The Grown-Up's Guide to Running Away from Home, Second Edition: Making a New Life Abroad (20 page)

You can get most passport questions answered by calling the Federal Information Center. The toll-free number is (800) 688-9889. The touch-tone messages are available twenty-four hours a day for general information.

Even if you have a passport, double-check its expiration date before beginning your jaunt. Some countries won’t admit tourists with a passport that expires within the next six months, so renew well in advance.

A U.S. passport provides your identification as a United States citizen and is a valuable commodity overseas. In fact, there’s a considerable black market for U.S. passports, which, in the wrong hands, can be used for nefarious purposes, so guard your passport well from pickpockets. If you lose your passport, report the fact immediately to the local police and your nearest consulate.

In some countries, hotels will request your passport when you register in order to submit data to local authorities. Ask when it will be returned (usually the next morning) and don’t forget to pick it up. Your passport is essential for your travel. Once we checked into an Italian hotel, only to be told that the room was ready but the previous guest had left with his baggage—and the room key. “What if he doesn’t bring it back?” we asked. “Oh, he will,” said the clerk. “We have his passport.” We got the key soon after.

Unlike a passport, the United States government does not supply a visa to visit another country. The visa, as the State Department defines it, is “an endorsement or stamp placed in your passport by a foreign government that permits you to visit that country for a specified purpose and a limited time.”

You may or may not need a visa, depending on the country you plan to visit and the amount of time you intend to be there. Many countries permit tourists to visit for a reasonable length of time, such as a month or three months, using just a passport. However, if you intend to remain in a country for a longer period—say, six months or a year—a visa is usually required. Some countries require visas no matter how short your visit. For a brief list of typical requirements, see below.

To obtain a visa you must give your passport to the country you want to visit, so you need the passport before applying for the visa. The consulate or embassy of the country involved will provide specific details on their regulations for processing a visa application. This requires filling out countless forms and supplying background information detailing your reasons for wanting to stay in the country, your financial condition, and your health. You will need to provide several more photos such as you used for your passport, and you’ll pay a fee. It takes several weeks, often months, to get a visa, so plan well in advance.

In most cases you must get your visa in the United States before you leave the States and enter your destination country. Some countries will not issue a visa for you once you have left the United States.

For general information on visas call (800) 688-9889 (the same federal number used for passport information). However, you must talk to the embassy or consulate of the destination country for their specific requirements.

Entry regulations can change, so when you decide on a destination, verify the current entry requirements by contacting the consulate or embassy of the country (or countries) you will be visiting. As of this writing, here’s a sampling of the requirements in some of the countries you may choose to run away to.

Again, visa requirements can change. Do not rely on this list. Always double-check the current regulations with the nearest consulate or embassy for the country you intend to visit.

Every government wants a healthy populace, so they require immunizations to protect their people from you and to protect you from any health risks in their country.

Ask the consulate or embassy of your destination country if you need special immunizations—for example, against yellow fever, malaria, or cholera—or a proof of health before entering the country. In case of side effects, have your vaccinations several weeks in advance of your departure.

For your own protection, make sure other immunizations, such as tetanus, are current before you leave.

The consulate of your destination country can provide a list of duty-free items that you are allowed to bring with you or ship later. The consulate will also list the prohibited items, which may include pets or plants, weapons (even a pocket knife), light bulbs, or uncooked meats. Find out the specifics before you plan to take along that arsenal of Civil War rifles.

Illegal drugs will get you in major trouble no matter where you go—and in some countries can result in nightmare penalties that you wouldn’t dream of in the States. So, just don’t do it.

You won’t get in trouble over your heart medication, but if you do take any medications, keep them in their original containers to avoid unnecessary questions or delays at customs.

Every country—yes, even the United States—has its bureaucratic nightmares, and we have heard enough stories to put fear in the hearts of the most foolhardy. But chin up—chances are your road will be smooth if you use common sense and follow the regulations.

Even when the worst happens, it can be worked out by staying calm and trying a little persistence. In Portugal, Claire and Dick were notified that their shipping container with all their furniture couldn’t be delivered, but would be stored—at a cost that would support the country for the year—because their visas were late. They’d applied properly but had to leave the United States without them. Fortunately, they had arranged so far in advance that one of the customs personnel went out of his way to give permission for the furniture to enter. They got the visas five months later.

In France, a thirty-something couple entered on their passports, then remained in the country well past the three-month limit—seven years past
the limit, in fact. It wasn’t until they had a minor traffic run-in that they needed to prove residency. They ended up getting a residency permit automatically because they’d lived there so long. Go figure.

The point of these tales is not to tell you to ignore the system. You could be the one who gets caught and subjected to penalties. So check the specifics on your destination. Follow the rules, and network with other expatriates to find out the best ways to make the bureaucracy turn from a nightmare to … well, let’s just say a bad dream that you wake up from eventually. And when you wake up overlooking the Caribbean or a vineyard ripe with grapes or the cobblestone streets of a charming old-world village, you’ll proclaim it all worthwhile.

Although you could hitch on a freighter, let’s assume that running away from the United States means taking a plane. So at some point you will need to find a reasonably priced airfare. There are two problems with airfares when you’re leaving the country for a long period of time—going and coming back. Airlines don’t set up their best round-trip prices for travelers who plan to be gone more than thirty days. Sometimes they’ll give you ninety days or even a year, but the prices go up in relation to the time frame and freedom you’re buying.

I’ll give an example of how airlines ticket passengers and make it difficult to travel long-term. When we were planning to fly to Paris the cheapest flight was $950 round-trip if we came back within three months, but we knew we’d be wandering Europe for longer than that. Could we buy a one-way ticket for half that price? Not exactly. The one-way ticket was the same price! A second option was a ticket valid up to a year, for $1,400 each. Ouch.

Meanwhile, a sale appeared with tickets to Paris direct for just $400 round-trip. The only hitch was that the return was assumed to be within a week. It was an easy decision to buy this ticket. We just didn’t use the return portion. We took the chance that we’d find another sale or consolidator ticket to return.

If you’re going to use just half a ticket, book the return anyway. The airline will require it for the round-trip ticket. However, once you’re at your destination and know you won’t be using the return half, it’s only fair to call the airline and let them know, so someone else can purchase your seat.

Warning: The above works only with your outbound flight. Don’t
ever
attempt to use the return half of a round-trip without using the outbound ticket. If you don’t show up for the first leg of the flight, your reservation will be canceled completely.

Getting a good price on your flight can be as simple as planning your trip overseas during the off-season, being flexible with your flight times, or making the purchase as far in advance as possible.

European destinations tend to be less expensive in winter, from approximately November 15 to March 15. The reverse may be true for Caribbean, Mexican, South American, or other warm-weather destinations. Plan your flight for off-peak days of the week. The most expensive days are over weekends, so take a midweek flight. As a runaway, you’re not tied to a schedule, so enjoy the savings by being flexible with your time.

You might not find a sale immediately, but don’t give up. Remember those $400 tickets we found? Well, originally the price was based on leaving no later than March 8. Unfortunately, our visas wouldn’t be ready until March 15. What to do? Besides panicking, we hounded other airlines, but found nothing even close to that low price. More than a week later, becoming desperate, I called the first airline back. They had just extended the sale to March 15. We had our sale price and the later date too.

A good travel agent can scout out the sales through their handy computers. They can review countless options in airlines, routing, and dates to determine the best tickets for you. They may find a ticket with a stopover that’s vastly less expensive, or discover that, if you can wait two weeks, an airline will be starting winter sale prices.

I often find it easier to call airlines myself to compare prices and times directly. If you prefer this method, use this list of toll-free airline numbers for information, ticket schedules, and reservations. If you want to begin the search online, see
Chapter 17
for some of the more popular airline search engines and web sites.