Visas Vary

Check here for the various types of visas.  Some visas require travelers to show travel plans, passport photos, and sometimes in-depth applications to be submitted at the country’s consulate here in the US. Don’t be surprised if you are told that it will take a number of weeks to issue the visa!  Most applications are simple, quick, and some can even be obtained upon arrival. Senior travelers, just make sure to double-check well in advance, so your plans don’t take a detour, like my sister-in-law’s did.

Is It a “Friendly Country” With the US?

Whether a country requires U.S. residents to obtain visas depends on the state of international relations between that country and the U.S. government. Most foreign countries will require a U.S. resident to obtain a visa before undertaking any kind of paid work. For tourist visits, many countries allow U.S. citizens and legal permanent residents to enter for a limited time without obtaining visas.

Most countries in Africa require all travelers from the U.S. to obtain visas before entry. Most Asian countries require U.S. tourists to obtain visas. For travel to India, U.S. nationals must obtain visas before arrival in the country. For tourist travel without undertaking paid work, U.S. residents are not required to have visas to enter the South American countries of Ecuador, Colombia, Venezuela, Guyana, Bolivia, Chile, Argentina or Uruguay. Most of these countries will allow tourist stays of between 30 and 180 days.

We live in an increasingly borderless world and we have access to many countries that were closed (or non-existent) 20 years ago. As I reported earlier, Americans are especially lucky with access to 169 countries visa free. Still, there are still many countries that Americans need advance visas to visit.

Visa applications and processing services can be costly and take a lot of time and energy to obtain, so figure in that into your travel planning but don’t let it discourage senior citizen travel. If you want to go beyond what I have submitted here, simply go to GOOGLE and input: Countries that require a visa for US citizens.  That’ll do it.  Good luck and be sure to check that your passport will be valid during your stay wherever you travel.  jeb