How do you get Visas for your destinations?

[sirinath]

Hi,

 

If you are a Sri Lankan passport holder how do you get visas for the destinations for a world cruise. With about many countries how do you streamline visas?

 

As a Sri Lankan passport holder you do not get visa on arrival of eVisa for many countries.

 

Suminda

Edited May 8 by sirinath

[ldubs]

Welcome to Cruise Critic.  

 

Seems your options are to (1) research each country's visa requirements by visiting their embassy websites and then making the appropriate applications, or (2) to retain a visa service business.  If I needed visas for multiple countries, I would seriously consider option (2).  I have never used a visa service so can't speak to the cost or offer any recommendations.  

 

 

Edited May 8 by ldubs

[CDNPolar]

9 hours ago, sirinath said:

Hi,

 

If you are a Sri Lankan passport holder how do you get visas for the destinations for a world cruise. With about many countries how do you streamline visas?

 

As a Sri Lankan passport holder you do not get visa on arrival of eVisa for many countries.

 

Suminda

 

You may be denied boarding of a cruise if you cannot produce the required visas.  I would not suggest that you are waiting to get visas on arrival at any country.

 

I personally would use a travel agent that was knowledgable in this area to guide me.  

[Heidi13]

9 hours ago, sirinath said:

Hi,

 

If you are a Sri Lankan passport holder how do you get visas for the destinations for a world cruise. With about many countries how do you streamline visas?

 

As a Sri Lankan passport holder you do not get visa on arrival of eVisa for many countries.

 

Suminda

You have a couple of options with respect to acquiring the necessary Visas for a World Cruise. I have completed the process for UK & Canadian passports, so a a Sri Lankan passport holder, you may require additional Visas, but the process should be similar.

 

Easiest method is hiring a Visa procurement agency. You complete the application form, providing your personal details, provide your passport, a copy of the itinerary and they do the rest. However, some Visa applications may require you to complete a more detailed form, such as China, which included about a dozen pages. The downside of this option is high cost, especially if it includes multiple Visas.

 

You can also complete the process yourself, just takes lots of time and research. I normally start with the UK Foreign & Commonwealth Officer website and the Canadian equivalent. They have very well updated and detailed information on Visa requirements based on your type of visit. Your Sri Lankan Govt may provide a similar service. In addition, some Travel Agents may be able to assist. The eVisas are generally an online application and payment that are quickly approved. Some need to be printed and affixed to your passport, while others are provided to the border authorities for your arrival.

 

Unfortunately, some countries still require personal visits to their Embassy, to apply for, and then return a few days later to collect your passport and Visa. If you require a number of these Visas, it can be very time consuming.

[CDNPolar]

21 hours ago, Heidi13 said:

You have a couple of options with respect to acquiring the necessary Visas for a World Cruise. I have completed the process for UK & Canadian passports, so a a Sri Lankan passport holder, you may require additional Visas, but the process should be similar.

 

Easiest method is hiring a Visa procurement agency. You complete the application form, providing your personal details, provide your passport, a copy of the itinerary and they do the rest. However, some Visa applications may require you to complete a more detailed form, such as China, which included about a dozen pages. The downside of this option is high cost, especially if it includes multiple Visas.

 

You can also complete the process yourself, just takes lots of time and research. I normally start with the UK Foreign & Commonwealth Officer website and the Canadian equivalent. They have very well updated and detailed information on Visa requirements based on your type of visit. Your Sri Lankan Govt may provide a similar service. In addition, some Travel Agents may be able to assist. The eVisas are generally an online application and payment that are quickly approved. Some need to be printed and affixed to your passport, while others are provided to the border authorities for your arrival.

 

Unfortunately, some countries still require personal visits to their Embassy, to apply for, and then return a few days later to collect your passport and Visa. If you require a number of these Visas, it can be very time consuming.

 

Brilliant information - thank you.

 

Question for you though... some countries that have eVisa options also assign a validity period when you secure the visa.  If you are on a World Cruise and that country is not in that validity period what do you do?  Are you applying for visas while on the cruise?

 

My experience with Cambodia and Vietnam was this, that there was a limited validity after the application.

[Heidi13]

21 minutes ago, CDNPolar said:

 

Brilliant information - thank you.

 

Question for you though... some countries that have eVisa options also assign a validity period when you secure the visa.  If you are on a World Cruise and that country is not in that validity period what do you do?  Are you applying for visas while on the cruise?

 

My experience with Cambodia and Vietnam was this, that there was a limited validity after the application.

 

Affirmative, we did experience this with a couple of countries. In those situations, Viking's Visa procurement vendor agreed to submit the application when the window opened and transmit the information to the ship.

 

If completing the process personally, we would have had to advise the cruise line that pre-cruise acquiring of Visas wasn't possible and to get confirmation we could submit the application from aboard the vessel.

[sirinath]

 

On 5/9/2024 at 7:31 PM, CDNPolar said:

 

Brilliant information - thank you.

 

Question for you though... some countries that have eVisa options also assign a validity period when you secure the visa.  If you are on a World Cruise and that country is not in that validity period what do you do?  Are you applying for visas while on the cruise?

 

My experience with Cambodia and Vietnam was this, that there was a limited validity after the application.

 

I am only just exploring the options to see if this is feasible for me as an Sri Lankan

 

I am not sure I might be able to apply to many destinations without visiting the respective embassies as the visa reequipments for Sri Lankans are pretty tight. At least this is the case when you fly.

 

My main concern is visa for locations like EU, US, Canada, Japan, Austria, NZ, Singapore, Korea, etc. Also other the counties in grey.

 

[Hezu]

On 5/11/2024 at 8:48 AM, sirinath said:

My main concern is visa for locations like EU, US, Canada, Japan, Austria, NZ, Singapore, Korea, etc. Also other the counties in grey.

At least in case of Europe, there is one positive thing: most EU countries plus few others form the Schengen area and thus you need only a single visa from any of the Schengen countries and with that visa you can visit whole Schengen area and not just the country from which you got the visa. Generally there isn't even any border controls between these Schengen countries.