Tucked away in the innards of the Qantas website are a couple of tools that are useful for everybody, no matter which airline you are flying, that I wasn’t aware of until recently.
The first is a form which will produce a customised report of the relevant visa and health requirements, not only for your destination but also for any countries through which you will be transiting. This is particularly useful for ascertaining what vaccinations are required, whether a visa is necessary to enter OR transit thorugh a particular country and whether you will need to provide proof of an onward travel or that you possess sufficient funds for your journey. This is particularly important because
not only may you be denied clearance though immigration at your destination if you cannot fulfill these requirements, but you may not even get off the ground. You may be denied boarding by the airline if you cannot convince them that you will be able to fulfill these conditions. Indeed, airlines are often stricter than overseas customs officials because should you be denied entry the airline will be required to deport you back to the flight’s country of origin at their own cost, often with a fine thrown in for good measure.
The country information search can also provide details about visa and health requirements along with passport requirements (e.g. whether a passport must be valid only for the lenght of stay or longer), airport taxes which may not be included in the ticket price, customs regulations and currency restrictions.
Both very useful tools.
Got any other great travel hints or tips? Please leave a comment!
[Image from Paul Davidson on Flickr]
Oz Traveller 