Entry Requirements & Customs

The passport and visa information in this section is for quick reference; see individual country pages for complete details about the entry requirements for your destination.

Due to concerns about parental abductions, there are special requirements for children visiting many foreign countries, including Brazil, Chile, Colombia, and Venezuela. If you are a lone or single parent or a guardian, you must bring a copy of the child's birth certificate and a notarized consent document from the parent(s). For single parents, a decree of sole custody or a parental death certificate will also do. Ask your airline what's required when you book the ticket; also check the State Department's "Foreign Entry Requirements" page at http://travel.state.gov. Single Parent Travel Forum also has a helpful FAQ section at www.singleparenttravel.net.

Argentina -- Citizens of the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, and South Africa must have a passport to enter the country. No visa is required for citizens of these countries for tourist stays of up to 90 days. For more information concerning longer stays, employment, or other types of visas, contact the Argentine embassy or consulate in your home country.

Bolivia -- Visas are not required if you're a citizen of 45 designated countries, which include the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, France, Germany, and Switzerland. You will be granted entry for 30 days. You can easily extend the visa for an additional 60 days by visiting an Oficina de Migración in Bolivia.

Brazil -- Citizens of the United States, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand require a visa to visit Brazil. British nationals and holders of an E.U. passport do not require a visa, but do need a passport valid for at least 6 months and a return ticket. A number of visa types are available; cost, processing time, and documentation requirements vary.

Chile -- Citizens of the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Australia, and New Zealand do not need a visa to enter Chile. However, citizens of the following countries must pay a fee upon arrival: United States, $100; Canada, $55; and Australia, $33. Visitors to Chile are given a tourist visa that allows a stay for up to 90 days. To renew this visa, visitors must either cross the border into Argentina and return (for another 90-day visa), or pay $100 at an immigration or provincial government office for a 30-day extension.

Ecuador -- Visas are not required if you're a citizen of the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, NeCitizens of the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, South Africa, New Zealand, and Australia do not require visas to enter Peru as tourists. Citizens of any of these countries conducting business or enrolled in formal educational programs in Peru do require visas. Tourist cards, distributed on arriving international flights or at border crossings, are good for stays of up to 90 days. Keep a copy of the tourist card for presentation upon departure from Peru. A maximum of three extensions of 30 days each, for a total of 180 days, is allowed.

Uruguay -- Citizens of the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom do not need visas to enter Uruguay for stays up to 3 months. Citizens of Australia must apply for a visa from a Uruguayan consulate. For more information in Australia, contact tel. 02/6273-9100.

Venezula -- Citizens and residents of the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Australia, and New Zealand who enter by air or cruise ship are issued a free tourist card valid for 90 days upon arrival. You can extend your tourist card for up to 120 days at the Caracas office of the national immigration agency, Dirección de Identificación y Extranjería (DIEX; tel. 0212/483-2070; www.onidex.gov.ve). You will have to present your tourist card upon departure.

If you are arriving by air, there is no need to obtain a tourist card in advance. However, if you plan on arriving by land or by sea, you might try to get one ahead of time from your nearest Venezuelan embassy or consulate. Tourist cards are free, although you may be charged between $20 and $40 for a tourist card depending on the processing fees and policies of your local embassy or consulate. I've also heard reports that you may face an arbitrary charge of between $3 and $10 at some of the border crossings along the Colombian and Brazilian borders.

Passport Information

Allow plenty of time before your trip to apply for a passport; processing normally takes 3 weeks but can take longer during busy periods (especially spring). And keep in mind that if you need a passport in a hurry, you'll pay a higher processing fee. When traveling, safeguard your passport in an inconspicuous, inaccessible place like a money belt and keep a copy of the critical pages with your passport number in a separate place. If you lose your passport, visit the nearest consulate or embassy of your native country as soon as possible for a replacement.

To apply for a passport, residents of the United States can download passport applications from the U.S. State Department website at http://travel.state.gov, or call the National Passport Agency at tel. 202/647-0518. Canadian residents should visit www.ppt.gc.ca or call tel. 800/567-6868.

British citizens should contact the United Kingdom Passport Service at tel. 0870/521-0410 or search the website at www.ukpa.gov.uk. Residents of Ireland can call tel. 01/671-1633, or visit www.irlgov.ie/iveagh.

Australian citizens should contact the Australian Passport Information Service at tel. 131-232, or visit www.passports.gov.au. Residents of New Zealand should call the Passports Office at tel. 0800/225-050 or 04/474-8100, or log on to www.passports.govt.nz. New Zealand, South Africa, France, Germany, or Switzerland for stays of up to 90 days.

Customs

What You Can Bring Home

Returning U.S. citizens who have been away for at least 48 hours are allowed to bring back, once every 30 days, $800 worth of merchandise duty-free. You'll pay a flat rate of duty on the next $1,000 worth of purchases. Any dollar amount beyond that is subject to duties at whatever rates apply. On mailed gifts, the duty-free limit is $200. Be sure to keep your receipts or purchases accessible to expedite the declaration process. Note: If you owe duty, you are required to pay on your arrival in the United States -- either by cash, personal check, government or traveler's check, or money order (and, in some locations, a Visa or MasterCard).

To avoid paying duty on foreign-made personal items you owned before your trip, bring along a bill of sale, insurance policy, jeweler's appraisal, or receipts of purchase. Or you can register items that can be readily identified by a permanently affixed serial number or marking -- think laptop computers, cameras, and CD players -- with Customs before you leave. Take the items to the nearest Customs office or register them with Customs at the airport from which you're departing. You'll receive, at no cost, a Certificate of Registration, which allows duty-free entry for the life of the item.

With some exceptions, you cannot bring fresh fruits and vegetables into the United States. For specifics on what you can bring back, download the invaluable free pamphlet Know Before You Go online at www.cbp.gov. (Click on "Travel," and then click on "Know Before You Go! Online Brochure.") Or contact the U.S. Customs & Border Protection (CBP), 1300 Pennsylvania Ave. NW, Washington, DC 20229 (tel. 877/287-8667), and request the pamphlet.

For a clear summary of Canadian rules, write for the booklet I Declare, issued by the Canada Border Services Agency (tel. 800/461-9999 in Canada, or 204/983-3500; www.cbsa-asfc.gc.ca). Canada allows its citizens a C$750 exemption, and you're allowed to bring back duty-free 1 carton of cigarettes, 1 can of tobacco, 40 imperial ounces of liquor, and 50 cigars. In addition, you're allowed to mail gifts to Canada valued at less than C$60 a day, provided they're unsolicited and don't contain alcohol or tobacco (write on the package "Unsolicited gift, under $60 value"). All valuables should be declared on the Y-38 form before departure from Canada, including serial numbers of valuables you already own, such as expensive foreign cameras. Note: The $750 exemption can only be used once a year and only after an absence of 7 days.

U.K. citizens returning from a non-EU country have a customs allowance of: 200 cigarettes; 50 cigars; 250 grams of smoking tobacco; 2 liters of still table wine; 1 liter of spirits or strong liqueurs (over 22% volume); 2 liters of fortified wine, sparkling wine or other liqueurs; 60cc (ml) perfume; 250cc (ml) of toilet water; and £145 worth of all other goods, including gifts and souvenirs. People under 17 cannot have the tobacco or alcohol allowance. For more information, contact HM Customs & Excise at tel. 0845/010-9000 (from outside the U.K., 020/8929-0152), or consult their website at www.hmce.gov.uk.

The duty-free allowance in Australia is A$400 or, for those under 18, A$200. Citizens can bring in 250 cigarettes or 250 grams of loose tobacco, and 1,125 milliliters of alcohol. If you're returning with valuables you already own, such as foreign-made cameras, you should file form B263. A helpful brochure available from Australian consulates or Customs offices is Know Before You Go. For more information, call the Australian Customs Service at tel. 1300/363-263, or log on to www.customs.gov.au.

The duty-free allowance for New Zealand is NZ$700. Citizens over 17 can bring in 200 cigarettes, 50 cigars, or 250 grams of tobacco (or a mixture of all three if their combined weight doesn't exceed 250g); plus 4.5 liters of wine and beer, or 1.125 liters of liquor. New Zealand currency does not carry import or export restrictions. Fill out a certificate of export, listing the valuables you are taking out of the country; that way, you can bring them back without paying duty. Most questions are answered in a free pamphlet available at New Zealand consulates and Customs offices: New Zealand Customs Guide for Travellers, Notice no. 4. For more information, contact New Zealand Customs, The Customhouse, 17-21 Whitmore St., Box 2218, Wellington (tel. 04/473-6099 or 0800/428-786; www.customs.govt.nz).