Check your visa requirements before you go!

Visas for Turkey

“There are no foreign lands. It is the traveler only who is foreign.” – Robert Louis Stevenson

“Where have you been?”

Where haven’t I been, I felt like saying. Sarcastic, however, is the last thing I would dream of being to an immigration officer.

“I’ve been around the world.”

“Bring back anything interesting?”

I couldn’t hold back, “Interesting? I mean I got a blue, silk dress from Vietnam if that is what you meant.”

I was waved into the back room. It was freezing.

Welcome to Miami.
The problem? Besides the sub-arctic temperatures? Well it wasn’t my sarcasm, I was happy to find out. I was, however, unhappy to hear the problem was my American visa. Or my denial of one.

I had been warned three months before Miami and in Dallas that I need to sign-up online for the incorrectly named American Visa Waiver Program (how are you waiving a visa when you make me pay for entrance to your country? That is a visa, no?).

Anyway, I wasn’t going to argue and I did sign-up here.

Computers are great until they’re not. The problem? Six years before Miami, America decided to enter in their computers that I was denied my student visa for my Master’s program.

“That’s funny because I have the student visa right here and I have a Master’s.” I am a pack rat, luckily and produced the document from my passport holder.

The customs officer didn’t apologise, but did let me transit to Bermuda and suggested I invite him on my next trip around the world. Right.

OK enough of the sarcasm, though, because visas are important things and the only way you’re going to get into countries.

Which brings me to the Rock Fever Column in The Royal Gazette this week: Visas. Awww fun, Robyn. Real fun. Yeah, well it might

Visas for Vietnam

not be fun now, but it will be worse when you don’t plan ahead. Which brings us to tip one: before you visit any country, check with the consulate for up-to-date visa information. Example? Bermudian passport holders are still allowed to enter the United States without a formal visa process (well besides the automatic tourist one for 180 days). But those Bermudians who hold UK passports (like myself) need to go online every two years to apply for the tourist visa (this only changed two years ago).

And make sure you check tip two: which passport are you using? Ok so I am probably not writing this to the spies out there, but Bermudians will usually have a couple of passports. At the very least a Bermudian passport and a British one (I could even have a third, Canadian, if I wanted to). So before you fly figure out which one would give you the greatest immigration clearance ease.

Which leads to three and if you are flying to the United States, Bermudians, you probably want to use a Bermudian passport. It saves you from the online visa application and worrying about when that might run out. Of course if you find yourself on the stop-list (i.e. you did something that landed you in court) then you will have to plan ahead regardless of your passport. Make sure you visit the U.S. Consulate to begin the lengthy process of applying for a U.S. Visa (another reason you don’t want a conviction!)

However tip four: if you have a passport that requires an American Visa (check here to see if your country is listed) then, obviously, apply! It will take you about ten minutes and cost you about $15 for a two year visa. Hardly difficult compared to some countries’ processes.

And tip five is for those who may not be computer literate or comfortable, have no fear because travel agencies will be able to help apply for the United States visa online. Of course it would help if you also buy your plane ticket from them.

Which leads to Tip six and should a Bermudian passport want to travel to Europe, the tables turn. The passport (well and by extension, you, obviously!) will need a Schengen visa, which can cost at least $80 processing fee (depending on which country in the Schengen countries you apply to), additional fees to send it abroad and could take weeks to process. And as Pat Adderley from CTravel warns: “Most of the Schengen require a personal appearance. They don’t want a third party involved. They don’t want to hear from us (the travel agency). They want to meet you in person.” So why wouldn’t you get a UK passport? If you are Bermudian you have the right so use it!

Of course no Bermuda or UK passport will get you off the hook when it comes to India. Visiting the largest democracy in the world will require a visa, but this visa is not about just visiting a website.

Nope, which is why Tip Seven is about planning ahead for any trip because visas can take a while to get (I’m just using India as an example). For Bermudians to get their India visa for your Bermudian or UK passport it will have to be fed ex’d (for security) to Washington, D.C. and could take as many as two weeks to process. The tricky thing is once you have the visa the time starts ticking.

Vietnam's Border Patrol

While you might receive a six month visa to visit India, that does not mean from the time you enter the country. Nope, it means from the day they issue the visa, which leads to Tip Eight: pay attention to details. India is not the only country that operates on time. Vietnam is similar. Once you tell them a date you are entering the country, it is set in….paper and will last for a month minimum. Silly me let that one run out before I had enough time in the country.

Which leads to Tip Nine: DO NOT let visa applications stop you from traveling. They are just a way for a country to know who is entering (and make money as far as I’m concerned). So if you are intimidated by visa applications, then visit a travel agency in Bermuda for guidance. Do NOT apply though an agency online – only the direct embassies of the country. I have heard some horror stories.

And finally Tip Ten: for those who are planning a trip around the world: only apply for the first visa you need. Every other visa can be done abroad. In Cambodia I could get a Vietnam visa in three days (one if I had wanted to pay more). If I had gotten it at home, it would have just been headache, fed ex (so lots of money) and a waste (I didn’t get to Vietnam when I thought I would).

Oh and just because I’m feeling generous you’ve got ten plus one this week Tip 11: When crossing borders make sure you have plenty of American cash on you for those visas that are only available for purchase (i.e. Turkey) and open for negotiation! I was almost in a pinch when crossing into Cambodia and all the “processing” fees. Thank goodness for American travel buddies.

There are lots of visa tips out there and I could continue but that would be boring! So email me at skinnerrobyn@gmail.com for more and of course stay tuned for next week and travel quirks! Until next Wednesday, Adios!

Come and Get it! Get your visa! Only $14 for the British to enter America!

Visa for America

“Have you got anything interesting?

“I’m sorry. Interesting? Well I have a blue, silk dress from Vietnam if that’s what you mean by interesting? I think it’s interesting.”

The American Customs’ Officer was clearly not amused. Neither was I. It was 8 in the morning and I had just arrived in Miami from Lima, Peru. I wanted to find a coffee and just wait for my evening flight home (Bermuda).

He would not relent.

“You went traveling for a year? How did you pay for it?”

Yes, man, because I am an economic immigrant from Bermuda!!!! Why, in anyone’s name, would I want to stay in Miami where the wage is definitely not what I could make at home? And last I checked Bermudians are not generally on the sneak-in list.

I controlled my thoughts and said: “Well I saved-up and then I wrote a column while I was on the road that helped.”

Nothing mattered. I was sent into the arms of some very cheery idiot who decided regaling me about his colleagues working in Bermuda, would ease the pain of the customs’ back room. It didn’t.

Two hours later, frozen and listening to the infant next to me balling its eyes out, I finally approached yet another customs officer.

“You’ve been denied a visa to the United States before?”

“No”

“But it says here that you were denied a visa for your Masters in….”

“Well that’s funny because I have a piece of paper here that says I wasn’t and I actually attained a Masters in International Relations.”

It was my first experience with America’s amazing, new system for screening foreigners: the ESTA online visa form! and it wouldn’t be my last.

Or yours, for that matter, if you’re a Bermudian with a British passport! Ahhh the joys of trying to enter another country. Visas.

That’s why today, CTravel’s knowledgable and helpful staff, Pat Adderley, is offering this Q&A to help those lost among the confusion of travel visas.

So Pat, since when have British travelers had to go online for an American Visa? Didn’t we just fill out a form at the airport?

She said: “A Bermudian passport holder going to the U.S. are given a free entry and there’s nothing they have to do. If you have a passport from the Waiver Countries from the EU you are visa free, however you now have to go online and fill-out the ESTA form. It’s like the green form we used to have to fill out at the airport.

“In June this year it cost $14 and it lasts for 2 years. That’s just takes down who you are and your passport details.”

But Pat, what about older people or those without computers? Surely this system leaves a particular segment of the population out of the ability to acquire a visa?

She said: “For people who don’t have computers or older people we will fill out the forms.”

There is often the confusion in Bermuda about whether or not to attain a British passport, which as an overseas territory we are allowed to have. What would you suggest?

She said: “What we recommend is that Bermudians get themselves a UK passport as we are entitled to it. Yes it’s expensive, but if you have to get visas for the Schengen countries it’s expensive too and some require a personal appearance.

“You will have to go to Washington or New York to go for the interview. They don’t want a third party involved. They don’t want to hear from use. they want to meet you in person.

“What we are finding, now, is that most of the European countries in the Schengen visa allow that once you have one for Portugal then you are able to travel to other countries i.e. Spain, France, etc….

“Sometimes they do a six month visa, sometimes a year sometimes longer. Each of these countries have qualifiers of their own.”

Sounds like it’s best for a Bermudian to get a British Passport. But Bermuda has a lot of workers from various countries that will need to visas. What is your biggest problem with attaining visas for them?

Trying to get back home to India

 

 

She said: “The biggest visa and what we deal with on a daily basis are the UK and US visas because of the Ethnic groups we have in Bermuda and who are trying to get home (i.e. fly through the UK to get to Sri Lanka). Most who get it there the UK some without much problem. And sometimes after they have spent $400 on a Canadian visa to get home they get denied.

“Then what? Then they can’t go home?

But how do these workers get to Bermuda in the first place? They must have been screened.

She said: “They come with a visa that is good for 90 days and come through the UK. It has run out and now they need a new one to get home.

” And now it is even worse for Jamaicans, for example. They have a big expense now because they used to not need a visa to get through the US. Now they do. Now they have to go through the U.K. to go to Jamaica!”

What could help?

She said: “What would be helpful is if the Bermuda Government sat down with the U.K., the U.S.  and Canadian representatives and tell them we have guest workers who have been scrutinized and we know they are safe and know they can get their visas.”

And what does CTravel do to help?

She said: “Usually if they come in they (foreign workers) make an appearance with us we fill out an application for them. Then they have to make an appearance with immigration for biometrics. After we make that appointment the officers stamp their applications and we forward it to the consulate.

“It takes three weeks and sometimes longer depending.”

Can CTravel help me if I need a visa for, say, India?

She said: “One of the first things you should do when you book your trip is understand what kind of passport you are traveling with. That determines the rules and restrictions for your passport. Also don’t think because you had a visa in another passport before you are still covered.

“The key to it is plan early. We can do the Indian visa and the Japanese Visa. I have done a Nigerian visa.We usually do it just for our clients, but we will do it for others.”

And what about Bermudians who may be on the stop-list for America? You know, because of a minor drug conviction, etc…?

She said: “We can also help stop list people. We can apply for the waiver for them. But these are people who have done silly things in their youth.

“It’s worth them to try. If they did something in their 20’s and now they are now in their 50’s or 60’s. Now they are on the stop list. Most of the time they can get a visa, but they have to do it early.”

Do you have more visa questions? Well make sure you contact Pat Adderley at CTravel for all of your visa concerns!

And make sure you check back tomorrow as I travel…….to St. George’s. I know crazy far away!