Visa and Travel Documents FAQ

What’s a Passport?

When should I apply for a passport?

What’s a visa and will I need one?

Are visas hard to obtain?

How much will this cost?

Are these costs covered in my AFS program tuition?

So if I need a visa, where can I get one?

What can AFS do to help me?

What if the visa is not issued by the time the program departs or not issued at all?

What’s a passport?

A passport is an international form of identification showing a person’s nationality. It is required of all individuals traveling internationally. If you still do not have a passport, you should obtain one now. Obtaining a U.S. passport generally takes about 6-8 weeks. The longer you wait to take care of this detail, the more expensive and frustrating the process. Not having a passport can also jeopardize your chances of going abroad since you can’t travel anywhere without one. AFS requires that your passport be valid for at least six months beyond your intended date of return.

When should I apply for a passport?

If you have not already applied for a passport, apply now! It can take six to eight weeks to receive your passport and you will need it in order to obtain your student visa. Apply for a passport online or at your local post office. If you already have a US passport, make sure it is valid for at least 6 months after the end of your program. If not, start the renewal process immediately.

What’s a visa and will I need one?

A visa is a stamp or other notation generally placed in your passport that will allow you to enter and temporarily reside in your host country during your program. A visa is required for all Year and Semester Programs and for many of the Summer Programs.

Are visas hard to obtain?

The answer to this question depends upon your destination. For some countries, the process is straightforward and relatively quick, but for other countries, obtaining a visa can be very time consuming and quite expensive. For this reason, please review the Visa Comparison Chart to learn about visa requirements for the programs and countries that are of interest to you. You will need to begin preparations for obtaining your visa upon receipt of your country specific visa information. This will be posted online and mailed to you approximately 6-8 weeks prior to departure.

Please note that some visa applications require you to apply in-person at your host country’s regional consulate. You may be required to travel to the consulate in order to do so.

Also, if your program requires you to apply for a student visa, you may have to submit your passport to the consulate along with your visa application. For this reason, we suggest that you not plan any international trips in the months prior to your departure on an AFS program.

How much will this cost?

It costs about $135 to obtain a passport. It will cost more if you need to receive it faster. Some visas can be very expensive. Visa application fees can range anywhere from being free of charge up to $1000. It is important to remember that in addition to the actual fees charged by the Consulates, some applications require that documents be translated, notarized, and/or legalized. You will be required to pay for these services as well. If you are concerned about visa costs, talk to your Application Advisor about programs and countries with low visa fees.

Are these costs covered in my AFS program tuition?

No, your program fee does not cover any of the costs related to obtaining your passport or visa.

So if I need a visa, where can I get one?

Visas are obtained through the Consular Offices of a country’s Embassy. While most Embassies are in Washington DC, there are a number of Consulate Offices located throughout the U.S. Each office has jurisdiction over certain states. If you are required to work with any of these Consulates to obtain your visa, we will provide a listing of contact information and general visa information from AFS.

Please note that some visa applications require you to apply in-person at your host country’s regional consulate. You may be required to travel to the consulate in order to do so.

What can AFS do to help me?

AFS will provide you with visa information to give you an idea of the process. Our visa information tends to be very general because it is not AFS who issues your visa—it is the Embassy or the Consulate of the country where your program will take place. It is critical that you obtain detailed information on the visa process for your program directly from a Consular Officer from your host country. While AFS verifies requirements and fees from all Consulates before the start of our programs, we have found that these requirements can change suddenly without notice, and that requirements can sometimes vary from one Consulate to another across the U.S. AFS will provide you, when necessary, with visa support documentation. This documentation usually consists of an official letter from AFS stating that you have been accepted on our program, and documents containing your host family and school placement information from overseas. Sometimes these documents have to come from the appropriate AFS Partner Country, so we cannot always control when we will be able to send them to you.

What if the visa is not issued by the time the program departs or not issued at all?

Unfortunately, at times these scenarios do happen. Since Consular Officials issue visas, AFS has no control over these situations or the overall process itself. When these situations occur and aren’t the fault of the student, (i.e. applying for a visa late or taking trips out of the country prior to the start of a program) AFS will reschedule the international flight once the visa has been granted. If you are denied a visa, AFS will do everything possible to offer you an alternative program at that time. Since you will not be able to travel before you have secured your visa, it is very important that you do purchase a refundable and changeable domestic ticket to your gateway departure city. If your departure has to be delayed due to your visa, you will be responsible for changing your domestic ticket and for any penalties the airline charges. If you do not have your visa within 72 hours of scheduled departure will likely be asked to reschedule your flight for a later date. You should not let these issues deter you, but rather guide you in choosing a country and program. As mentioned earlier, not all programs require visas and some visas are easier to obtain and less expensive than others. In the end, we are sure you will agree that the experience of complete immersion in another culture was worth your efforts.