This year, for visitors from China, European countries relaxed the regulations on applying for tourist visas, reducing processing times, eliminating the requirement for travel insurance and introducing a one-year visa for the Schengen Zone. More than one million Chinese tourists applied for visas to Schengen nations in 2013, making China the third-largest source of applications after Russia and Ukraine.
Dear Globetrotter:
Welcome to the 464th issue of your monthly foreign-travel magazine. If you’re reading ITN for the first time, here’s what it’s about.
On Jan. 1, 2009, Argentina will begin collecting a reciprocity tourist fee from visitors of all (22) countries that charge Argentineans for visas. For Americans, the fee will be about $134. It will cover the visitor’s reentry for a 10-year period.
The fee is in addition to any required visa. For Americans, a tourist visa currently costs $30 for processing and is good for 90 days.
Beginning in June 2009, any traveler entering the U.S. by land or sea from Canada, Mexico, the Caribbean or Bermuda will be required to show a document proving both citizenship and identity. A U.S. passport will suffice, but many travelers living in border communities who frequently cross the land borders are signing up for “passport cards.”
Issued by the State Department after application and verification, the credit-card-sized card has a photo and ID information printed on it and encoded in a chip.
In Zambia, the visa requirements no longer will be waived for tourists traveling with a tour group, and visa costs have increased.
The multiple-entry (3-year) visa is the only one offered to U.S. tourists, and it costs $135. U.K. travelers pay £75 for a single- or £240 for a double/multiple-entry visa (each valid three months). All other nationals pay $50 for a single-, $80 for a double- or $160 a multiple-entry visa (three months each).
To reduce the overall delays at security gates, the Transportation Security Administration (www.tsa.gov) has started a system of Diamond Self-Select security screening lanes at select U.S. airports.
Travelers decide if they are “Expert” travelers (need minimal screening or assistance), “Casual” travelers (know the procedures but have multiple items needing screening) or “Family/Special Assistance” (need more time or help).
The new lanes are marked with signage similar to ski resorts: black diamond for expert, blue for experienced and green for beginners.
As of Jan. 31, 2008, all persons crossing land borders or sea borders into or out of the United States must show appropriate documents proving citizenship and identity.
Acceptable documents include a passport, a Trusted Traveler Card (NEXUS, SENTRI or FAST) or a military ID with travel orders. If a passport is not available, then U.S. citizens can show a government-issued photo ID (such as a driver’s license) and a birth certificate or naturalization certificate.
On Jan. 31, 2008, the price of a United States passport increased from $97 to $100 for an adult and from $82 to $85 for anyone under 16. The new, limited-use passport card (for land or sea crossings but not for air travel) now costs $45 adult and $35 child.
The newer European Union (EU) member countries Slovenia, Hungary, Slovakia, the Czech Republic, Poland, Lithuania, Estonia and Latvia on Dec. 20, 2007, became part of the “Schengen” agreement zone in which citizens of participating countries may cross land borders (but NOT air) without having to show passports.
As of Nov. 11, 2007, any Western visitor to Libya must provide an Arabic translation of his passport, even if he has a valid visa.
The change in policy was instituted without any notice, and several planeloads of tourists were turned away. Libya is currently the only country in the region with this requirement.