For better or worse, free traveling across the world is impossible due to the abundance of borders. Crossing some of them requires a thick pack of papers, while others are passable with little more than a passport. So, where can an owner of a US passport go? And what if a US ID is not enough? Let’s answer these questions.
Where can I go without a VISA?
A US passport alone can open quite a lot of borders and let you go to a great number of countries without a visa. Here’s a list of countries that offer traveling with a US passport in your pocket:
Africa and Oceania: Botswana, Cook Islands, Equatorial Guinea, Eswatini, Fiji, French Polynesia, Guam, Kiribati, Lesotho, Marshall Islands, Mauritius, Mayotte, Micronesia, Morocco, Namibia, New Caledonia, Niue, Northern Mariana Islands, Palau Islands, Principe, Reunion, Sao Tome, Senegal, South Africa, The Central African Republic, Tunisia, Vanuatu.
Asia:
Brunei, Hong Kong (SAR China), Indonesia, Japan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Macao (SAR China), Malaysia, Mongolia, Philippines, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan (Chinese Taipei), Thailand, and Uzbekistan.
Europe:
Albania, Andorra, Austria, Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Faroe Islands, Finland, France, Georgia, Germany, Gibraltar, Greece, Greenland, Guernsey, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Kosovo. Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Moldova, Monaco, Montenegro, Netherlands, North Macedonia, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, San Marino, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Ukraine, United Kingdom, and Vatican City.
Middle East:
Armenia, Israel, Oman, Palestinian Territory, and Qatar.
South America:
American Samoa, Argentina, Belize, Bermuda, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, El Salvador, Falkland Islands, French Guiana, Guatemala, Guyana, Honduras, Nicaragua, Panama, Peru, and Uruguay.
North America:
Anguilla, Antigua and Barbuda, Aruba, Bahamas, Barbados, Canada, Cayman Islands, Curacao, Dominica, Dominican Republic, French West Indies, Grenada, Haiti, Jamaica, Mexico, Montserrat, Puerto Rico, St. Kitts and Nevis, St. Lucia, St. Maarten, St. Vincent, and the Grenadines, The British Virgin Islands, Trinidad and Tobago, Turks and Caicos Islands, and the US Virgin Islands.
However, things may change at any moment, and you might still need some extra documents to enter those countries; thus, it is best to do some research beforehand, no matter how hassle-free your trip may seem.
One of the roadblocks that might be encountered is ETA (Electronic Travel Authorization) and its variations. Long story short – ETA is payment for permission to enter the country. For example, if you are planning to visit the United Kingdom, learn more about the ETA to enter the U.K. And this practice gets more widespread, ETIAS to enter the E.U. will come into effect in 2024. At the present moment, US citizens are issued with ETA and such in Australia, Côte d’Ivoire, South Korea, Sri Lanka, and New Zealand.
What if you need a VISA?
The US passport provides a lot of freedom for traveling; however, there are countries that US citizens cannot enter without a visa:
Asia: Afghanistan, Bhutan, China, North Korea, Turkmenistan, Vietnam
Americas: Suriname, Venezuela, Cuba
Africa and Oceania: Algeria, Cameroon, Chad, Congo (Dem. Rep.), Congo (Rep.), Eritrea, Ghana, Liberia, Libya, Mali, Niger, Nigeria, Sudan, Nauru
Europe: Azerbaijan, Belarus, Russia, Turkey
Middle East: Iran, Syria, Yemen
Sometimes, however, you can get a Visa On Arrival, or VOA, in your destination country. US citizens can use this option in quite a lot of countries.
VOA countries: Bangladesh, Bolivia, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Comoros, Iraq, Jordan, Mauritania, Mozambique, Nepal, Papua New Guinea, Lebanon, Maldives, Tonga, Tuvalu, Solomon Islands, Seychelles, United Arab Emirates, Sierra Leone, Somalia, Timor-Leste, Togo.
You can also get an E-Visa which is enough to visit many corners of the world.
E-Vise countries: Angola, Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Benin, Cambodia, Djibouti, Egypt, Ethiopia, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, India, Ivory Coast, Kenya, Kuwait, Laos, Madagascar, Malawi, Myanmar, Pakistan, Rwanda, Saudi Arabia, South Sudan, Tanzania, Turkey, Uganda, Uzbekistan, Vietnam, Zambia, Zimbabwe.
What do I need to get a Visa?
The things you need to go to another country change constantly, but there are guidelines to follow. The best course of action is to check out official lists of required documents. Then collect all the papers you need.
One thing that can cause unexpected trouble is ID photos, especially when you are in a hurry. The simplest solution is to go to a photo studio, but you can make perfectly fitting photos if you know how to edit an ID picture. And with accessible passport photo maker software free for PC, you can obtain high-quality passport photos at home. This software is easy to use and enables you to create professional-looking pictures in no time.
One more thing you should keep in mind is your US passport validity while traveling. Different countries have varying requirements, so that is one more research to do while planning your trip.
And that’s it! Hopefully, this article will help you choose a destination you can go to with the least trouble and the most pleasure. Good luck.
