Visa- to prepare or not to prepare
 

Howdy yall,
I am from the United states. So far there are a lot of those "you can only apply no more than ninety days prior to entry of a country" visas. I don't see how possible that is when I live in the United States. Is there someone that could give me a general idea whether it would be stupid to just wing it. Ship the bike to Europe, head east through Russia ( I know that this can be one of the hardest countries to get into and must apply ahead of time) head south Mongolia, kazakstan, stans, east to India, west to Egypt, South through Africa, North through Africa, Ship bike to South America, head North back home. It is just to many deadlines to prepare for ahead of time. Any Pointer? I am planning on a Year long trip. :confused1:

For one thing, that is a heck of a long way to go in just one year! Don't forget to take the weather into account when you plan.
But that isn't what you asked for, is it? :offtopic:
You can get most visas on the road (in the country you are in at the time). But your schedule doesn't leave much leeway for waiting around for a visa...
One thing you should be aware of, though, is that recently Russia is requiring that you apply for a visa in your home country in most cases. Make sure you have that before leaving.
By the way, how are you planning to get from the stans to India or even neighboring Pakistan? Afghanistan=dangerous, Iran=Americans usually can't get a visa, China=must go with an (expensive) guide.

I'm having the same issue.

After extensive research...I'm not any closure to an answer. Half the country websites say that you cannot apply at the border or you have to apply in your home country, and then I read reports of riders that have crossed the very same border and they applied for their visa on the spot. It seems to me that the countries that you have to pre-plan for is Brazil, India, and Russia. Can anyone confirm or add to this list?

China is another one of those places I have spent a lot of time on. My findings resulted in two methods. You can bring your own bike in and pay the escort fees, which is very expensive. OR you can fly in to a city (Shanghai for instance) and purchase a bike that is already registered/licensed/legal by a citizen. The bike and registraton will be transferred to you, and you won't have a problem riding China.

I was told by our local operater that Americans can only get a visa for Iran if they are on an official tour group thing. That was his line anyway.

I met an American who managed to get a Russian visa in Almaty Kazakhstan, but he waited a while for this. Also heard of an American in Beijing wo managed to get a Russian visa. Purely word of mouth however.

Sudan could be an issue for Americans, it was for 2 in my group, but managed it with a bit of waitng around and phone calls.

I'm American. Most visas can be bought as you go, one or two or a half-dozen at a time in neighboring capitals. That's how it's normally done, but as Chris says it'll take time. Of course, you don't have time for the trip you're planning anyway, but yes, that's another story entirely.

Brazil can be bought in neighboring countries. I've purchased India visa in London, but can't say I know how it works elsewhere. Two years ago it was possible, though slow, to buy a Russian visa in Estonia. Don't know if that's still current.

Hope this helps.

Mark

Before
 

I can't offer specific advice for individual countries but my general advice would be to get as many visas sorted in advance as you possibly can. You have your home phone, internet, postal service and "Western" standards of organisation on your doorstep before you go

If you have unlimited free time and have given up everything to travel round the world, then getting visas as you go is fine.

But for me, and quite a few other people I've talked to, the big trip can be more a "visa hunt" than anything else and your number one priority for the trip becomes the sucessful acquisition of visas, more than anything else.

And of course you have to head into the cities to get the visas - good if you like cities, expensive places to stay of you don't.

Have fun :scooter:

Given your itinerary, I wouldn’t bother with securing visas in advance for Africa or South America.

You can secure visas throughout Africa. You’ll need a lot of them, and they are not cheap – about $75 USD average on the west side. Bring lots of head shot photos! Angola can be problematic, and you’ll want to monitor Angola visa reports here, and Lonely Planet Thorn Tree forum has good info too.

In South America the only visa you (as an American) would need is Brazil, no problem to wing that.

Dude, you need to rethink your timeframe or your itinerary. No way can you do that RTW ride in one year :eek3: ... unless you are absolutely hellbent for leather every single day 24/7/365 and are extraordinarily lucky in avoiding problems & delays … and even then. Good luck ~~

Mark

That's a hell of a mission for only one year ...

To get even close to that timeframe you'd have to have all the central asian visas sorted before departure. You can get them on the road, but it can take a very long time (if things go wrong we are talking 3-4 weeks per visa). Also, getting a Chinese visa in Central Asia is a major pain, unless you have a lot of cash to burn. Also bear mind that getting visas in your home country is often a lot easier and faster. Sometimes it's easier to mail your passport home, have a friend apply for the visa by post in your home country, and mail the passport back to you. That's about 7 days total for a pretty much guaranteed visa, rather than 4 weeks for a maybe.

So yeah, you can wing it, but only if your timeframe and travelling style allows it.

If you plan to go through China, then you should probably have a solution for this before worrying about visas ;-)

Hey Mark, where did you go to get your Brazil visa?
I'm a about a week from BA and thinking about spending a couple months in Brazil.
Thanks Ricky

Ricky, you can get the Brazil visa in Buenos Aires at the Brazilan consulate. Bring a couple of passport photos and say obrigado a few times. Was a two-day turnaround a few years ago. Enjoy BA ... ! :palm:

Hey thanks man,
When I get to BA, I'll look the bike over really well and decide about going or not. How did you get your bike home? Did you return to BA or fly out from Colombia?