A passport declares you are a citizen of a country and gives you the right to leave that country. The earliest passports were letters issued by the traveler's king or sultan that referenced the character of the traveler, and asked that he be allowed passage and favorable treatment. The current passport system came into wide use during World War I when governments restricted travel due to spy paranoia. Before then many European nationals could come and go as they pleased without securing permission from any government.
American passports now read:
The U.S. Government issues three types of passports: diplomatic, official, and regular. Diplomatic passports are given to the top staff of the State Department and Foreign Service, and confer immunity from prosecution from the laws of other countries. Official passports go to other government workers who don't qualify for diplomatic passports, but need extra status in lieu of higher pay. Regular passports are for the rest of us.
Note that passports are the property of the issuing government, not the person on the inside cover.
How to Apply for a U.S. Passport
Call Passport Services of the State Department for the latest information at 202-647-0518. To obtain a passport, U.S. citizens must present the following in person to a designated post office, a designated clerks of court, or one of thirteen regional passport agencies (in Boston, Chicago, Honolulu, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, New York, New Orleans, Philadelphia, San Francisco, Seattle, Stamford, and Washington, D.C.)
- Proof of U.S. citizenship. This can be a previous passport or a certified (with a raised seal stamped into the paper) copy of your birth certificate.
- Two identical two-inch square photos, color or black and white, with a white background, and a facial image size between one and one and 3/8 inches.
- Proof of identification, with a photo and signature, such as a driver's license or student ID.
- Fee of $55 for those eighteen years old and over, $30 for under eighteen.
- A completed but unsigned form DSP-11. The appropriate authority must witness your signature when you present it. This form is available from post offices, or by calling Passport Services.
Normal processing takes up to four weeks. Rush services cost extra. Passports are valid for ten years, or until age eighteen. Second passports may be available if you are traveling to Israel and certain Arab countries which boycott anyone who has been in Israel. Twenty-four pages is the normal-sized passport, forty-eight pages if requested. Additional pages can be added later if necessary.
Always keep your passport in a hidden money belt next to your skin. They are valuable on the black market, and some trouble to replace. Keep a trimmed photocopy of the first two pages in one or two other locations.
Photo: When I showed this photo to my great aunt, she exclaimed, "That's my house!" When she last saw it eighty years ago she was a subject of the Austro-Hungarian empire. I found it (with the aid of a local who had worked in Chicago for ten years) in a village in what is now southern Poland.
Visas, Onward Tickets, and Sufficient FundsA visa is a stamp or piece of paper placed in your passport granting permission to enter a certain country, and issued by that country. Depending on the country and your nationality, visas may be obtained at the border at time of entry, or in advance through that country's consulate or embassy.
Since visa rules change, it is best to call the embassy or consulate of that country for the latest information. Following are some examples. Many heavily-touristed countries, including all Western European countries, only require a United States citizen to have a valid passport at time of entry. They want to make it easy for tourists to come and spend money.
Canada requires Americans to have official identification (such as a driver's license) and sufficient funds, while Mexico requires only official identification for border towns, but issues a free visa good for thirty, sixty, or ninety days (your request) at the border if you are traveling into the interior.
If an American lands in Bangkok without a visa, she is automatically granted a free transit visa valid for fifteen days, provided she also has an airline ticket out of the country. If she gets a visa from a Thai embassy or consulate in advance of landing in Bangkok, she can get permission for thirty, sixty, or ninety days of stay from the date of entry, and the onward ticket requirement is waived. This visa costs $25.
United States citizens arriving at the Guatemalan frontier (international term for border) with a valid passport are granted visas good for thirty days, with a variable "tax" charged on entry and exit. This is usually just a few dollars. Guatemalan visas are single entry, which means if you leave the country you must get another visa to re-enter, and pay another "tax."
Indian visas, on the other hand, are multiple entry--you can leave and re-enter the country with the same visa. This is useful for making a side-trip to Nepal or Tibet. Call the Indian embassy in your country's capital to get the latest visa information. They will send a one-page application, which you return by registered mail, along with your passport and the appropriate fee ($25 for a six-months validity). They then return your passport with the visa inside. Regular processing takes about two weeks, although a two-day fast turnaround is possible for an extra $50 or so.
If you need visas from several countries, you may need to start the process several months before departure. An important consideration for Indian visas is they are valid for six months from the date of issue, not from the time you eventually get to India.
Visa extensions may or may not be possible from within a country. Since extensions usually require some bureaucratic shenanigans, many travelers prefer to leave the country and then re-enter.
While New Zealand does not require Americans to obtain a visa in advance of landing there, they do require we have a return or onward ticket, and a valid visa for that next country, if required by that country. Since I was going on to Australia, I had to get an Australian visa while I was still in the U.S. Australia also requires a return or onward ticket for entry, so I bought a ticket from Darwin, Australia, to Kupang, Indonesia while in New Zealand. This is the cheapest onward ticket out of Australia at about $150.
While Indonesia also requires an onward ticket for entry, many backpackers buy an inexpensive one upon landing at the Indonesian airport. They then cash it in later as they travel on by bus, train, or ferry.
It is wise to look respectable when applying for a visa. No country is obligated to grant you entry into their country. Some countries require travelers have sufficient funds to support themselves, and may request to see credit cards or travelers' checks. Sometimes a couple of passport-sized photos are also required.
Sufficient funds can be an issue at some borders. New Zealand wants backpackers to have about $15 (U.S.) per day of intended stay, while Canada wants Americans coming down from Alaska to have "enough" to make it through the country. I could only shake my head sadly while a fellow hitcher who had been on the road all over North and South America for two years was denied entry into Canada at the Alaska border because he had only $75. (Back to the slime line for him.)
If you have a credit card--even if it's maxed--you won't have a problem with sufficient funds, at least at the border. In my experience most countries with sufficient funds requirements have waved me through without checking my financial situation. Of course I make a point to shave and put on my best shirt when crossing frontiers. (If you don't have a credit card, at least bring something plastic like an old Columbia House Compact Disc membership card. After all, if they would trust you to buy six more CD's over three years...)
A note on the visa application may state that if any questions are answered incorrectly or left blank, "the application will probably be rejected." I always make something up for the question about profession or employment status, but have never had a problem. (For those in need, may I recommend "philosopher" or "economist.")
Photo: Author with lucky shirt and no more than a few hundred bucks on hand.