The visa questions worth asking before you book

Does a visa apply to me specifically?

Not to travellers generally, and not to the group — to you. Requirements follow the passport you hold, not the country you live in. Two people sitting next to each other on the same coach to Heathrow, both living in London for thirty years, can face entirely different requirements because one holds a British passport and the other does not.

It also depends on how long you are staying, whether you are transiting through a third country, and occasionally on which airport you arrive at. If you are booking for a group, ask the question once per passport rather than once per booking.

How long is my passport valid after I get back?

This is the question that catches the most people, because the answer feels like it should be obvious and is not. Many countries require six months of validity beyond your return date. A passport that expires the month after you get home meets its own printed expiry date and still fails that rule.

Children's passports are worse, because they are issued for five years rather than ten and expire when nobody is thinking about it. If you are travelling as a family, check every passport in the house on the same afternoon.

Those are our own observations from the departures we run, not published service standards. Processing times lengthen without warning around public holidays and in the busy season, and the only figure that matters is the one on the relevant authority's own website on the day you apply.

What can the travel company actually do?

We can tell you what is typically required for the journey you are looking at, and when to start. We can supply your booking confirmation, your itinerary and your accommodation details, which most applications ask for. We can tell you honestly when we think your timeline is unrealistic.

We cannot apply on your behalf, chase a decision, or influence one. We are a travel company, not immigration advisers, and anyone in our position who tells you otherwise is either confused or selling something.

What happens to my booking if it is refused?

Tell us the day you know. In order of usefulness, the options are usually: move to a later departure, transfer your place to somebody else, or cancel under the normal terms. The first two are almost always cheaper than the third.

A refusal does not by itself entitle you to a refund — the cancellation bands apply as they would for any other reason. Many travel insurance policies do cover visa refusal, which is the strongest argument for buying insurance when you book rather than in the week before you fly.