Hi there,

I’m filling out a visa application for Thailand on the official thaievisa site, and I’m unsure about my second first name on my passport, which I need to enter in the online form: Jean-François. The site doesn’t accept hyphens or "ç"

I assume the site will accept "Jean Francois" as my "middle name," but I’d like to be sure this won’t lead to my visa being rejected...

Thanks for your feedback! :) Olivier

Hi there, I’m looking for info on the visa for India: duration, cost, and a reliable website to apply. Thanks!

hi there since the forum is back up, let’s try to gather some updated info. first off, arrival formalities are changing—starting January 1st, you’ll need to fill out an electronic form before arrival. This replaces the paperwork you used to fill out on the plane or at the airport (for air arrivals). Here’s the link: https://www.arrival.gov.kh/. for visas, the same options remain: e-visa, visa on arrival, or visa at the embassy. The standard price is $30 on arrival, but at land borders, be prepared for a small "extra" for "cigarettes or coffee." don’t forget your passport must be valid for at least 6 months after your return. regarding airlines, prices are pretty high for carriers like Singapore, Qatar, Emirates, Vietnam Airlines, and Thai. EVA Air is a great Taiwanese airline with slightly lower fares, but ongoing pressure from mainland China and quasi-blockades could cause delays or issues—something to watch. there are cheaper Chinese airlines, but friends from China advise being cautious with connections. Worth double-checking. transport is evolving too—there’s now a highway from Phnom Penh to Kampot. Soraya, a well-known bus company, has disappeared. More highway projects are in the works. Buildings are popping up fast, just mentioning this for those who haven’t been to Cambodia in a while.

Hi there,

I just booked my round-trip flight ticket to visit Cuba for two months, from January to March 2025. I’ve heard about the challenges Cubans are facing and the recent changes the island has gone through—economically (like the end of the dual-currency system) and administratively (the introduction of an e-visa)...

This is my first time visiting the country, so I’m still figuring out all the administrative steps I need to take before I go.

1) Can I apply for the electronic e-visa now (still 22 €?) from home on the website evisacuba.cu?

2) I read that I need to fill out a form 48 hours before departure on the site dviajeros.mitrans.gol-.cu/inicio. Is it possible to do this now to save time?

3) I’m a bit confused about the currency. From what I understand, there’s now only the Cuban Peso. Should I exchange my euros at the airport, or wait until I arrive at the *casas particulares* in Havana that I’ve already booked and ask the owner?

Thanks in advance for your help!

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,

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 Where can I get a visa for Egypt? There are several sites and different prices.

Hello, My partner, who is Malagasy, would like to visit France (ideally in mid-August) and therefore apply for a short-stay visa (90 days). I’ve heard that many applications are refused even when all the required documents are submitted, which is why I’m here—to get advice and guidance to be "almost" sure the application will be accepted. I have a lot of questions, and your help would be invaluable to us.

She is 27 years old, has a passport with her current occupation listed as self-employed (she owns a "taxi-brousse" truck) and thus has a statistical card, a business license, and annual tax certificates. She started her business at the beginning of this year.

As for me, I am an adult with a disability. I receive disability benefits until May 2026. I’m in the process of professional reintegration and will start a job in a few days, likely on a fixed-term contract (CDD).

Here are my questions about the supporting documents to provide:

-Purpose of the trip/stay

Flight ticket reservation (round-trip) (the ticket should only be purchased once the visa is approved). Letter of commitment to return, written on plain paper. Any other document demonstrating potential family, economic, or material ties in the country of residence. Confirmation of a booked organized trip or any other document outlining the planned itinerary.

I’ve been told that for the flight reservation, my partner just needs to go to Air Madagascar in Antananarivo and pay around 50,000 ariary to get this reservation. Given that the French short-stay visa takes between 15 to 45 days (I might be wrong) to be processed and approved, I wonder if the reservation will still be valid if the visa is approved late. For the letter of commitment to return, I assume two sentences are enough, and what matters most are the documents proving ties to the country of residence (her economic activity). Do you think that will be sufficient? And for the planned itinerary, since this isn’t an organized trip, what document could work? A handwritten letter explaining a few planned visits?

-Proof of residence in the country of origin

For employees: original work certificate, original leave certificate, last 3 payslips (or bank statements). For retirees: pensioner’s card and last 3 pension statements. For traders or entrepreneurs: professional registration, professional card, and recent bank statements.

For liberal professions: professional registration, professional card, and recent bank statements. For unemployed applicants and students: sponsorship letter and copies of the sponsor’s financial documents.

For this point, she can justify her self-employed status with the statistical card, business license, and annual tax certificates. As for bank statements, she deposits her earnings in cash into her bank account—will this be an issue during the application review?

-Financial resources

Bank account statements (last 3 months). Last 3 payslips or pension statements. Foreign currency allocation certificate, whose origin must be demonstrated (recent bank statement, savings account), issued by local banks or exchange offices (minimum 32.50 € per day if staying with a private individual or 65 € per day if staying in a hotel) or presentation of an international bank card with supporting account statement.

I need help with this point because I don’t fully understand what she needs to provide as a self-employed individual, especially since she doesn’t earn 32.50 € per day. I can obviously transfer money to cover this. So, overall, what documents should be provided for this section?

-Accommodation

Confirmed hotel reservation with the hotel’s phone number and reservation number / payment confirmation for stays longer than 1 month or original hosting attestation.

For this point, do I just need to write a handwritten letter stating that I will be hosting her? Then scan it and email it to her? Is that all?

-Travel medical insurance

Insurance certificate: must specify the amount and scope of coverage (30,000 € coverage / medical expenses and repatriation).

For this, I’ll opt for AXA Schengen insurance (low-cost). Any advice is still welcome...

I have one last question about the following point:

The short-stay visa allows you to stay for a maximum of 90 days for a continuous stay or multiple stays within the Schengen area over a 180-day period.

If we decide to leave the Schengen area during the stay (to visit the United Kingdom, for example), will the 90-day visa be paused and resume once we return to the Schengen area? And if so, can we plan a return ticket beyond the 3 months by justifying an exit/entry?

Thank you in advance for all your advice and suggestions. I may have forgotten some important points—feel free to let me know.

Best regards.

Hi there,

We’re heading to Southeast Asia for several months as a family with two teens (10 and 13). The first country we’re visiting is Cambodia. I’m having an issue with the e-visa—it won’t accept any of the documents I’m attaching. I’ve validated all four e-visas and received the registration numbers, but when I check the application, it shows no attachments. I’ve tried multiple times in different formats (PDF, JPEG, PNG), whether compressed or not, but there’s always a red cross next to the documents.

Has anyone else run into this problem?

Thanks for your help—I’m losing patience, and our departure is in 15 DAYS 😕

Magos

Hi everyone!

So happy the forum is back—I’ve been part of it since 2012! ☺️

After lots of twists and turns with Sri Lanka’s visa (called ETA) over the past few months, here’s a quick recap of the current situation for travelers:

- You need to get an ETA, either online or on arrival. I recommend doing it online because it’s cheaper (here’s a step-by-step guide to avoid common pitfalls: https://www.tongsetsrilanka.com/mode-demploi-pour-eta-au-sri-lanka)

- It’s valid for 30 days and costs $50 online or $60 on arrival.

- It was supposed to be free starting October 1st, but due to the elections and Parliament being dissolved, that didn’t happen. Stay tuned in December in case the topic comes up again.

- The online ETA is recorded in your passport, so you don’t need to show any documents, but I’d still recommend traveling with the confirmation.

- If you didn’t receive the confirmation email, you can check the status on the official ETA website.

- The only official site is eta.gov.lk. Watch out for agency websites pretending to be the official one.

- Avoid filling out your ETA on the French version—it’s buggy. Use my guide and do it in English instead. 😅

Happy travels! Caroline

Hi there, In November, we're heading off on a 4-month trip. We'll be landing in China and plan to leave the country via a land border into Vietnam. I’ve read that China may ask for proof of exit within 30 days (flight ticket or other reservation). Since we’d be leaving by land, I’m wondering how this works in practice. Has anyone here been in this situation recently?

Did the airline ask for an exit ticket before boarding? Did Chinese authorities require proof upon arrival? Is a train/bus ticket to Vietnam sufficient? Is a cancelable or flexible reservation accepted?

Thanks for sharing your experiences! 😊

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.

Hi there

I’ve received my e-visa for India. Now, if I understand correctly, I need to confirm the status of my ETA. Is the ETA the same as the e-visa? Do I need to print the document? 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 everyone, I’d like to travel to Senegal with my two dogs—an Amstaff and a French Bulldog (who can’t fly). I’m wondering if you think it’ll be complicated or if the formalities are easy to sort out. I’m giving myself a year to prepare for this trip.

Thanks in advance for your replies

Hey fellow travelers! 🙂 I’m heading to India in January with a tourist multi-entry ETA (is it still called an e-visa?). First things first, if I’ve understood correctly: I can enter and exit India as many times as I want, as long as my total stay doesn’t exceed 180 days in a full year and no single stay goes over 90 days. Okay, that’s the theory. Now, how does it work in practice? I plan to spend 3 months in India (Rajasthan, then the Ganges Valley up to Varanasi, then Sikkim), then head to Nepal for another 3 months (Kathmandu, Pokhara), and return to India for 3 more months before flying back to France. But here’s the thing—I’ve got the impression (maybe I misunderstood) that renewing the Indian visa has to be done in Kathmandu or Pokhara, and only in one of those two Nepali cities. Yet, on *Le Routard*, I thought I read that you just need to "cross the border and come back," meaning you can enter Nepal at any border point, which would be way more practical... Imagine someone who wants to spend 6 months in northern India and starts from Shimla—they’d have to travel all the way to Kathmandu, then back to Shimla, crossing a big chunk of Nepal just to renew their Indian visa. That seems pretty convoluted, especially since the northwest border with India is so far from Kathmandu. I used this example because I originally wanted to spend 6 months only in northern India, and while waiting for clear answers, I’ve planned an alternative route (the one I described at the start of this post).

Could someone explain exactly how this Nepal border crossing thing works for renewing an Indian visa (and getting another 90 days, within the 180-day annual limit, of course)? How long does it take? How much does it cost?

Can’t wait to hear from you, and thanks in advance for your valuable insights! 🙂 !

Hi everyone!

What a joy to be back on this forum where I’ve spent so many hours traveling and gathering info—let’s get started! 👋

Almost everything’s in the title, but just to clarify: As far as I know, you currently need a full French motorcycle license (A) to legally ride a scooter in Thailand, since they don’t recognize A1 or A2 licenses. Yes, I know most rental places only ask for an international car license (B), or sometimes nothing at all… but that’s not what I’m asking. What I’d like to know is whether you think this might change in the future, allowing A1 licenses (which are easier to get) or even car licenses (B), since you can ride a scooter in France with one. I don’t want to get a motorcycle license—I’m scared of motorcycles, even though I’m comfortable on a scooter. I’m a bit confused by their regulations. Thanks for any insights you can share!

Lulu56😅

The consulate tells me my French residence permit needs to be valid for at least 6 months after I leave Egypt, but my permit will only be valid for 5 months and a few days by my departure date from Egypt. Is it still doable to get a visa on arrival (at the airport)? Thanks in advance to anyone who can answer me.

Hi, My passport is valid until February 2026. I’d like to book a flight to Rwanda for September, but they require a passport valid for 6 months after entry—which mine won’t be. It takes me a month and a half to get a new passport, and I’d like to buy my ticket now with my current passport. What’s the solution? Thanks for your help! Daniel

Hi everyone, I’m reaching out to the community with a quick question. I’m leaving for the United States soon and don’t have time to renew my passport. However, there are some pretty visible ink stains on the edges of the pages, but the page with my identity info is completely clean. Do you think I’ll be able to enter the United States without any issues? Thanks in advance for your replies! Have a great day!

Hi, I’m traveling to Mauritius with my kids from Réunion. My kids only have national ID cards that still show our old address in mainland France. What do we need to show at the airport as proof of residence in Réunion to travel with just an ID card?

Thanks—this is pretty urgent since we leave next week!

Hi there, I just got back to France and realized I don’t have a stamp in my French passport. Is it normal that at Suvarnabhumi Airport customs didn’t stamp my passport? I’m really worried because I have to go back in a month and I don’t know what to expect when I arrive at Thai customs. I’m afraid of the consequences, like a fine or worse—being blacklisted from entering Thailand. Has anyone else had this happen? And if it’s not normal, what can I do to avoid any problems?

Hi,

Can anyone tell me exactly if a passport "valid for the duration of the stay" is enough, or does it need to be valid for 6 months after the trip? I checked the embassy’s website, but that info is missing.

Thanks

Hi everyone, is there anyone sure about this topic? I’ve heard two different things. I’m leaving for Thailand on March 2nd and returning to France on March 30th, and my passport expires on September 25th. When I look at the rule that says the passport must be valid for more than 6 months upon entry, I’m good until March 25th, but on the way out, I’ll be 2 days short of the full 6 months (5 days early, to be precise).

Most people tell me it’s okay because it’s the entry date that counts, and even ChatGPT confirmed that for me. But some say no, it’s the return date that matters. So I called Qatar Airways, and even there, I got two different answers—one person said no, it’s the return date, and another said it’s fine for them. I’m not sure they fully understood what I was asking, and since I’m not in Paris, I can’t go in person either...

Just to be safe, I applied for a passport renewal at the town hall. They told me it would take 4 to 6 weeks, and I applied on January 14th, leaving on March 2nd, which is 6 and a half weeks. On the ANTS tracking, it’s been marked as "in production" since January 17th...

So, are there any experts on this topic out there? Either about whether boarding is allowed with the old passport or about the usual timeline for receiving a new passport... Am I wrong to worry in either case?

Thanks to those who reply!

Hi everyone, could someone clarify a doubt for me? Here's the thing: my passport expires on 25/09, and I want to go to Thailand from 03/3 to 30/3. So, on the day of departure, it will be 6 months and 22 days before the passport's expiry date.

...So, for entry into Thailand, will there be a problem? Apparently not, but I'm not sure. And for the return, since it will exceed the expiry date by 5 days, should I be careful with the layover outside Europe due to the 6-month passport validity rule? For safety, should I choose a European layover to avoid the 6-month passport issue?

I understood that what matters is that on the date of entry into Thailand, the passport must be valid for more than 6 months, and it will be exactly 6 months and 23 days.

However, for the return to France, I leave on 30/03, which is 5 months and 25 days (just 5 days short).

I heard that they don’t check it, and if I have a layover in Doha, for example, where the 6-month rule applies, as long as I stay in the transit area and don’t go through immigration, there shouldn’t be a problem either.

But I’m not sure about anything—even ChatGPT tells me there’s no issue...

Is there an expert on this topic on this forum? Thanks in advance!

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, I’m planning a trip to Thailand from April 1st to 24th. I’m flying with Qatar Airways. My passport is valid until October 7th, 2025. My question: For entry into Thailand, my passport is valid for more than 6 months (6 months and 6 days). For my exit, my passport’s validity will be 5 months and 14 days. Do I need to renew my passport, or is it okay? Thanks for your answers!

Hi there,

I’m leaving for Japan in a few weeks. I just noticed my passport has an ink stain on the signature page. Could this cause any issues?

Salam Aleykoum/Hello everyone

I need help renewing my passport as well as those of my wife and children. I can't reach the consulate for my district (Besançon).

I already have my biometric Algerian passport, but it expired in March 2024. Do I need to provide a 12S form for passport renewal? If so, what documents are required for the 12S?

Thanks 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