Do you always need to obtain visas before departure...
 

Hi HUB,

Is it possible on a UK passport to do a round the world trip without arranging visas in advance?

I'm curious if anyone ever just sets off without much of a plan and figures out the visas along the way, or if that's even possible?

I scrawled a rough route on this little visa graphic from Wikipedia. It looks like it might be possible, or am I being incredibly naive?


Attachment 24821

Its up to you
 

Looks like a great trip. It depends on you, though I'll tell you straightaway don't believe everything you read on Wikipedia (or bike forums!)
.https://www.gov.uk/foreign-travel-ad...irements#visas
For example you need a visa now for Kazakhstan due to the Covid 19.
Check the FCO website for a more accurate and reliable source of info.

I personally wouldn't be comfortable applying for visas on the fly, I would like it to be stamped in my passport or the vignette in my passport before I go, but thats just me...still looks like a great route!

Maybe an idea to have a plan B as back up. Most visas follow the same template;
1. Identity and Nationality or nationalities.
2. Occupation.
3. Education level attained.
4. Income
5. India asked my for my religion.
6. Any former military service or experience?
7. Any previous visits to the country?
9. How long and where do you intend to visit?
10. Available funds which ties in with income (4)
11. I was in China pre Covid19 and had to provide my details day by day to the Chinese Entry and Exit Administration...
Check the photo requirements for visas for each country as they may vary, eg India visa photos are larger than Chinese Visa photo requirements..
It can be very time consuming getting a visa and you may have to be fingerprinted eg Russia, China...and thats why I prefer to get my visas in order before I go,
But, as I said looks like a fantastic route.
Kind regards and stay safe and check the FCO and embassy of the country you intend to visit for further details!
Maybe difficult, my Chinese visa is valid to October 2021 and I looked at extending it, but the Chinese visa facility is closed due to Covid19.

through Afghanistan? I think you'll need a visa.
through China? I think you'll need a visa going that way also.

Do an initial check with a quick google for each of your countries.

For example: 'pakistan visa on arrival for UK citizens'

..............shu

Hi Joey:

Welcome to the HUBB community.

Unless you plan to travel like Jules Verne (around the world in 80 days), it won't be practical to obtain all the necessary visas in advance of your departure.

This is because visas for many countries have a relatively short window of opportunity for one to use them, either because the visa expires within a short period of time (e.g. 6 months), or because the visa specifies that entry to the country needs to be accomplished prior to a certain date (typically 90 days from date of issue for countries that specify a "use by" date).

You'll need to do a fair amount of research before you go to determine where it is possible (and more importantly, NOT possible) to obtain a visa in a second country for entry into a third country. For example, if you are a UK citizen, you can probably obtain a visa while in Canada (2nd country) for entry into the United States (3rd country). But you might not be able to obtain a visa in Lower Slobbovia for entry into Outer Mongolia.

It is possible that in the case of certain countries that have very complicated processes for issuing visas (Russian Federation comes to mind) that it might be prudent to obtain a visa in your home country even if you know it will expire before you need to use it. I say that because when you apply for a visa the second time (from a country other than your home country), 90% of the necessary paperwork & records will already be on file and the process will be much faster and more trouble-free.

Again, do the research... you have lots of time to do that whilst the pandemic rages on. Also, consider getting a fresh UK passport, "business size" (with 48 pages, rather than the usual 24) before you begin collecting visas or depart on your trip.

Michael

Thanks guys,

This is all very helpful and much appreciated!

I have plenty of time and lots of research to do. So I'm sure I'll be back with plenty more questions as I begin to put the route together.

Thanks for your comments.

Joe

You need to look at this country by country, bud. Otherwise you could be sat in one country with that visa running out while you wait for your visa to the next destination. Even if you're planning to do the nomad thing you still need some idea of the visa regimes you're passing through. When I was researching my (sadly postponed) trip through central Asia I was surprised how many countries were either visa free to encourage tourists, or were visa on arrival. Others fairly easy and visas can be obtained on the road, Mongolia for example. Some are not, however. Russia for one which is quite restrictive and for which you need to go to an agency for the best chance of success and attend their embassy in your home country to be documented. Iran, China, Afghanistan, Turkmenistan, none of these easy to get into and some strict conditions may be attached.

The more research you do now they fewer problems you're likely to run into on the road.

fco.gov.uk is a very good starting point.

second passport
 

Another possible help is to get a second passport.
You can legally get a second passport in the UK if there is a strong enough case for it.https://assets.publishing.service.go..._release__.pdf
If you are overseas and If your passport is in a foreign embassy for a visa you may find this helpful.
Or if you can legally get another countries passport that may also be helpful, so start looking up your Irish/German/Dutch whatever grannies ancestry..
Visa on Arrival, look out that it is not just the airport travellers that qualify for that.
Have fun! Be safe!

you are right!
 

Again, do the research... you have lots of time to do that whilst the pandemic rages on. Also, consider getting a fresh UK passport, "business size" (with 48 pages, rather than the usual 24) before you begin collecting visas or depart on your trip.

Michael[/QUOTE]
I don't remember applying for a business UK passport but you are right mine has 48 pages, and I am very glad I did apply for it! I also have a Euroland passport (had one for 30 years) and its only got 34 pages. The new UK business passport has 50 pages.
Kind regards and be safe.

There's good visa information at the IATA website, however remember that (for obvious reasons) it's designed for air travellers. Bear in mind that some visas can take a while - Australia can be a month's wait. Some countries require you to apply at a specific consulate, either in your country of residence, or if they don't have a consulate in that country, in another consulate. For example, we have to get a South African visa in Caracas.

Build a spreadsheet (or just a table) with all of the countries you plan to visit, noting whether you need a visa, where you must get it (if not e-visa), what you need to provide (some countries require bank records for the last 3 months for example, which may be inconvenient to obtain if in remote regions), whether the visa runs from date of visa issue or date of entry to the country (e.g., for South Africa the visa runs from the date of issue, so if it's a 90 day visa and you still have 3 months of travel, it will have expired by the time you reach SA. Don;t believe websites (even official websites) - for example the Botswana Immigration website tells you that you can get a 90 day visa, but the consulate refused us more than 30 days, which made a big impact on our plans.

Some of these examples will not apply to a UK passport holder, but the points are valid. A UK passport still has a lot of "passport power", although it's dwindling now...

Thanks for all the feedback guys. This is my first post here and it's great to know there's such a helpful and knowledgeable bunch willing to help out.

I've bought the Adventure Motorcycling Handbook, I'm taking notes, making spreadsheets and building up a more detailed route and timeline.

I'm sure I'll be back here with more questions as I work through the planning.

Cheers!

Joe

your route
 

Good idea, I think RTW Roxy on You Tube took a similar route until she got stopped by Covid in Australia, maybe worth a look at her You Tube adventures.
Chris Scott's book is a great book, he certainly knows his stuff.
Take care and be kind!

Adding into this discussion - but at a (slight) divergence:
Has anyone ever used the services of folks like passportvisasexpress.com or traveldocs.com ?


We (my wife & I) are US Citizens, and we found that some of the countries we want to travel through are extremely restrictive on WHERE we can obtain our visas.

For instance, Cameroon requires Visas in advance (No visa upon arrival), but for us - as US Citizens - the visas can only be obtained at their embassy in Washington, DC.

Everything we've been able to find says - Essentially - "Nope. Go back to your home country for the Visa"

We're NOT interested in flying to Washington, DC from Benin or Nigeria in order to sit with our thumbs up our bums waiting on visas - only to fly BACK to Africa to continue our travels.

So....to repeat the question: Has anyone ever used the services of folks like passportvisasexpress.com or traveldocs.com ?

About 10 years ago I used an outfit called Travisa- I think it was for my Turkmenistan visa.

They walked my application, passport and all, over to the embassy and took care of it for me. I recall it was expensive but it worked.

Either way though, you have to send your passport to the embassy.

.............shu

Yeah.

>"Either way though, you have to send your passport to the embassy."

We understand that. We would be getting visas with our "Second" passport.


We just don't want to have to make a round-trip flight back to the USA simply because we can't get the visa either at the border or in a neighboring country......Takes all the fun out of it :thumbdown: