Thinks have changed a lot in the travel industry in the last 10 years with the growing popularity of the Internet. When was the last time you called your “travel agent”? You don’t have a travel agent? Yeah, me neither. Now you just jump on a handful of travel websites like Orbitz, Hotwire, Expedia, or Travelocity to name a few, and book all your travel needs. You get your airline tickets, your hotel accommodations, and your rental car in one convenient location.
What about if you are leaving the country though and need a passport? Well things have changed in getting passports as well. Yes you can still go through the old-school government channels and get your passport in 1-3 months for your upcoming trip. But what if you need your passport expedited the same day? You need your passport rushed to you right away. Even if your trip isn’t for a few weeks or even a month out, do you really want to leave it up to chance and in the hands of our government to get you your passport on time?
Just like booking all your other travel needs, there is a better way to get an emergency passport. There are a number of very helpful websites that expedite your passport and even get you a same day passport in case of real emergency.
Here’s how it works. You still pay the regular government fees for your passport, but on top of that you pay these companies who specialize in expediting passports and visa a fee to make it happen fast for you. This fee varies depending of how soon you need your passport. Obviously you pay a higher price for an expedited passport that is the same day or over-nighted to you than you would for one that is rushed in 1 week or 2 weeks.
The fees are very reasonable and affordable. If you are in a jam, there is not much else you can do. I for one am glad to pay the extra fees with the assurance that I will have my passport in time for my trip. Especially if you’ve already paid for airfare and hotel up front, you can’t miss your trip because of a passport problem.
The Internet once again has given us a great new benefit in the travel industry. We can get our air, hotel, car rental, and now passports all taken care of just with a few clicks of the mouse.
Archive for the ‘Passports And Visas’ Category
Same Day Passport Are Now A Reality
Monday, July 4th, 2011Vietnam visa for UK (Bristish) Citizens
Monday, July 4th, 2011UK citizens are required a valid visa for traveling to Vietnam. Two ways for getting a visa are visiting Vietnamese embassy in London or applying for a time and cost effective visa on arrival.
1. Embassy of Vietnam in UK (Visa Section)
Office
:
Embassy
Street Address
:
Victoria Road 12-14,
Postal Address
:
ZIP Code
:
W8-5rd
City
:
London
State
:
London
Country
:
United Kingdom
Telephone
:
(+44-20) 79371912, 79373222
Faximile
:
(+44-20) 79376108
Email
:
vp@dsqvnlondon.demon.co.uk, consular@vietnamembassy.org.uk
Website
:
www.vietnamembassy.org.uk
Direction to the Embassy: The Embassy is located on Victoria Road, opposite to Kensington Garden (Hyde Park). Nearest tube station is High Street Kensington which is about five minutes walking from the Embassy. Exit the tube station, turn right, go straight for apprroximately 300 metres before you will see Victoria Road on the right side.
1. Getting Vietnam VISA from Vietnam Embassy in London (UK)
Application for an entry VISA to Vietnam can be made in person or by post to the Embassy of Vietnam. Application in person can be made by the applicant or any representative. Application by post must be sent by Royal Mail Special Delivery.
General requirements:
Documents to be submitted are:
- For Application in person: payment can be in cash, guaranteed cheque, postal order or bankers draft.
- For Application by post: payment should be in guaranteed cheque, postal order or bankers draft only. Your full name, passport number, contact address and telephone number must be provided at the back of the payment. Please DO NOT SEND CASH by post, the Embassy does not accept responsibility for any loss as a result of you sending cash.
- Visa fees vary according to the type of visas and length of stay and are regularly adjusted. Please contact the Embassy by email or telephone for relevant fee information.
Processing Schedule:
- Application by Fax: Application by Fax is available in the Express Processing only. You can send the application form and the main page of your passport by fax TWO DAYS in advance; and then collect the visa upon presenting your passport and paying for the visa fee at the Embassy. If you stay in Vietnam for more than one month and/or one entry, please consult the Embassy.
- Same-Day Processing: The visa can be processed in the Express Processing and granted on the same day of application if your stay in Vietnam does not exceed 15 days. This service is not available if you stay for more than 15 days.
- Delivery service charge to return your passport by post should be:
Important information:
Dos and Don’ts:
BUSINESS VISA
(From http://www.vietnamembassy.org.uk/consular.html)
2. Getting a visa on arrival
On the other way, you can also apply for Vietnam Visa on arrival through www.vietnamvisasupport.com. We make sure that it is cheaper and easier than getting visa to Vietnam from the Embassy in United Kingdom. The total cost is from 20 – 45 USD/person. Visit Vietnamvisasupport.com to see how to get Vietnam Visa on arrival.
The Ins and Outs of Expedited Passports
Tuesday, January 18th, 2011Traveling abroad can be a rewarding experience for both personal and professional purposes. Whether you are a businessperson or a vacationer, having the right identification to get you in and out of the country in question is an important part of making good plans. Many individuals find that expedited passports offer a quick solution for those wanting to travel sooner rather than later.
Passports and visas make it easy to travel just about anywhere in the world. These government issues identifications are accepted just about anywhere making them great for the traveler. However, you will need to apply sometimes as far back as 2-months for your passports or other forms of valid identification.
If you plan on traveler as soon as possible or you have last minute reasons why traveling today is essential, chances are good you will find not having a passport is going to be an enormous hurdle to cross. Of course, not everyone is required to have a valid passport on hand, but if you plan on traveling, you will definitely want to insure you have this form of identification on hand.
Expedited passports are a possibility. With this expedited service, you will pay an additional fee in exchange for having your application rushed through. Please note, expedited service does not guarantee your application will be accepted. If your application is denied, you will not receive a refund on the fee you charged.
The fee charged will range from a low price to extreme high prices. Aren’t all expedited services the same?
Unfortunately, not all service providers are the same. But this is a good thing too! You will find that providers of this service vary as much as the passport holders needing their services. The price you see for the services may or may not include the application process as well. So if you see “Expedited Passports $19.99!” you will probably want to see how much they are charging for the application process as well.
On the same token, if you see “Expedited Passports $99.99!” you will want to insure this includes both the application fee as well as the expedited fee. As you can see, the fees will vary according to what is included in the package. This also means you will want to investigate any other “hidden” fees you may find once you start the process.
Upfront pricing is going to be the way to go. If you get quoted a price, please, make sure that price is for the full package deal you need. Generally, if the price seems too good to be true, it is. Yes, that old adage still holds truth today and no truer words have been spoken.
When it comes to choosing expedited passports, you will want to insure you are getting what you pay for. With the variety of prices quoted for these services comes the variety of services provided for that quote. This can tend to lead to frustration and confusion with an added detriment of slowing down the application process. Of course, if you are concerned, you can always just apply for the passport ahead of time giving plenty of time to get the identification you need at a reduced price that is clear from the beginning.