Visa Issues
Planning for a 3-4 months trip to countries for which you need visas can be a bit of a headache. Every country has its own requirements and rules, restrictions, and fees. No rhyme or reason to it. I had to map out the order in which to obtain visas by one most important factor: How long is the visa valid after it has been issued. I called every embassy to find out.In my case: Syria is the most generous with a 6 months validation. Lebanon and Iran both issue visas good for three months after approval and Afghanistan… screwed me over by issuing a two months validation period which rendered the entire document invalid, as it will take me 2.5 months to get there! A full week of holiday closings between Christmas and New Years now leaves me with 13 days to straighten this out. This was not the plan! I think it is not wise to let a passport go much longer than a month prior to travel. But I have no choice. I will keep my fingers crossed.This leads me to one other issue: What if? Unexpected things can happen. As I have a plan A travel plan, I also have plan B and C mapped out. I could not obtain my Iran visa ahead of time as I needed to send my passport out to obtain the other visas. In addition, it would be 3.5 months after issuing the visa, before I would reach Iran, conflicting with their requirements; so a visa has to be obtained on route. I solicited the help of an Iranian travel operator. I don’t like to put my fate into the hands of strangers. If all goes well, I will pick up my Iran visa in Damascus. But if not… there is always Turkey. No visa needed for German nationals. And there is Jordan. I will travel to Detroit to get a visa in one day in person. Jordan is not on my travel list, but if stranded I have friends there. So, in case I get mugged, or lose all my money otherwise, break a leg, or have other catastrophic events, I will have a visa to a place where I can recoup. This is a reassuring thought.