Passports and visas

What you actually need to get in, and the official site for each.

A passport that will not expire too soon, and, for some countries, a visa or an online authorization booked before you fly. This page lays out the real government fees, the current wait times, and Europe's new entry rules for 2026. For every step we send you straight to the official government site, because that is almost always the cheapest and safest route, and we earn nothing sending you there.

The six-month rule

Your passport can be valid and still get you turned away.

Many countries, and the airlines that carry you to them, will not let you in if your passport expires within six months of your travel dates. The rule is set and enforced by the destination and the airline, not by the United States, so a passport that is technically still valid can be refused at check-in. Europe's Schengen area is a common exception in the other direction: it asks for at least three months of validity beyond your planned departure, and that the passport was issued within the last ten years.

The honest move is simple: check your expiry date the moment you start planning, and renew early if it is anywhere close. Each destination's exact requirement is on its official page, and the State Department's travel checklist is the clean starting point.

State Department travel checklist we earn nothing

Renewing a US passport

The real fees, the real wait, and the only site you need.

For a routine US passport there is one official place to go: travel.state.gov. Eligible adults can renew online, and everyone else applies by mail or in person. The fees and the current wait times are below. Private couriers and "renewal" sites cannot make the government faster, and the State Department says so plainly, so the official route is what we point you to.

One warning worth repeating: the only official site for online renewal is opr.travel.state.gov. Other sites that promise to "renew your passport online" charge extra on top of the government fee, and some are outright scams. You never need them to use the official route.

Do you need a visa?

The only reliable answer is the official one.

Whether you need a visa depends on your destination, your nationality, and how long you are staying, and the rules change often enough that even professionals misread them. So we do not decide your case here. What we do is point you to the authority: for US citizens, the State Department's country information pages are the router, and each of our country guides carries the current entry requirement, dated, with a link to that country's official portal.

As a rough snapshot for US citizens on a tourist trip, checked in July 2026 and always worth confirming on the official page before you fly:

• Apply for an e-visa before you board: Brazil, India and Vietnam each need an online visa arranged in advance, on that country's official portal.
• Visa or visa on arrival: Egypt and Indonesia require a visa, available online or on arrival depending on the country.
• Europe's Schengen area: no visa for a short stay today, with the ETIAS authorization coming later in 2026 (see above).
• United Kingdom: an ETA, covered in the UK guide.
• No visa for a short visit: much of Europe, and, as of 2026, Turkey and Thailand for US citizens, though a free arrival form may still apply.

This is a starting point, not a ruling, and it is written for US citizens. Green card holders and other nationalities can face different rules. Always confirm on the official government page for your destination and your passport.

Check entry rules at travel.state.gov we earn nothing

See the entry note in each country guide

Entry rules, walked through

The country entry authorizations we have stepped through.

For the destinations where the rule recently changed or the official process trips people up, we have written a plain-English walkthrough that points only to the official government route, and shows any paid helper beneath it. Each one lives in that country's guide.

• Do US citizens need a visa for Aruba?Short answer: no visa, but there is a form you must do before you fly, and it now costs 20 dollars a person. Here is what it is, and how to avoid paying extra to a lookalike site.
• How do US citizens get an Australia ETA?Short answer: through the official app, and only the app. US citizens need an Australian ETA, it is cheap and usually instant, but the app-only process trips people up. Here is how it works and what it costs.
• Do US citizens need a visa for Brazil?Short answer: yes, and it caught a lot of people out. Brazil brought back a visa for Americans in 2025, it is online only, and there is one official site. Here is the cost, the timing, and how not to overpay.
• Do US citizens need a visa for China?Short answer: yes, for a normal trip, and you apply in advance. The one exception is a transit rule that turns a stopover into a 10-day visit. Here is how each works.
• Do I need the E-Ticket for the Dominican Republic?Short answer: yes, and most people miss that you need it twice, once to arrive and once to leave. It is free and takes about ten minutes. Here is the official site and how not to pay for it.
• Do US citizens need a visa for Ecuador?Short answer: no visa for a normal visit, and entry is easy. The costs that catch people are not at the border but on the way to the Galapagos. Here is what you need, and what to budget.
• Do US citizens need a visa for Georgia?Short answer: no visa, and you can stay a whole year. The catch for 2026 is new and easy to miss: you now have to carry travel insurance to get in. Here is what you need and how to prove it.
• How do US citizens get an India e-visa?Short answer: online, on one official government site, before you travel. US citizens need an India e-Tourist Visa, the process is straightforward, but the search results are full of overpriced middlemen. Here is the real fee and the real site.
• Do I need the FMM tourist card for Mexico, and what is Visitax?Short answer: if you fly in, the tourist card is already in your ticket, so you do nothing separate. The one fee that is genuinely on you is Visitax, but only if you are headed to Cancun or the Riviera Maya. Here is what you actually owe.
• Do US citizens need a visa for Namibia?This one has changed, and a lot of the internet has not caught up. Namibia used to be visa-free for Americans; since April 2025 it is not. Here is what you actually need, and the official place to get it.
• Do US citizens need an NZeTA for New Zealand, and what is the IVL?Short answer: yes, and it is two charges bundled into one. The NZeTA is cheap, but the NZ$100 tourism levy on top is the part that surprises people. Here is the real total, the official app, and how not to overpay.
• Do US citizens need a K-ETA for South Korea?Short answer: not right now. For US travelers the K-ETA is waived through the end of 2026, but there is a free arrival card you still must file, and the K-ETA comes back in 2027. Here is what you actually need, and when.
• The free Sri Lanka ETA for US citizensSri Lanka made its tourist ETA free for Americans in May 2026, but free does not mean skip it: you still have to get one before you board. Here is how, and how to make sure you are not overcharged by a lookalike site.
• Do I need the Thailand Digital Arrival Card (TDAC)?Short answer: yes, everyone does, and it is free. The TDAC is not a visa, US citizens still get 60 days visa-free, but you must file it online before you fly. Here is how, and how not to pay for something free.
• Do US citizens need an ETA for the UK?Short answer: yes, now you do, and it even applies to a layover. The UK ETA is not a visa, and it is quick and cheap, but only from the official source. Here is what it costs and how to get it right.

Connecting through Europe

A layover can need its own visa, even if you never leave the airport.

The cheapest ticket to Asia or Africa often routes through a European hub like Frankfurt, Paris or Amsterdam. For most travelers that is nothing to plan around, and US citizens do not need anything for it. But for some nationalities, passing through the international transit area of a Schengen airport, without ever clearing immigration or entering the country, still needs an airport transit visa, the Schengen "Type A". Whether you need one depends on your nationality and on the specific country your layover is in, and countries change their lists quietly, so this is not a thing to answer from memory, ours or anyone's.

Two points are worth knowing before you book a connecting itinerary:

• A US visa or US residence permit often lifts the requirement. If your nationality would otherwise need a transit visa, holding a valid US visa or US green card frequently exempts you, but that exemption varies by the transit country, so confirm it rather than assume it.
• Staying airside is the whole point. A transit visa only lets you wait in the international zone for your next flight. If your connection makes you change airports, collect and re-check a bag, or leave the transit area, you are entering the country and need a regular short-stay Schengen visa instead.

The way to check is simple: look at the official page for the specific Schengen country your layover is in, since that country is the authority for its own airports. The European Commission's visa pages explain the transit visa and link through to each country's process.

Check transit rules at the European Commission we earn nothing

Which nationalities need an airport transit visa

Need help with the paperwork? RushMyTravelVisa is a private service that prepares airport transit visa packets for a fee. It is optional, the official route above is free to check and cheaper to file yourself, and most travelers do not need a transit visa at all.Get transit visa help from RushMyTravelVisa we may earn a commission