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?

India is introducing an electronic arrival card for foreign travelers. The measure is effective for all travelers starting October 1st.

India is now adopting the electronic arrival card. Presenting this "e-Arrival Card" is now mandatory for all arrivals in India as of October 1, 2025. This formality replaces the paper card previously filled out on the plane or upon arrival. India aims to streamline traveler tracking. The requirement applies to travelers of all nationalities, both adults and minors, for all entry points into India. It’s an additional mandatory formality alongside the e-Visa or visa. The e-Arrival Card must be completed online within three days prior to arrival in the country. Available in English only, it’s free and can be done on the official Indian authorities' website. The document is valid only for the declared arrival day. "This means you’ll need to complete it for each new arrival," clarifies RapideVisa, an agency specializing in visa services. Travelers must provide standard information to obtain the document (passport number, purpose of stay, countries visited in the 6 days before arrival, etc.).

Once completed, a document with a QR code to present to authorities upon arrival is generated. With this new system, India aims to facilitate traveler tracking and reduce congestion at airport counters. Nearly 19 million international visitors traveled to India in 2023. Among them, 189,000 were French.

Source: https://www.lechotouristique.com/article/inde-une-nouvelle-formalite-obligatoire-pour-voyager

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1WaPqVyUmuY

Hello,

We’re leaving in November 2025 for a stay of more than 60 days in Khao Lak and need to apply for a 30-day extension on-site to be allowed to stay nearly 90 days. Should we declare the flight ticket dates (November 13, 2025, to February 9, 2026) directly on the electronic form (if it’s applied from May 1st) before leaving, at the risk of being denied entry (over 60 days), or declare 60 days and quickly apply for a 30-day extension once there? Are flight tickets checked upon arrival (Phuket) or earlier on the electronic entry request? I remember that the arrival check is quite "serious" and after 18 hours of travel, you’re pretty impressionable! Thanks for your help, Best, Bruno.

Today I ended up being denied boarding at CDG. I booked the trip through a physical travel agency with no assistance for the visa application. I applied in plenty of time and got the approval. Except I put the 9th (the day I left France) as the date instead of the 10th, which is the arrival date in India. That’s what caused the denial. I’m guessing I don’t have any recourse? Thanks for your replies.

Hi there, Just a quick post to let travelers heading to Madagascar know not to apply for an eVisa online—the platform isn’t working. We actually submitted an application last Sunday on their official site (provided by the Madagascar embassy in Paris) http://evisamada-mg.com/. The 35 € payment for a 30-day visa was debited from our account, but no document was issued. After emailing back and forth, they admitted there’s a flaw in their system, and we’ll now have to apply for an AD visa on arrival! We thought we’d save time at the airport—nope, that backfired. They claim we won’t have to repay for the visa, but I’ll believe it when I see it…

Luckily, we only applied for my husband’s visa, so we’ll only lose 35 € if that’s not the case! I’ll apply for mine directly on arrival and skip the eVisa altogether!

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!

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,

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 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?

Hi, I have to leave for Bali and I’ve got a problem. We’re traveling as a family, but when my partner filled out our daughter’s ticket, they only put one last name, even though she has both—mine and her dad’s—on her passport. I tried to fix it to make sure everything’s correct, but the airline won’t do anything about it. Do you think this will be an issue at boarding?

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!

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’m traveling to Mauritius and my ticket has my married name. My passport, however, lists both my maiden name and my married name. Will this cause any issues at the airport?

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, 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 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, 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 everyone.

I’m here to share a really reassuring experience about boarding a flight from France to Guadeloupe without an ID card or passport.

Yesterday, I met up with my friend at her place around 4:00 PM. She told me to leave my bag in my car while we ran an errand because “nothing ever happens here.”

When we got back at 8:00 PM, my car window was smashed, and my bag was stolen. In a panic about forgetting something for the trip, I’d left my whole life in that bag—ID card, passport, driver’s license, health insurance card—total meltdown. It was 8:00 PM, and our flight was at 10:00 AM the next day.

We’re on the plane right now, and I’ll tell you exactly what we did.

At 8:30 PM, we went to the police station. No one was there, but there was a number to call for night emergencies. They sent a team to take our statement. We explained that clothes weren’t the issue but that we had a flight the next day. They initially said they couldn’t file the theft report until the next morning. We pleaded a little, and they finally opened the station for us. They gave us the forms for reporting a stolen passport and ID card.

These documents are called either: *"Receipt for theft report"* *"Theft report"*

Even before we finished, we started researching online to see if this paperwork would be enough. The info we found on this forum (from 2014) and what was clearly stated on the Air Caraïbes website totally crushed us. It seemed like it was completely hopeless. Only one person said it depended on the mood of the staff we’d encounter at the airport.

Awful night, total despair.

We arrived at the airport at 6:30 AM for a 10:20 AM boarding. We went to the Air Caraïbes baggage drop-off way too early to talk to someone. We explained the problem to the first woman we saw.

She immediately reassured us that we’d be able to fly. Basically, if you have the police or gendarmerie document for the theft or loss, it’s 100% okay. No issues with that.

We had to fill out a first form swearing we were telling the truth about our checked baggage, then a second one for customs after our carry-on bags were inspected.

Didn’t report the theft or loss before arriving at the airport? No problem—there’s an office in the airport that handles that. Basically, we didn’t *have* to go to the police station.

The only really important thing is to arrive *very* early to have time to sort everything out. If you show up at customs or boarding without anything prepared beforehand, you’ll obviously be turned away.

If this post reassured or helped you, feel free to leave a comment so this forum ranks higher on Google. I wish I’d read something like this last night—I would’ve slept better. This morning, my alarm went off at 4:00 AM, and unlike usual, I had a *hard* time waking up, like I was heading to prison.

That’s it. Nico and Solène, 40 years old.

Hi there, We’re heading to Japan soon and booked a room through Booking for our first two nights. The host is asking for a copy of our passports even though we’ve already paid. What do you all think? Thanks

Hi there,

My partner, our 8-year-old daughter, and I are going on vacation to Gex.

We’ve decided to spend one day in Switzerland and another in Italy. Will we need ID (national ID card or passport)? Do we also need ID for our daughter?

Thanks so much for your answers! 🙂

Hi,

I’m going on leave to Cape Verde on 12/06/25 and completed the mandatory registration to enter the country. After filling in my identity, passport number, and hotel address, I tried to pay with my debit card. However, I couldn’t validate the payment—an error message appeared, and the same thing happened with two other cards (bug?). If it still doesn’t work by the time I leave, can I pay the fee upon arrival? Is there a way to do it at the Cape Verde Consulate in Paris?

Thanks.

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

Hey fellow travelers! 🙂 I'm planning a trip to India in January 2025 for 3 months. This will be my second trip to India. The first time was in 2009, when I was just 21 (doesn’t make me feel any younger!). My issue is this: on the India visa application form, I’m asked if I’ve been to India before, and if so, to provide the visa number from that trip. The problem is, since 2009, I’ve changed passports (and no longer have the old one), so I can’t fill out the form correctly. I thought about answering "no" to the question ("Have you been to India before?"), but that stresses me out because I hate "cheating" or lying. Especially since I figure they might cross-check their databases, and it could seem odd that I answered "no" when I’ve actually been there before. Maybe my visa could even be denied. So, I’d love to know if any of you have been in this situation and how you handled it. Looking forward to your replies! 🙂

Hi there, I bought a flight ticket with Turkish Airlines to Vietnam. On the form, it said: first name then second name, which I did. However, my passport has 3 first names. I called a number in Paris, and they played it safe by repeating: the names must match exactly what’s on your passport. I’ve seen on forums that some say even one first name is enough… Do you know about this situation? Thanks everyone.

Hi there, We need to apply for a B2 visa because we visited Iran in 2018. It currently costs $185, but they’re planning an additional $250 fee per person for the same visa—it’s been approved but not yet implemented. Does anyone know when this fee will take effect? Thanks in advance! Elisabeth

Hi Has anyone been to Rwanda recently and gotten a 3-month visa on arrival easily? Thanks

Hi, I want to invite a Malagasy friend and I’m surprised to learn there are procedures (that seem complicated) to follow… It would be a short stay (max 3 months). She’s got her passport, I’m paying for the flight ticket, and I read that I need to get an accommodation certificate from my town hall—but what else is required after that? What other documents are needed? What are the processing times? I’m really disappointed that in 2026, it’s still such a hassle for this kind of thing.

Hi there, I’m heading to Senegal in January for a month and was wondering if I just need my French driver’s license or if I should get an international permit? Thanks! JL

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 😢

Hello everyone, I’m going on a trip to Egypt, and I booked it through a travel agency (Fram). The trip is in October... After reading my contract more closely, I saw that the visa would cost me 95 €, but if I apply for it in advance, it’ll only be around 25 €. I can’t find the link that lets me do it myself, for a fee of course. Can anyone help me? Thanks a million!