Visa Information

Bali

Volunteers must obtain a Sosial Budaya Visa prior to their arrival into Bali. To apply for this Visa you’ll need a sponsor letter that our partnership foundation in Bali can provide. To organise this you will need to scan and email us a colour photocopy of your passport.

The cost for the visa varies for different countries, but it will be around US$45, and must be paid by the volunteer. This Visa is valid for 60 Days and is extendable. After the first 60 days it can be extended monthly, each visa extension costs around US$60. In total you’ll be able to stay up to six month in Indonesia. If you wish to stay longer than six months in Indonesia you need to leave the country and purchase another Sosial Budaya Visa. Please check with your closest embassy or consulate for processing times and what kind of documents you need to apply for the visa initially.

NOTE: Please make sure at the Embassy, that the name of the sponsor appears on the Visa, otherwise you’ll have nothing more than a 60 Days tourist Visa. Once you have received your Visa you have to enter Indonesia within 90 Days of the issuing date.

Cambodia

There are two options for your visa depending on the length of your stay:

Business Visa ($25)
This visa is valid for exactly one month and is available on arrival at Phnom Penh Airport or Siem Reap International Airport, Angkor. Visas are also available from Immigration at the border posts of Bavet, Poi Pet and Koh Kong. We suggest you purchase a Business Visa as it is easier to extend than a Tourist Visa should you wish to stay on.

NGO Visa ($15) (You must be arriving by air)
This visa is valid for three months and is easily extended.

If you will be volunteering for more than one month please send a scanned copy of your passport to apply@travel-to-teach.org three weeks before you are planning to arrive in Phnom Penh to ensure the visa is arranged on time. You can pay the NGO Visa fee on arrival. On arrival at Phnom Penh Airport wait at the immigration counter for someone to come with your letter. Do not apply for any other visa!

Please Note: Volunteers at Seametry Children's Village, are required to provide evidence of a police check-up prior to starting their placement.

China

You MUST obtain a 90 Day (3 Month) Class L Tourist Visa in order to enter the country. On arrival in Shanghai, we will help you to transfer your visa into a one to three Month Class F Business Visa. At the time of writing these visas cost approximately 21USD/74USD respectively. You will need to pay this cost yourself, and you should reimburse this money to us when we go to extend your visa. We will confirm the exact cost at the time of upgrade.

Costa Rica

Citizens of the US, Canada, most Eu nations, Japan and Israel receive a 90 day visa on arrival in Costa Rica. Citizens of Australia, New Zealand and Ireland also do not require a visa in advance but only receive 30 days upon arrival.

If you are staying for more than 3 months you will need to leave the country for at least 72 hours to receive another 90 days visa. Most volunteers use this as an opportunity to visit neighbouring Nicaragua or Panama.

El Salvador

Immigration requires that visitors entering El Salvador have a visa or tourist card. You can obtain a visa from your local consulate or on arrival. The tourist card is generally issued for 90 days and can be purchased for US$10 at your port of entry. Check with your local consulate to see if you need to arrange a visa in advance. Visas for US citizens are free. Citizens of some countries may have to pay a fee for their visas. More information is available at http://www.rree.gob.sv/sitio/sitiowebrree.nsf/pages/svisas_requisitospais origin

Galapagos

Ecuador welcomes tourists and travelers from every country. For citizens of the United States, Canada and most European countries and Asia traveling to Ecuador for tourism, business or study do not require a Visa unless these visitors expect to stay in Ecuador for more than 180 days in one calendar year (that is, 180 days adding every entry in one year), or if they are drawing income from an Ecuadorian source. Normally, the immigration officers will give tourists 90 day visas, but these can easily be extended to 180 days in the Migration Office in either Quito or Galapagos.

Ghana

You will need a visa to enter Ghana and you must apply for this in your country of residence, where you will need to apply for a visa through the Ghana High Commission, Consulate or Embassy.

Applying for a tourist visa:

• You will need a valid certificate of inoculation against Yellow Fever. This will be inspected at your point of entry.
• Your passport must be valid for at least 6 months from your date of departure from Ghana.
• You need to have at least 3 blank pages in your passport.
• Postal applications are accepted.
• Please check with the Ghana embassy in your country for the visa fee.

Your Ghana Visa will become valid once it is entered into your passport. Therefore, you need to apply for your visa one month before departure. Once in Ghana, you can then easily extend it during your orientation in Accra.

Please note: It takes a minimum of four (4) working days to process an visa application submitted at your specific embassy/consulate counter and a minimum of ten (10) working days for postal applications.

So please leave yourself enough time!

India

You will need to get an Indian visa before entering the country. We recommend that you apply for a Tourist Visa which is valid for 3 or 6 months and costs up to €50. It is easier to do this before leaving your home country. You should hold a valid passport for the entire duration of your travel. The purpose of your visit is as a tourist. If you mention that you wish to work or volunteer you will complicate your application. There are two ways to apply for your visa:

Visit your local Indian Consulate
You must bring your passport, two passport photos and the €50 fee (cash or postal order only). You can fill out the visa form at the consulate or download and fill it out in advance from your local Indian consulate's website. Applications are normally submitted in the morning and collected in the afternoon (check the times at your local consulate). Sometimes visa's are processed the same day but it may take 2-3 working days.

Post your application
Download and fill out the visa form and post along with your passport, two passport photos and the €50 fee (usually cash and postal order only although some embassies now allow you to pay your fees online). Please note you will also have an additional postage fee - check the website of your local consulate or embassy.

Laos

15 Day Visa (approx $35)
You can either get a 15 day visa on the border on arrival for around $30 to $42 depending on your nationality (plus an extra dollar if you arrive on a weekend or if you do not have passport size photographs). Please note that you can also pay in Thai Baht however the exchange rate is unfavorable.

30 Day Advance Visa (1180 Baht)
You can get a 30 day visa in advance from a Laos Embassy or from travel agents in many Thai cities including Chiang Mai, Nongkhai, Chiang Khong and Udon Thani. Volunteers often get their Laos Visa in Bangkok, it takes 1 day if you leave your passport overnight and costs around 1180 Baht, although you can pay extra (approx. 300 Baht) for an express service to get the visa in a couple of hours. Anywhere else will take 1-3 days. Visa extensions can be made once in Laos. Your coordinator will help you with this process. Visa extension fees cost $2 per day and must be paid by the volunteer.

Mexico

Mexico welcomes tourists and travelers from every country. For citizens from American, Canada, most European countries and Asia a visa is not required for up to 180 days and if in possession of a Tourist Card/FMT form, which is issued free of charge on flights into Mexico. (Australia, Iceland, Israel, Korea (Rep), Monaco, South Africa Austria, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Estonia, France, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Portugal, Slovak Republic and Slovenia who can stay for up to 90 days without a visa, and Venezuela for stays of up to 30 days). If staying for a longer period of time, a visa can be easily acquired from your local Mexican Embassy.

Nepal

A Visa can be obtained from the Royal Nepalese Embassy or Consulate office located in your country. It is also possible to get a Visa upon arrival at the Tribhuwan International Airport in Kathmandu. However, it is recommended that you obtain your Visa prior to arrival as the Visa lines at the airport tend to be quite long.

The fee for a Single Entry Tourist Visa to Nepal for 60 days is US $60. Tourist visa can be extended for a maximum of 150 days. The Visa extension fee for 30 days is US $30.

Thailand

There are many options for your visa depending on the length of your stay.

One month tourist visa (free)
This is valid for 30 days and is granted free on arrival in Thailand by air. If you arrive at a land border you will currently only be given a 15 day visa. Please note you can only have three free one month visa stamps in any six month period.

Two/Three month single entry tourist visa (1,200 Baht - approx. 24€)
This is valid for two/three months after your arrival in Thailand. If you leave the country during this time your visa will become invalid. This can be arranged in advance at any Thai Consulate/Embassy. For a list of Thai Embassy's around the world see www.thaiembassy.org.

If you are staying in Thailand for more than a month and do not have time to arrange a 2 month visa, you can simply get your free stamp on arrival and then cross over into Laos after 30 days and apply for it there.

It's quite a simple process:
To revalidate your visa you will have to come to Nongkhai. Simply catch a tuk-tuk to the friendship bridge where you will be able to get a bus across to Laos. On the far side of the friendship bridge you will get your Laos visa (approx $35).

Once in Laos you have two options, you can either return directly to Thailand receiving a 15 day visa extension or if you want a two month visa you will need to visit the Thai Embassy in Vientiane and spend one night in the city. Please note that for your Laos visa and for a two month Thai visa you will need passport photos and a photocopy of your passport. Vietiane is a 30 minute bus or taxi ride from the border.

You can also use your time in Laos to explore the country further and there are regular buses running from Vientiane to most of Laos including Vang Vieng and Luang Prabang.

Uganda

You will need a visa to enter Uganda. A passport valid for three months beyond the date of entry, visa and evidence of yellow fever vaccination are required. Visas are available at Entebbe Airport upon arrival or may be obtained from the Embassy of the Republic of Uganda. The current fee for a three month tourist visa obtained upon arrival at Entebbe Airport is US$50.00 in the States, £25 when obtained in the UK and €30 in Europe.

Volunteers should be aware that a visa does not determine how long a person may remain in Uganda. The Ugandan immigration officer at the port of entry will determine the length of authorized stay, which is generally from one to three months as a tourist. Extensions of duration of stay may be requested at Ugandan immigration headquarters on Jinja Road in Kampala. Airline companies may also require travelers to have a visa before boarding. Volunteers are advised to seek advice from their airlines before traveling.

Vietnam

You must arrange a visa for Vietnam in advance from your local consulate or embassy. A one month single entry tourist visa costs from $43-48 (depending on processing time). Some embassy's will process the visa the same day. Visa's can be extended for another month in some towns. Please note that your visa is valid from the date printed and not from the date you enter the country.