If you cross certain boundaries and of itself often becomes a long process of queues and bureaucracy, there is a curious document called ‘visa «that even I can not understand its usefulness. Yes, yes, I know that maybe in the beginning it was a way to make control inputs to the country, but today it looks more like an extra source for economic gain that control mechanism.

Photography by the mechanical turk

How I came to this conclusion? Preparing my trip, which will pass through several countries, I’ve found that no single type of visa but depending on the government, the agreements you have with the country of origin and basically its tourism policy, we will have different procedures for crossing the border.

Types of visa:

(Always having as origin Spain, since the conditions depend on the nationality of the traveler)

Case 1’re in luck! You do not need a visa, just a passport that should generally be valid for at least six months after the date on which you plan to leave the country. (Eg Chile and Argentina)

Case 2’re on a roll! Need a passport valid for 6 months and entering the country will join a visa free of charge if the purpose of your trip is tourist for a specified period of time is usually 90 days. (ex. South Africa and Namibia)

Case 3 only have to pay! Need a passport valid for 6 months and when you get to control inputs of the country’s border have to pay a certain amount with which you get a visa for tourism (ex. Cambodia, Nepal) The amount payable is usually between the € 25-60.

Case 4 is beginning to be complicated! In addition to providing a passport valid for 6 months, you will have to arrange your visa before arrival in the country, either before you leave home at the embassy of the country of destination or at an intermediate point of travel, going to the embassy country you want to visit (usually always in capitals). In this case, the procedures are characterized by their slowness. Take for example India. The visa must manage before you arrive. Will need to have our passport valid for 6 months, fill out a form, it is also desirable to attach a photocopy of the confirmation of our flight, this last detail is complicated by arriving by land from a neighboring country. For processing in the event that we request from Spain and do not live in Madrid, where the embassy, and if we process individually, must have an average cost of 50 € for the visa, about 2 € -3 for the cost of money order and about 17 € shipping costs certificate (bearing in mind that you also have to attach the return shipping). In total, around 70 € for the visa, plus an average waiting time of about two weeks, they can easily become three and a half. (Eg India and Vietnam)

Case 5 You ask to change your destination! But the above case is more complicated, if we want to travel to countries like Russia, the process takes another somersault to verify that indeed we are keen to see the country. In this case, the customs authorities are not satisfied with the passport, the form, proof of medical insurance to cover the room, copies of the confirmation of the flight and pay the visa fee, but if you want to get the visa, also need an invitation letter written in Russian by an acquaintance, friend or relative, and in his absence one of the hotel where you will stay. Usually, the second option is the most common if you are lucky enough to have friends in Russia, so the adventure begins. It will not confirm your hotel reservation, but has to be some sorts of ‘voucher’ particular result, although many hotels have a reservation with them, make it easy you charge for these documents. Scams, that is also because you will not understand a word of the letter unless you have an advanced level in Cyrillic, the application will be very long, and if you plan to travel by car and travel a long distance, also need special permits.

In short, obtaining visas is any evidence of good organization, patience and of course we can not forget to reserve a portion of our budget for visas, because we will need. A website that I can help is visados.org, engaged in the processing of visas and you can consult it to delegate the paperwork or simply to inform you, as sometimes your site has the most current data that the very pages of the embassies.

Good luck!