tour operators and visa services (for a price) can help you run the bureaucratic gantlet. Their No. 1 piece of advice: As soon as you know you’re booking a foreign trip, check to be sure your passport is current, then look into visa requirements, says Maryann Van Dongen, president of Express Visa Service Inc. in Washington, D.C.

Some questions that may be on your mind if you’re planning a trip:

What is a visa? “An endorsement on a passport, showing that a person has been granted official entry into or passage through a country,” according to Webster’s New World Dictionary, Third College Edition. Sounds simple, right? But read on.

Which nations require visas? A little fewer than half of the 200-plus foreign nations and territories listed by the State Department require visas for U.S. citizens to visit as tourists, according to its Internet site travel.state.gov/foreignentryreqs.html (last updated in June). Most of those require a visa before arrival, although a few will grant it when you get there.

Canada, Mexico and most nations in Europe, Latin America, the Caribbean and many other places that get numerous American visitors don’t require tourist visas. By contrast, many nations in the former Soviet Union (including Russia), Africa and Asia and most in the Middle East (except Israel) do require them.

There’s no hard and fast rule. As of mid-2001, for instance, South Africa and Botswana waived tourist visas, but Kenya and Tanzania required them, according to the State Department list. China and India required tourist visas, but Indonesia and Japan didn’t.

You can blame much of this confusing crazy quilt on politics. Visas are generally controlled by bilateral treaties between nations, experts say. As Van Dongen puts it: “It’s a tit-for-tat game.” If a nation requires visas for U.S. citizens to visit, we’re apt to slap the same restriction on their visitors. A quick perusal of the State Department list suggests that U.S. allies are less likely to require visas from U.S. citizens than are neutral or less friendly nations.

How much do visas cost? Fees for tourist visas generally hover around $50, says Dale Patterson, chief executive officer of Zierer Visa Service Inc. in San Ramon, Calif. But a few nations issue them for free, and others may charge $100 or more, depending on how long you want to stay and whether you want reentry rights. The typical tourist visa is good for a stay of 30 to 90 days, but again, it varies. Fees also are creatures of bilateral diplomacy. The guiding principle is “do unto others as they have done unto you,” says Christopher Lamora, spokesman for the Bureau of Consular Affairs at the State Department. For instance, India charges U.S. citizens $60 for a tourist visa good for up to six months, $85 for one year and $150 for 10 years. The U.S. in turn charges Indians $75 for visas in several categories. (It’s not quite equal. On top of the visa fee, which the State Department calls a “reciprocal” fee, the U.S. charges visa applicants a flat, nonrefundable fee of $45 just to apply for a visa, a sore point with many foreigners.)

You can get an overview of rules and fees on the State Department’s Internet site mentioned above and on Internet sites of visa services, but experts caution against relying on them. The only up-to-date authority is the foreign government of your destination.

How do I get a visa? In most cases, you must send your passport, visa application and the required fee to the issuing nation’s consulate or embassy, which then applies the visa stamp to the passport and returns it. Experts recommend sending the package by courier or registered mail so it can be tracked and enclosing a self-addressed stamped envelope for the return. Be sure to keep a photocopy of your passport. You can also take the documents to the nearest consulate or embassy, of course.

A notable exception is Australia. Since May, American travelers have been able to obtain a visa by Internet at www.eta.immi.gov.au, paying $20 Australian (about $11 U.S.) by credit card. It’s called an Electronic Travel Authority, or ETA.

A few nations will issue the visa when you arrive at their airport, but experts advise getting it in advance anyway to avoid long lines and uncertainty.

How long will it take? Some people have gotten visas the same day by visiting an embassy, but they’re exceptions. “We’d like people to allow 90 days,” Patterson says. Two weeks is the minimum safe period, he estimates. But be prepared for anything. There can be backlogs and also cultural differences. “Sometimes [foreign officials] don’t have the same feeling of urgency that Americans have,” Patterson says. Allow extra time if you need two or more visas so your passport can be shuttled between embassies. Although it’s rare, governments can lose passports, requiring you to apply for another.

Should I use a visa service? These services, which handle the paperwork and smooth out problems, are “pricey, but they are very helpful,” especially if you need to get a visa quickly or must get more than one, says African Travel Inc.’s Bellamy. Many travel agents and tour operators also will help with visas as part of booking your trip.

Zierer, (866) 788-1100, www.zvs.com, which was founded in 1954 and processes about 140,000 visas per year, and Express Visa, (310) 207-2200 (Los Angeles office), www.expressvisa.com, which was founded in 1979 and processes 60,000 passports and visas yearly, are two of the bigger services. Expect to pay a service fee of about $45 per visa, plus the visa fee itself and shipping and handling, depending on the destination.

And don’t think a visa is guaranteed. “Any foreign government can turn [a visa request] down for any reason,” Patterson says.

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Jane Engle welcomes comments and suggestions but cannot respond individually to letters and calls. Write Travel Insider, Los Angeles Times, 202 W. 1st St., Los Angeles, CA 90012, or e-mail jane.engle@latimes.com.