Eww, paperwork

Bonjorno!

Now that we’ve finally taken the first step it’s time to move along with our planning. There is still a gigantic amount of ‘work’ to be done and normally this is the exact moment when we quit –we hope we’re not alone with this.. . That was one of the reasons why we actually started this blog: we knew this moment was coming. ‘Aww, this is too much research, too much to take care of, too much stress even’, we’ve been there and (not) done it. But since we really want to go on our long awaited trip, and because it would be a little awkward to suddenly quit our blog, we’re sticking with it! Onward and upward!

Paperwork to us really is a necessary evil. Once every blue moon, i get the urge to organize all my paperwork, put it in a special folder and store it away. Ah wonderfully tidy. Most of the time though, we’ll have bills and letters scattered all over the place. At this point it goes without saying that  paperwork is not our forte.

However what must be done, must be done. We firstly consulted the website of the Belgian Federal Public Service Foreign Affairs. We figured they should have all the answers and they did. Success! They even had a handy module on their website where you could enter your destination, duration of your stay, age and reason of the visit to know what documents you needed exactly. For us, we needed two things: a passport and authorization to enter the United States via the Electronic System for Travel Authorization (ESTA). Today we’ll cover everything passport-related and next week’s post will be entirely devoted to the ESTA-application. 

Belgian passports (Gemeente Opwijk)

Passport

All Belgians can apply for a passport at their local city hall so obviously their website was the next thing for us to take a look at. After a little research we discovered several things: 

1) A passport will set you back about €71. Prices can vary since each city can add extra city taxes. We are lucky enough to live in a city that adds a whopping €19 extra just for delivering your passport. Ain’t that grand.. It can also take up to two weeks to receive the travel document. 

2) After dropping some serious cash to obtain your travel document, it’s only valid for the next five years. Obviously we want to get the most use out of it, so I guess we’re going to do a lot more travelling outside Europe the coming years! 

3) Since 2005 every passport has a built-in chip, in accordance with regulations of the United States  for countries who wish to partake in the Visa Waiver Program (more on this later when we discuss the ESTA-procedure). By March 2014, every city hall in Belgium should issue biometric passports with fingerprints (oohlala). 

Also, you’ll need proof of your financial solvency (for example a credit card to your name). This is a common practice in many countries so they have some kind of guarantee that you’ll be able to support yourself financially during your trip. Be sure to have it with you, but know that they might not even ask for it. It all depends on who’s checking you and how suspicious you look (we can’t help you there, sorry). If you already own an international passport, be sure to check that it’s still valid! A temporary passport will not be accepted.

There you have it, all the basic info about getting yourself an international passport. Hopefully this has given some of you a little guidance through the madness that is paperwork.

See you in two days for the weekly Thursday Tickle!

R & B