The Baffling World of Visa Restrictions
Michelle Higgins, The New York Times, 3/8/2009 (excerpted)
Late last month, the United Arab Emirates denied a visa to the Israeli tennis player Shahar Peer to play in the Barclays Dubai Tennis Championships. Then, just days later and after harsh criticism by the tennis world, the Emirates turned around and issued a visa for another Israeli tennis player, Andy Ram, to play the next week.
The incident calls attention to just how complex and confusing obtaining entry to foreign countries can be for many travelers. Depending on the country, travelers may be turned away based on nationality, profession, or the stamps in their passports from countries they visited in the past. And policies can and often do shift based on diplomatic relations, making who is or is not let in seem somewhat random to those applying for entry.
Anyone with a criminal record, including a drunken-driving conviction, may be turned away at the Canadian border. Several countries ban H.I.V.-positive visitors, including Brunei, China and the United States, though exceptions may be granted in certain circumstances for visitors to the States. And some places in the Middle East, including Syria, Lebanon and Libya, rigidly enforce restrictions on prior travel to Israel and do not allow people with passports bearing Israeli visa or entry and exit stamps to enter.
Sometimes, what countries say on the books regarding their entry and exit policies is different from what is actually enforced. United States tour operators, including Mountain Travel Sobek and Travcoa, dropped their trips to Libya after it stopped issuing visas to American tourists, even though the country has no official policy banning Americans. According to the Libyan People's Bureau in Ottawa, foreign travelers must have an Arabic translation of their passport and a letter of invitation from an accredited Libyan travel agency or host in Libya in order to apply for a visa. “What ended up happening is though the Libyan government said, ‘Oh yes, we're offering visas to tourists,' they really weren't,” said Kimberly A. Beck, marketing director at Mountain Travel Sobek in Emeryville, Calif. “So we pulled it.”
The Emirates, including Dubai, has no official policy banning visitors who have also visited Israel, though some travelers who have Israeli stamps on their passport have reported problems at the border.
With careful planning, it's possible for many tourists to overcome some entry obstacles, even to countries with rigid restrictions. For example, anyone with a criminal record, including a drunken-driving conviction, should contact a Canadian consulate or embassy before traveling, according to Visit Canada, which specializes in educational tours to the country. Waivers of exclusion may be obtained, though the process can take several weeks.
Travelers who plan to visit Israel and other Middle East countries on the same trip are advised to ask immigration officials not to stamp their passport in Israel but rather to stamp a separate piece of paper, like a landing card, instead.
Another solution: apply for a second United States passport, which is good for two years and costs $75. Travelers must submit a detailed written statement explaining why the second passport is needed — as, for example, when a foreign country would deny a visa or entry to an individual whose passport showed travel to a particular country.
For travelers looking for information on passport, visa and health advice, a good resource is www.iatatravelcentre.com, developed by the International Air Transport Association. The State Department's Web site also lists entry and exit requirements to foreign countries at www.travel.state.gov .