Travel Documentation
Are you ready to study, intern, volunteer or teach abroad? If so, it is time to choose the right travel documentation for your trip. You may need a US Passport, Travel Visa, or Student ID Card – find out more by looking at our partners on this page.
US Passport
No matter where you go outside the US you will need to have a passport. A passport is an official document issued by the government that certifies your identity and citizenship. There are two types of passports, a passport card and a passport book. A passport card can be used to enter the US from Canada, Mexico, the Caribbean, and Bermuda at land border crossings or sea ports-of-entry. This is smaller and less expensive. The passport book can be used to travel anywhere by sea, land or air.
It takes anywhere from two to ten months to secure a passport, so this should be the first legal document you worry about getting. Everything you need to know as far as what qualifies as evidence of U.S. citizenship and personal identification, and what size and quality your photos need to be can all be found at travel.state.gov. To get a basic idea of how simple it is to get a U.S. passport, check out our Study Abroad Student Guide.
Travel Visa
Travel visas are official documents issued by a country that allow you to travel abroad for a specific period of time and grant you temporary authorization to stay in that country. You won’t be allowed out of the US for more than ninety days without one of these. Each country’s visa has a different application, so you will have to work with the embassy of the country you wish to visit to find out the details. You can use the widget below to determine what type of travel visa you need.
International Student Cards
These cards serve two purposes: they are a form of identification and a student discount card. You may save thousands of dollars by purchasing one of these cards! There are tens of thousands of student discounts offered worldwide on travel fares, restaurants, shops, theaters, hotels and much more. They also carries medical benefits (up to $2,000), emergency evacuation fees (up to $5,000), and bankruptcy protection (up to $2,000).
Two of the cards that come highly recommended are the ISE Card and the ISIC card. For more information, check out our Study Abroad Student Guide.