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advice 
visas
Visa Advice
Information correct at 1/March/2002
Summary
It is probably best to organise visas before you
leave. We met cyclists who arranged their visas is their
home country and there visas were always cheaper and
'better' than ours (i.e. multiple entry and longer duration).
You also do away with the stress and hassle of arranging
them en route. It's not 100% certain that you can obtain
all the necessary visas whilst on-the-road.
General Information
The following information is purely based on our own
experiences and the experiences of other who we have
met on this trip.
- We obtained no visas before we left Britain
- This information is for British citizens only (unless
otherwise stated)
- All of our visas and extensions have each required
2 or more passport photos. Probably best to carry
a large stock for the journey. These can be taken
very cheaply anywhere along the journey at camera
shops
- We found an invaluable source for up-to date-visa
information is the 'Thorntree' on the Lonely Planet
website. Go to lonelyplanet.com.
Anyone, anywhere can leave a question on this service
and will almost definitely get a reply from fellow
travellers within a day or so - very useful
- No visas were required until Turkey
Definitions
Visa Duration - This is how long you are allowed
to stay in a country. Extensions are usually available
to prolong this period.
Visa Extensions - A visa can normally be extended,
allowing you to spend longer in that country. For example,
we had a 30-day Iranian visa, but we extended it to
60 days because we needed longer to travel through.
This is normally a straightforward process, which costs
extra money.
Visa Validity - This is how long you have to
enter a country after the visa has been issued. For
example, we applied for and received a 30-day Iranian
visa while we were in Istanbul. The validity of this
visa was 3 months. So we had up to 3 months from the
day we received the visa to enter Iran. Once in Iran
we were allowed to spend up to 30 days there.
Go straight to:
Eastern Europe Turkey
Iran Pakistan
India Nepal
Post charityride
countries:
China Mongolia
Russia
Baltic States
Belarus
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Country Specifics
Eastern Europe
No visas were required until Turkey. EU citizens
can travel freely through Slovakia, Hungary, Romania
and Bulgaria.
Turkey
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Type
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Tourist Multiple Entry
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Duration
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3 Months
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Validity
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Immediate
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Cost
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£10 GBP
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Issued at
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The Bulgarian/Turkey Border at Edirne
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Time taken to issue
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10 Minutes
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Extensions available?
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?
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Notes
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This is a simple procedure, but make
sure that you have a £10 note if
a UK citizen, or other currency (Dollars)
at the border.
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Iran
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Type
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Tourist Single Entry
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Duration
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30 Days
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Validity
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2 Months
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Cost
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$60 USD
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Issued at
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Iranian Consulate, Istanbul, Turkey
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Time taken to issue
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10 Days
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Extensions available?
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Yes (see below)
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Notes
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An Iranian visa was not available at
the Turkey/Iran border. This visa must
be obtained in advance of arriving at
Iran. We opted to apply for our visas
in Istanbul. This proved to be a simple,
but lengthy process. A few people we met
in Istanbul said that they had waited
slightly longer. But Istanbul is a great
place to spend the time. Everyone we met
who applied for a visa in Istanbul got
one. When applying it is probably best
not to mention that you're on bikes. It
is also advisable to wear conservative
clothing to the Iranian consulate and
keep legs and arms covered. Women must
wear headscarfs at the consulate. The
visa's validity was 60 days. This means
that you have to enter Iran within 60
days of the visa being issued. The 30
day period starts from the date you enter.
We applied for a visa extension in Shiraz
(South Iran). This extended our visa by
a further 30 days and cost $20. If you
fail at Istanbul, don't worry, try again
in Ankara and nearer the border at Erzurum.
We met UK tourists in Iran who spent hundreds
of dollars going through visa agencies
back in the UK thinking that was the best
way to get one - wrong! They were
only issued 10 day visas, so the moral
of the story is to go straight to an Iranian
consulate or Embassy and apply direct
- cut out that middle man!
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Pakistan
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Type
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Tourist Single Entry
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Duration
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30 Days
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Validity
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3 Months
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Cost
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$30 USD
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Issued at
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Pakistan Consulate, Zahedan, SE Iran
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Time taken to issue
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3 hours
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Extensions available?
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Yes - although we did not
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Notes
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The consulate at Zahedan is a small,
friendly and an 'informal' one. We met
a Slovenian there who has been travelling
overland to India every winter for 20
years and always applies for his Pakistan
Visa here. If you are not British or American
your Visa will cost $1 - $3!
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India
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Type
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Tourist Multiple Entry
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Duration
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6 Months
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Validity
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Immediate
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Cost
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$50 USD
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Issued at
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Indian Consulate, Istanbul, Turkey
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Time taken to issue
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7 days
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Extensions available?
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No
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Notes
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An Indian visa was not available at the
Pakistan/India border. This visa must
be obtained in advance of arriving at
India. You might not want to do the same
as us. The visa validity is immediate
i.e. the 6 month duration starts as soon
as the visa is issued. Also this visa
is not extendable. It took us 14 weeks
to reach the Indian border from Istanbul,
which meant that our maximum time in India
was 11 weeks. This did not turn out be
a problem. But you may find that your
plans may change. You might want to spend
more time in India, or go back into India
after Nepal to explore Rajasthan, or whatever.
If you leave getting that visa until,
say, Pakistan, then you leave you're options
open for longer.
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Nepal
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Type
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Tourist Single Entry
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Duration
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60 Days
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Validity
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Immediate
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Cost
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$30 USD
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Issued at
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India/Nepal Border post at Mahendra Nagar
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Time taken to issue
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Less than 1 hour
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Extensions available?
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Yes - an extra 30 days costs $50.
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Notes
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A very pleasant, relaxed border. It is
in the extreme west of the country and
you can cycle along the spectacular Mahendra
Highway along Nepal to Kathmandu. Be careful
cycling this route though, because the
route goes through a tiger inhabited national
park for 10 kms. The tigers here have
attacked a few people in the past and
the park guards may not let you cycle
through (but we managed it!). You may
have to catch the bus instead for the
10kms.
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Country Specifics
- Post charityride travels (Matt's Experiences)
China
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Type
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Tourist Single Entry
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Duration
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30 Days
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Validity
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3 Months
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Cost
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$55 USD (Same Day Service) $30 USD (4
Day service)
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Issued at
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Chinese Embassy, Delhi, India
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Time taken to issue
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Same day
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Extensions available?
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Yes
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Notes
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Probably best not to mention that you
are cycling or that you are going to Tibet
(if you intend to). I said that I intended
to fly to Beijing and stick to the northern
cities. It is currently almost impossible
for independent travellers to cross from
Nepal to Tibet. The authorities will not
currently allow it. The only way is to
spend US$250+ on an 5-8 day organised
jeep tour from Kathmandu to Lhasa. Once
you reach Lhasa you are free to leave
the tour and continue through China. To
enter Tibet you need a Special Tibet Permit.
The individual tour overland tour agencies
organise this as part of the fee. The
Chinese rules seem to change all the time
so it is worth checking the situation.
We've heard that Islamabad is a good place
to get a Chinese visa - Pakistan/China
relations are good.
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Mongolia
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Type
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Transit Single Entry
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Duration
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48 Hours
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Validity
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As stated on train ticket
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Cost
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$30 USD (3 day service) $60 USD (1 Day
service)
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Issued at
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Mongolian Embassy, Beijing, China
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Time taken to issue
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Same day
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Extensions available?
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?
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Notes
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A very simple and straight forward visa
to obtain. Just need to fill the form
in and supply 2 passport photos. US citizens
do not need a visa to enter Mongolia.
I went for a transit visa because I was
just passing through in a day on the train.
A tourist visa is also easy to obtain
if you plan to stop off in Ulan Bator
and need more than a transit visa.
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Russia
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Type
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Tourist Single Entry
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Duration
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As defined at application
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Validity
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As defined at application
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Cost
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$52 USD (5 Working Day Service) $82
USD (3 Working Day service) $102 USD (Same
Working Day Service)
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Issued at
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Russian Embassy, Beijing, China
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Time taken to issue
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Same day
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Extensions available?
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Apparently possible, but difficult
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Notes
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For a Tourist visa you need an 'invitation'
and 'tourist voucher'. This is basically
proof that you have accommodation booked
in Russia before you get there. For this
you need a hostel/hotel that gives a visa
support service. I used the G+R Hostel
in Moscow (see hostels.ru
and click on Visa Support). The procedure
is:
- Look at hostels.ru
and print off the visa support form
and credit card charge form
- Fill in your passport and credit card
details on these forms. Remember that
the Card Verification Code (CVC) is
the 3 digit number printed on the rear
of your credit card
- Fax these forms off to Moscow - maybe
using a hotel fax or the International
Post Office fax service in Beijing (expensive
- about $3 per page)
- Wait about 1 day for the Invitation
and Tourist Voucher to return (via fax).
You need to supply an incoming fax number.
You can receive faxes at the International
Post Office in Beijing (for a fee -
about $1.50 per page)
- Take all paperwork to the Russian
Embassy
An alternative is to use the visatorussia.com
website. You will also need photocopies
of your passport, the train ticket and
health insurance certificates. Alternatively
you can try for a Transit Visa. For this
you do not need a tourist voucher or invitation.
You do need proof of an onward ticket
from Moscow. A Transit visa is currently
valid for 10 days. Once in Moscow (or
St Petersburg) you need to register the
visa (tourist or transit). The G+R Hostel
does this for free if you use their visa
support service.
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The Baltic States (Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania)
No visa of any type is required for EU citizens.
Simply turn up to the border.
Belarus
A visa is required, even for British citizens
and other EU countries. Sorry, I have no other
details.
Links
Foreign and Commonwealth Office - fco.gov.uk
(click on travel advice)
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