Visas

A visa is a special notation, stamped or glued into your passport, that allows you to enter and exit a country. Something like: “Bearer is hereby granted leave to travel in Elbonia from June 1, 2001 -August 31, 2001, for the purpose of tourism.”Visas are an unfortunate holdover from the days when European borders meant something. Today, visas are little more than bureaucratic inconveniences, and some can be surprisingly expensive, especially for Canadians. Fortunately, very few Western European countries still require them, and fewer Eastern European countries do each passing year. See Basics #1 for more on visas - especially if you are from Canada, Australia, or New Zealand.