Passports And Visas for crew

Your passport is proof of your citizenship. It allows you entry into other countries. There’s no crossing an international border without one. If you don’t already have a passport, apply well in advance of your trip. Passport offices usually process applications quite quickly, but you should still allow several weeks in case there are any snags. Make sure, before you leave on your trip, that your passport is valid for six months at the very least. Certain countries will not let you in if you have less than six months to run on your passport. My recommendation is that if your passport has less than twelve months before it expires, you should apply for a new one or update it.

Taking extra passport photos with you is a good idea. If you decide you want to visit a country not in the original plan, you can sometimes arrange for a visa at the border, but the immigration officers will want a photo. Extra photos also come in handy if you need a permit to do a particular activity like fishing which may require a permit with your photograph.

If your passport is lost or stolen, report the fact immediately to the nearest embassy or consular office. Bring an endorsed photocopy of the passport and your birth certificate to help speed up the replacement process. Endorsed means that the photocopy has been signed and stamped by a recognised person like a magistrate or doctor to indicate that the document is real and not a forgery.

Visas
Visas determine how long you’re allowed to stay in another country or indeed whether you are allowed entry. Establish where you’re going to first, and then find out if you need a visa. You need to do this well in advance of your departure date.
Tourist entry restrictions can change frequently, depending on the time of year or political situations. Visas can take a long time to process. Standard procedure will involve sending your passport to that country’s embassy or consulate general – usually located in a major city. Don’t worry, you’ll get your passport back. The visa itself is a stamp or a piece of paper pasted into your passport, outlining what the country’s permission to you is. Shorter visits may not require a visa and some visas are free. Call the individual embassies for current requirements and restrictions.
For the purposes of this book there are simply too many permutations for us to give you a thoroughly accurate picture of what visas you will require. Situations change and politicians keep putting their oar in and stirring things up. The information given in this book is a very simple guideline. Please double check your facts with your travel agents before you put things in motion, ie buying tickets. South African passport holders need to take particular care.

Schengen Visas
A Schengen visa will enable you to enter up to fifteen European countries under the umbrella of one Visa. It is particularly useful for South Africans. A Schengen Visa covers the following countries. Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Iceland, Italy, Greece, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Spain and Sweden. All these countries except Norway and Iceland are European Union members.. To apply for this visa go to the Embassy of the country that you will be visiting first, for example France, and instead of just asking for a visa for that country itself ask for the Schengen Visa.
Obviously it will cost a bit more and you may not intend visiting some of the countries included in it but at least this way your options are kept wide open.

Visa Clearing Agencies
This is one of the simplest ways of getting concrete, up to date information but as usual you can expect to pay for the privilege.
There are two sites that I have come across during my research that I can recommend. Immigration, Work Visa and Naturalization Services, alternatively known as  www.workpermit.co.uk or www.workpermit.com

American Visas
This visa is one of the most important visas for would be crew. A whole season revolves around the Caribbean and entry in and out of American waters is inevitable.
The C-1/D visa.  C-1 is required when the individual is transiting through the US, unless the person is from a country that is allowed to travel under the visa waiver program.  The D Visa part of the C-1/D visa is for crewman of airliners and for individuals on vessels that perform duties required for the normal operation and service of said vessels.  In terms of defining which individuals on a vessel are required for the normal operation and service of the vessel, The US Embassy will look at the individual’s activities and responsibilities on the vessel.

A C – 1/D Seaman’s Visa
If you are a foreign national boarding a ship in an American port or in another country that eventually will stop in American port, you will need to obtain a C1-D1 Seaman’s Visa. This visa can easily be issued at the American consulate in your own country providing that you bring along the ‘letter of employment’ from the company.  The letter from the employer should be on a company letterhead and should confirm the employment of the individual and state the period that the individual will be in the US. Without it, there is no proof that you have been hired. Of course this letter is always the crunch. It is really hard to get the visa without the letter. It is also hard to get the letter without the job.

B visa holders may change their status in the United States.
Generally, a citizen of a foreign country who wishes to enter the United States must first obtain a visa, either a non-immigrant visa for temporary stay, or an immigrant visa for permanent residence.
The visitor visa is a non-immigrant visa for persons desiring to enter the United States temporarily for business (B-1) or for pleasure or medical treatment (B-2).
Persons planning to travel to the USA for a different purpose such as students, temporary workers, crewmen, journalists, etc. must apply for a different visa in the appropriate category. Travellers from certain eligible countries may also be able to visit the USA without a visa on the Visa Waiver Pilot Program.
If you are concerned that you will not be able get an American C1 – D1 Seaman’s Visa, I would recommend that you find a job on a yacht in Europe that is doing a crossing to the States and apply for the visa while in Europe. Alternatively you can try and enter into the States on a B1 – B2 visa and upgrade to Seaman’s visa while you are there.   I wouldn’t recommend this last option for several reasons, the main one being that the US is no longer adjudicating visas in the US, so if they person does adjust to C-1/D in the US, then as soon as they leave the US they will have to apply for the C-1/D at an Embassy outside the US (probably from the Embassy in their home country).

Qualifying for a Visa:
Applicants for visitor visas must show that they qualify under provisions of the INA. Unfortunately, the law presumes that every visitor visa applicant is an intending immigrant. Therefore, applicants for visitor visas must overcome this presumption by demonstrating that:
(a) The purpose of their trip is to enter the USA for business, pleasure, or medical treatment;
(b) That they plan to remain for a specific, limited period;
(c) That they have a residence outside the USA as well as other binding ties to the country they are applying for the visa in which will ensure their return abroad at the end of the visit.

Required Documentation:
Each applicant for a visitor visa must pay a non-refundable application fee of roughly $105 USD and submit:
1) A passport valid for travel to the United States and with a date at least six months beyond the applicant’s intended period of stay in the United States. If more than one person is included in the passport, each person desiring a visa must make an application;
2) Two photographs,  2 inches square (50 x 50mm) for each applicant, showing full face, without head covering, against a light background.  
3) Proof of strong ties to the country where the application is being made.  These documents include, but are not limited to, proof of house ownership, rental agreement, employment contracts, bank statements, utility bills, etc.

www.workpermit.com

General Information
A visa is valid until its expiration date, unless it has been previously cancelled. Therefore, if the traveller has a valid USA visitor visa in an expired passport, he/she may use it along with a new valid passport for travel and admission to the United States. Attempting to obtain a visa by the wilful misrepresentation of a material fact, or fraud, may result in the permanent refusal of a visa or denial of entry into the United States.

Who Can Apply to Extend Their Stay?
Applicants may apply to extend their stay if: lawfully admitted into the USA with a non-immigrant visa; the non-immigrant visa status has remained valid, and no crimes have been committed that would make them ineligible. Remember, the application for an extension of stay must be filed BEFORE your current authorized stay expires. You must also keep your passport valid for your entire stay in the United States. As a general rule, you may not apply to extend your stay if you were admitted to the USA in the following visa categories:

(VWPP) - Visa Waiver Pilot Program
D – As a crewman
C – As an alien in transit or in transit without a visa
K – As a fiancé of a USA citizen or dependent of a fiancé
S –As an informant (and accompanying family) on terrorism or organised crime

The Visa Waiver Pilot Program
As long as you are travelling on a participating airline, and hold a return, or onward ticket to a country other than Canada, Citizens of the following countries do not need a visa for visits to the USA of up to 90 days:
Andorra, Australia, Austria, Belgium Brunei, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Monaco, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Portugal, San Marino, Singapore, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom

Those present in the USA under the visa waiver scheme are subject to basically the same conditions as those on a B-1/B-2 visa, except that it is not possible to extend their stay while in the USA or change to another visa. This is something of a drawback.