Comments on: How to Navigate the Visa Process

By: Alan

Alan — Thu, 11 Nov 2010 16:06:47 +0000

Travel to Russia, and living there, was a visa nightmare in the late 90′s. Now it is even worse. We used to be able to get one year visas. We would have to start planning for the new visas at least 3 months in advance of getting a new one. Then we would have to go our of the country and get it. Alan

By: Dee

Dee — Tue, 18 May 2010 15:15:57 +0000

Hola Dayna,

Our plan was to keep our US medical coverage and have travel insurance too, but turns out our US policy wouldn’t continue to cover us once we were abroad more than 90 days. We paid for doctor’s appointments in Spain out of pocket and figured the travel insurance would cover us if something catastrophic happened. The doctor we used in Spain was Dutch and had went to medical school in California. An office visit to his private practice was about $55 and prescriptions never more than $15.

You might also be interested in my original blog, Sieze el Dia, which is a little more personal to our family and includes different stories.

Good luck with your travel planning and visas.

By: Dayna Palmer

Dayna Palmer — Tue, 18 May 2010 13:25:10 +0000

Hi Dee,

Thank you so much for this post. My family is planning a RTW trip that is not of a definite time period at this point. We were thinking about applying for Visas just so we don’t have to deal with the maximum 90 day stay in 180 days in the Schengen countries. Spain is where we are looking at as well.

I am Canadian but a US resident but my husband and children are US citizens so it will be an interesting process to see if I have to jump through any additional hoops

The break down of costs was great!! It gives me an idea of what we need to prepare for. One question, did you keep your US medical coverage and then have travel insurance over and above that??

Looking forward to reading more of your blog!

Dayna Palmer

By: Dee

Dee — Mon, 15 Mar 2010 16:58:54 +0000

@ Posie Patchwork

Yes, I imagine the Army would do most of the legwork, though you would probably have to provide a lot of the documents.

Even moving with a company, where the HR department does a lot of this, I imagine you still need to track down multiple copies of birth certificates, marriage certificates, doctor and FBI letters.

By: Dee

Dee — Mon, 15 Mar 2010 16:54:26 +0000

@ wandermom

Oh, my, yes! Having that combination of passports must make a world of difference!

By: Dee

Dee — Mon, 15 Mar 2010 16:52:27 +0000

@ Zhu

Yes, immigration is another story. I have such new appreciation for anyone trying to immigrate and the processes to go through.

By: Zhu

Zhu — Fri, 12 Mar 2010 02:46:15 +0000

This is a great post, and it perfectly sums up information a lot of people tend to overlook. Yes, visas are important. And remember, better safe than sorry so do apply early and don’t underestimate the power of bureaucracy!

Thanks to my French and my Canadian passport, I think the only travel visas I ever applied for were for China and Australia. Plus immigrating to Canada, of course, but that’s a different story!

By: wandermom

wandermom — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 20:50:13 +0000

Wow! You’ve made me appreciate the fact that we’re a two-passports-each household (1 US, 1 EU) much more than I realized!
wandermom´s last blog ..Road Trip Ireland Part II – Dublin To Belfast

By: Dinners & Dreams

Dinners & Dreams — Fri, 26 Feb 2010 11:16:25 +0000

Very informative, Thank you. Btw, I have blogged about my 3 favorite places and tagged 5 bloggers. Thanks for tagging me:)

Nisrine
Dinners & Dreams´s last blog ..Culinary Dictionary: Letter D

By: Lemonade Makin' Mama

Lemonade Makin' Mama — Tue, 23 Feb 2010 23:05:09 +0000

Just stopping by to thank you for visiting me on my SITS day and leaving some blog love!

Blessings,
LMM