Documents needed to travel overseas?

[hercamore]

Help, I am confused. We have never traveled overseas, and my son wants to visit his gf this Christmas who will going to college in Wales, England for a year.

Now he says he needs a Visa to travel. I thought you only needed a passport. What's the difference? Are they the same? I tried to do a search, but got a lot of govt mumbojumbo. Thanks.


herc.

 

[Sirius]

Check out this page:

Passport Visa Requirements

Looks like a Visa is required for stays over 6 months. She will need a visa and I'll bet that's why he thinks he needs one - but he doesn't.

UNITED KINGDOM (England, Northern Ireland, Scotland, and Wales) - *Passport required. Visa not required for stay of up to 6 months. Medical exam, including AIDS test, sometimes required. For additional information, consult the Consular Section of the British Embassy, 19 Observatory Circle, NW, Washington, DC 20008 (202/588-7800) or nearest Consulate General: CA (310/477-3322), IL (312/346-1810), or NY (212/745-0200). Internet: www.britainusa.com

 

[Carl]

For Western Europe vacationing requires only a passport - unless a long stay is anticipated.

 

[tiggerlover]

I have to agree with the others, a passport should be all your son needs. My son and I had to have a Visa to come over here, (because we were coming for three years) and the Visa was only good for a year. Once we got here we needed to apply for a Sourgiorno Permit, which supercede's the Visa and is basically a permit to live here for a specific period of time. Anyway, that is way more information than you needed...sorry.

 

[hercamore]

LOk, thanks for info.

DS had called the county courthouse and they told him he needed a Visa and show up with ID and $85 to apply for it. Yes, GF already has Visa.

I'll talk to him tonight.

 

[Nutsy]

I think it would depend on the length of the stay. But usually a passport is all that is required for a holiday. Unless is he is planning on working whilst there, I really can't see why he'd need a Visa.

 

[Mskanga]

Regardless of how long he stays, he still needs a passport , that's where the visa's get stamped if needed.

 

[TZMOM]

We're going to London for a week in August and all we needed to get was a passport. I think your son's GF needs the visa since she's going to school there for a bit. For just a Christmas visit, I really don't think he'd need one. Post over on the UK board and ask - everyone has been great help to me about planning for our trip - I'm sure they'd have some ideas as well.

 

[Dizzy-Disney4]

Yep going to England in October and all we need is our passports. I never had one and yes thats what I said about the 85.00..YIKES. You need two separate checks, one to the postmaster (if you do it at the postoffice) and one to the US State department I think it was. Don't forget two passport photos and a certified copy of birthcertificate. They keep it but send it back supposedly. Also need a photo id like a drivers license. Takes about 6 weeks to get it in the mail.

 

[PamOKW]

He will need a passport. That is issued by the U.S. Government and he'll need that to get back into the U.S.

A Visa is a requirement of the country you will visit and it issued by that country. Our government site indicates that one isn't currently needed for short-term travel. If you want to be sure, you might want to check the British government's site. Unfortunately, it doesn't seem to be working just right this weekend because it says they are performing an upgrade. You might want to look at it on Tuesday to confirm a visa isn't required.

British Requirements

Here's the U.S. goverment site with the passport information

Getting A Passport

 

[TTFN]

Hope I'm not hijacking your thread, Hercamore, but my daughter is also going to Wales in the fall for one semester. Where is your son's gf going? DD will be in Swansea. I plan to get my passport up to date so that (heaven forbid) if something happens I can get to her. She needs only a passport since she will only be there for 4 months.

Beth

 

[sandramaac]

You need to check out the requirements of the country you will be visiting. Some places do require a visa in addition to a passport. You need to go the state dept web site and check out each country that he will be visiting. If you find that more than one country he will be visiting will need a visa, you may want to find a visa service that will obtain that for you. A visa requires that you send your original passport to that country,s consulate, and it is stamped inside with a visa stamp.

 

[hercamore]

All right more good info., thanks.

Jeez, they keep the birth certificate when you apply. What's up with that?

He may go to France., too.

TTFN pm you.


herc.