Hey everyone, hope you're doing well! :) I’m planning to go back to Thailand at the start of next year—once just wasn’t enough 😅 I’ve seen that nothing’s official yet, but they’re considering reducing the visa-free stay from 60 to 30 days. If I book for 58 days like last time and they change the rules last minute, what happens? It takes forever to get a visa—I saw you have to prove you have enough funds to cover your stay. How much money do you need in your account? Thanks!

Hi there,

I’d like to know if anyone has already applied for a private visa to Russia with an invitation from a Russian resident. I traveled earlier this year with an e-visa, but since I want to stay longer, I’ll be visiting my friend who lives in eastern Russia. For the visa application, does the invitation need to be on an official paper form issued by the Russian ministry? And most importantly, do I need to present the original for the application, or is there an electronic version that can be sent directly to the consulate in France? Thanks for any info if you’ve gone through this process before!

Best regards,

Gilles

Gosuslugi / Госуслуги is the Russian administrative portal. EBS / ЕБС is the unified biometric system.

Since 2025, foreigners (residents or not) must have a biometric profile in addition to a Gosuslugi profile to obtain SIM cards and open a bank account.

Administrative services are mostly centralized in MFCs, МФЦ (Multi-Functional Center), nicknamed "My Documents" Мои документы.

A non-resident foreigner can register with the pension fund, which provides a social security number, SNILS / СНИЛС. To do this, you must present your passport and a notarized translation at an MFC. The SNILS can be issued on the spot or within a maximum of five days. If not issued immediately, you receive a receipt, and the deadline is communicated by the administrative agent. You return to the MFC after the deadline to collect the certificate with the SNILS.

Once the SNILS is obtained, you revisit an MFC counter to register on the Gosuslugi portal. You must present your passport and notarized translation again, along with a phone number and email. The Gosuslugi portal authenticates users with three pieces of data: SNILS, email or phone number, and password. The agent creates the profile and completes the initial email and SMS confirmations on your phone.

After the Gosuslugi profile is active, you register on the biometric portal. If last year’s law centralization measures are fully implemented, you can do this at any MFC; otherwise, you go to a SBERBANK (or VTB) branch. Again, as always for foreigners, you must present your passport with its translation and show your open Gosuslugi profile on your phone. The employee records your voice (reading a series of numbers) and takes a photo of your face.

After that, you can go to a telecom agency to buy a SIM card. The staff will take your passport details with the translation and your Gosuslugi profile info. Then, they’ll take a photo with their webcam, which is verified by the online EBS biometric portal. However, procedures may vary depending on the provider (Megafon, MTS, Beeline), and some employees may not be familiar with the process.

Potential delays can be caused by network maintenance or slowdowns due to peaks in administrative activity.

I’ll illustrate this process as I experienced it in February and April 2025 in the next post. Just need to gather the photos I took on the spot.

It’s currently possible for a French national to enter Belarus through any land or air border point and stay for up to 30 days, for any reason. I did this last November, driving my own car from France, entering at Terespol and Brest-Litovsk (7-hour queue on the Polish side for political reasons and 3 hours of formalities on the Belarusian side), and exiting through Lithuania (1.5 hours on the Belarusian side and 3.5 hours on the Lithuanian side for political reasons). The rest of the trip was a real pleasure...

Hi there, My departure is slowly approaching, and now that I’ve got my Russian visa sorted, I’m fine-tuning the rest of my trip to Tajikistan. Since the Tajik visa is no longer required for stays under 30 days (for French nationals), I’ll need to visit the Ministry of Interior (OVIR) to register within 10 days of entering the country. No big deal, though, since I had to go there anyway to apply for my GBAO permit. 😉 However, I’ve *seen* several reports from travelers (mostly motorized) mentioning that you need an entry permit for Kyrgyzstan, which has to be arranged in advance at the Kyrgyz Ministry (consulate?) in Dushanbe. Otherwise, you’re *stuck* at the Kyzyl-Art border (with no Wi-Fi, of course, to try and sort it out). The most recent report was from a year ago, so I’d love to know if this is still the case and if it’s indeed at the Kyrgyz Ministry (consulate?) where you need to go for this pre-authorization. Does anyone have any recent info on this? Thanks in advance!

Hi,

There are rumors going around about the ETA: it must absolutely be on your smartphone in the "ETA" app.

Paper documents might not be accepted. Is this real or just a hoax? Thanks, I’m leaving in 3 weeks. My passport is good to go and my ETA is still valid for a year, but I only printed the email I received. Thanks everyone.

Hi, I’m bringing Seresta, an anxiolytic (tranquilizer) from the benzodiazepine family, to help me sleep. I’ll have the prescription with me. Will this be a problem at customs, and do I need to declare it? Same question for antibiotics? Thanks a bunch!

Hi, I just had a really bad experience leaving for Thailand with Etihad Airways, along with my partner and her 11-year-old son. We were denied boarding because the child’s passport was invalid (by about 3 days), as it’s indeed required to have 6 months of validity. But come on—just 3 days over! On top of that, we were able to check in online for our round-trip flight (just the flights, no extras), entered our passport numbers and expiry dates, and even had to check in online again 30 hours before departure, where we got our boarding passes without any issues. How is it possible that no one called, warned, or even blocked us online? Instead, they waited to tell us at the airport during baggage check-in. I’ve asked the airline for a full refund of our expenses—do I have any chance? Thanks for your help

Hi there, Do I need a return ticket? Proof of insurance and a hotel reservation?? I’m French. Also, is there any control on meds and sleeping pills?? Thanks a bunch!

Hi everyone, I’m heading to the United States in August, specifically Grand Junction, Colorado, and I’d love to hear about your experiences with renting a car in this slightly tricky situation:

I still have my old French driver’s license (the pink paper version, still valid),

I didn’t have time to get an International Driving Permit (IDP),

And I plan to use a Visa debit card, not a credit card.

I’ve booked a car with Budget. I’ve seen that they *can* accept debit cards under certain conditions, especially at airport locations, but there are often high hold amounts for the deposit, and sometimes requirements like a return ticket or an extra ID. - Has anyone rented a car in the US under these conditions before? - Was the paper license accepted without any issues? - Did the debit card cause problems when putting down the security deposit? Any tips, personal stories, or warnings are super welcome! 😊 Thanks in advance!

Hi everyone!

I’m planning to go to Thailand for 90 days (departure on 20/06).

- I thought I’d read that the processing time for the E-Visa had been reduced to just a few days since June 2025 (so very recent). Can you confirm? However, on the embassy’s website and when I try calling them, they’re still quoting 3-4 weeks. Hasn’t this been updated yet? Because I’m starting to sweat here…🤪

- I was a bit hasty in declaring the funds to prove my solvency. Should I wait for their response rather than submitting a second visa application, which might conflict with the first one?

Thanks for your feedback! Have a great day

Hi there,

I’m not sure what’s being said on the various European diplomatic sites, but on the Belgian one, they mention that an ESTA and/or visa aren’t a guarantee of entry. Immigration services have the final say—they could even ask to see your electronic devices like phones, tablets, or cameras. And there might be extra hassles for LGBTQIA+ travelers.

Hi, I’ve read on several forums and blogs that to enter Senegal by motorcycle, some say you need a CPD, others say an ATA carnet, and others say no carnet at all. What’s the real deal? My bike is over 10 years old. Thanks

Hi everyone, We’re self-drivers planning a trip through Zimbabwe in 2026—our route is Johannesburg, Zimbabwe, Mozambique. We’ll have a rented 4x4. We’d like to know about any difficulties at the borders between South Africa and Zimbabwe, and between Zimbabwe and Mozambique. Also, which park in Zimbabwe is the best? Thanks in advance for your replies!

JP

Starting January 5, you’ll need to arrive at the Mauritanian border with an E.Visa. To get it, you’ll have to go to the Mauritanian website: https://anrpts.gov.mr/fr

Hi everyone. I’m currently in Jordan for a month. If you stay more than 14 days, you’re supposed to register at a police station or risk a fine. However, I’ve been to three police stations today, and none of them will process the registration. For those who registered in Amman, which station did you go to, please? Or has anyone *not* registered and left without any issues at the airport? It’s a bit of a hassle. Thanks everyone, and long live Jordan—such an amazing country!

Hello,

I hope you don't mind me reaching out. I’m currently in my final year of my master’s program. As part of an international workshop, I’ll be heading to Wuhan, China, soon.

To adapt to local requirements, I’m trying to activate my WeChat account, but it requires QR code verification. Would it be possible for someone to help me by scanning this QR code to validate my account?

Thank you in advance for your help and understanding.

Best regards,

Hi everyone, For an Egypt e-visa application, they ask online: Country you’re traveling from Now, if you’re French but leaving from Italy, for example, what do you put? Has anyone been in this situation before? Thanks

Hello, We’re heading to Cambodia for a trip. We have a 2h50 layover in Ho Chi Minh City on the way out and a 3h45 layover in Hanoi on the way back. Do we need a visa for this transit? Thanks for your help...

Hi, I’ve got another little question about filling out the TDAC regarding the address to provide, given that I’m staying for 2 months and 3 weeks and I’ve booked an exit ticket to Malaysia (which I’ll cancel on-site before the 60 days). I’ve booked a hotel for one night, and after that, I’ll be staying at my Thai wife’s house—she lives with me in France and has her ID card with the house address. But her *tabien ban* is still in Thailand. Which address should I put? The hotel for one night or the house address? And in that case, I’m worried they might ask me for the TM30.

Hi,

I’m leaving for Morocco on 18/10 with my wife and daughter. I’ll be returning to France on 25/10. My daughter’s passport expires on 30/11, which is less than 90 days before we return to France.

Can I still travel to Morocco with my daughter?

Thanks

Hi everyone,

I wanted to share my experience in case it helps others. I applied for an ESTA to travel to the United States, but unfortunately, it was denied because I checked a "Yes" box by mistake. I then tried contacting several numbers I found here on the forum for help or to find out how to reset my ESTA application, but most of them no longer work. One of the numbers I called wasn’t even assigned (it came from a 2015 discussion). I also tried reaching the U.S. Embassy in Paris, but they told me to apply for a visa instead.

If anyone knows the correct official number or procedure to reset a denied ESTA application, I’d really appreciate it. My departure is in 2 weeks, and I won’t have time to get a visa.

Thanks in advance for your help!

Numbers I’ve already contacted: 202-325-7171 202-325-8000 1-202-877-227-5511

Non-working number found on the forum: 00 1 2023443710

hi, and help! I need to complete my TDAC, but the site is stuck on page 2 under Accommodation Information: I can't fill in the "province" field—it's mandatory! I enter Bangkok, but when I scroll down to add the address... everything disappears.

What should I do? Thanks for your help! Elisabeth

Hello everyone, I’m going on a tourist trip to Canada (Quebec) on September 1st. I filled out an eTA application 10 days ago but made a mistake on my passport number. I submitted a new application and had to send a copy of my passport, which I did correctly (unfortunately, I didn’t take a screenshot as proof). The next day, my eTA was refused! I made a third application this past Saturday, August 16th, and they confirmed receipt, but it’s now Monday evening and I still haven’t heard anything! I’m starting to seriously panic. It’s absolutely impossible to get help from a real person online! The Canadian Embassy in Brussels doesn’t handle eTA applications at all! I don’t know what to do. Can anyone help me, please? Thanks in advance 😢

Hi, I successfully applied for an ESTA for my family and myself for an upcoming trip to New York in August. But here’s what I didn’t realize: my two older daughters are leaving for Costa Rica in a week with a layover in the United States, something I wasn’t aware of when I filled out the ESTA application. The person handling their application is stuck because one is already on file... My question is: is this ESTA valid for their layover even though it’s not specified on the application (since a U.S. address was provided)? If not, how can I reapply for their transit ESTA? Thanks for your help!

Hey everyone! A small group of us are heading to Gabon for a research mission. Everyone got their visa without any issues through the e-visa site, and it only took a few days.

Except for a friend and me. We applied early, and three weeks later, still no news. And we leave in a week...

A colleague on-site tried to help us, but no updates so far.

My questions:

- Has this ever happened to you? - What are the solutions? (I’ve already tried calling, but it doesn’t work. The email contact form doesn’t work either. The Gabonese embassy isn’t functional, and they gave me a number that never answers and where you can’t even leave a message anymore.) - Can this be resolved easily at the airport? - Am I totally screwed?

Clean record, and I haven’t been to any sketchy countries. Brand-new passport...

Thanks in advance for your help! !

Hi, I was signing my passport at home and the ink bled a little—could this cause any issues? I’m kinda freaking out here, thanks. https://image.noelshack.com/fichiers/2025/25/6/1750538225-img-1731.jpeg

Hi there, hope you're doing well! :) I’m leaving from Bordeaux for Thailand this Tuesday and should land on Wednesday. I wanted to ask about the TDAC—I don’t quite get it: Do you have to do it a maximum of 3 days before departure or 3 days before arrival? How long does it take to get the document, and what form does it come in? I’m worried about messing this up—if you were arriving on Wednesday, when would you fill it out? Thanks for your feedback!

Hello, We’re traveling as a family to China this summer, from late July to late August. However, my kids’ passports expire at the end of January 2026, which means they’ll have about 5 months of validity left after our departure. Many travel agencies recommend having more than 6 months of validity! I haven’t found any official information about this requirement. As a precaution, the best thing would be to renew them, but before I realized this, I bought domestic flight tickets using their current passport numbers. I’m worried these tickets might no longer be valid... Thanks for your help if you have any info on this topic.

Hi everyone,

I’ve got a one-way ticket to Vietnam. My return flight will be from Malaysia since I’ll be traveling around Southeast Asia overland. To qualify for the 45-day visa-free entry, you need to show an exit ticket from Vietnam. Do you think a bus ticket from Saigon to Phnom Penh would work?