You are responsible for having a valid US passport or, if you are not a US citizen, proper travel documents. Your passport must be valid for six months after your return to the US or country to which you are headed at the end of your program. An airline may prevent you from boarding a plane if your passport expires within six months (180 days) after your return. It is your responsibility to make sure your travel documents are valid.
You can still register without a valid passport or travel documents, but you must submit your registration form with any details you already have, such as your birth date and full name as it appears or will appear on your passport. Then, make sure you contact us to update your passport details when your new passport or travel document arrives.
If you don’t have a passport, apply for one immediately. It normally takes four to six weeks to be issued. Expedited service will incur additional and unnecessary expense that you can avoid by applying well in advance of your departure. You can apply for your passport at most post offices.
Please make sure you fill in your passport information correctly and as completely as you can in the registration form. This is so that we can arrange for group visas in advance. In most cases, SBS will arrange for visas to be issued for all US citizens who are traveling with the group. Often, foreign visas are free. Otherwise, visa costs vary from country to country and change without notice. Visa costs, if any, are not included in the price of the program. Such a change may require an additional charge being added to your account.
Visa and documentation requirements for non-US citizens vary widely from country to country. If you are not a US citizen or if you will be traveling on your own at any time, you will have to check with the embassies of any country you will be traveling in for information on what documents you will need and what additional fees might apply. SBS cannot make visa arrangements for individuals traveling on their own.