Extra costs factor into study abroad

International travel is on the bucket list of many college students, but there are other costs besides airfare, hotels and food that students need to take into consideration when preparing to travel abroad. In order to travel internationally, a U.S. citizen must have a passport — an official document that establishes a person's identity and serves as a form of identification no matter where they find themselves in the world, according to Rebecca Laumann, study abroad director for the University of Memphis. Although the process of obtaining appropriate documentation and traveling to unknown places may seem intimidating, students can find information on how to apply for a passport on the U of M's study abroad homepage. Passport applications are also available at local post offices. According to the U.S. Passports and International Travel Bureau, prices for adult passports start at $135, while passports for minors who are 16 years old and younger range from $80 to $100. Having a passport is the first step to going abroad, but other important expenses include visas, international medical insurance and a calling card or cell phone plan. Many European countries don't require a visa as long as a person is staying 90 days or less, but some countries require it no matter the length of time. According to the U.S. Bureau of Consular Affairs, it costs $160 to apply for a visa. For students who need international health insurance, the U of M Study Abroad office can help students find a plan online that works for them. Through organizations like HTH Worldwide, students can obtain long-term or short-term health insurance. On HTH's website, students can get personalized quotes and purchase insurance that covers hospital care, surgery, office visits, prescription drugs and medical evacuations. Plans usually cover month by month and range from $16 to $35 a month. Many cell phone providers have international calling packages with rates that range from $10 a month with T-Mobile to $30 for 80 minutes with AT&T. Even though it may be difficult for some students to stay away from their phones, using instant messaging clients like Skype, who offers free internet calls all around the globe, can help save money when a student is budgeting in a foreign country. Carissa Hoitenga, a study abroad advisor for the U of M, answers student's questions about the process of applying for a passport as well as aiding them through the often-tedious process of doing so. "Students may want to travel abroad as a participant on a study abroad program, conduct research abroad as part of a thesis or simply to experience something new and explore the world outside of Memphis and the USA," she said. Hoitenga believes that while traveling abroad may seem intimidating when you begin the process, it's still something everyone should do once. According to her, traveling to different countries can bring a completely different aspect of culture and life to people, and, most importantly, it allows many to get out of their comfort zone.

New e-visa is a good thing for Turkish tourism

The news that British tourists heading to Turkey this summer will have to apply online for an electronic visa before they travel may not have been welcomed by holidaymakers. But a major holiday company says the introduction of the new e-visa is a positive step for tourists and will help to reduce lengthy queues at Turkish airports. Specialist tour operator Anatolian Sky Holidays said that holidaymakers often had to wait for hours in visa queues on arrival in Turkey and were required to have the right money in English pounds to pay for it. Anatolian Sky managing director Akin Koc, who is also chairman of the Association of Turkish Specialist Tour Operators, claimed the new scheme was a 'positive move'. He told travel industry magazine Travel Weekly: ‘I welcome the change because the client will have extra time when they arrive at the airport and it will be a hassle-free start to their holiday.’ The e-visa will cost the same as before and will be emailed to travellers for China Work Visa application form them to print out at home after they have provided their name, date and place of birth, email address and passport details. They will then be required to present the document to immigration on arrival. According to one immigration official: 'The entire process takes less than 10 minutes and it will speed up the whole visa application and processing system.' Cruise ship passengers with British passports entering the country for a day trip, remaining in China Student Visa application the port of embarkation and returning to the ship the same day will continue to be able to enter Turkey without a visa or e-visa. Mr Koc said Anatolian Sky would require customers to pay them the cost of the visa when booking their holiday but would then fill the form in for free, which he said would ‘defuse the problems at airports’. The Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) has warned holidaymakers about unauthorised websites that could try to charge an additional application fee for the visas. 'These websites are not endorsed by or associated with the Turkish government. Be wary of such sites and businesses, particularly those that seek additional fees for other services.' The Association of British Travel Agents (ABTA) has warned travel agents about the changes and says it will continue to advise them to ensure that holidaymakers are told ahead of their trips. An ABTA spokeswoman said: 'We have already informed our members about the need for consumers travelling to Turkey to apply online for a visa for travel after 10/4/14 and we will be reminding them again this week. 'Turkey is an extremely important destination for our members and we are concerned that consumers, particularly those who have not booked through ABTA members, may not be aware of the new requirement and may as a consequence be refused entry to Turkey.' Turkey is among the five most popular holiday destinations for Britons and a very important market for package holidays. But tourism was badly affected by political protests last year. Turkey’s Ministry of Culture and Tourism had to last summer reassure tourists that it is safe to visit the country as anti-government protests took place in Istanbul and popular holiday resorts including Bodrum and Marmaris.

Indian diplomat who was strip-searched leaves US

An Indian diplomat accused of lying about how much she paid her housekeeper left the United States after she was indicted on two criminal charges and Indian authorities refused to waive her immunity, authorities said. Devyani Khobragade, who had been strip-searched when arrested, left the country by plane Thursday night after being charged by a federal grand jury with visa fraud and making false statements in a case that has triggered an outcry in India, a senior U.S. official said. She's accused of fraudulently obtaining a work visa for her New York housekeeper. A U.S. government official in Washington who wasn't authorized to speak about the case publicly and spoke on the condition of anonymity said the U.S. accepted India's request to accredit her to the United Nations, which confers broader immunity than what she enjoyed as a consular official. It would be almost unprecedented for the U.S. to deny such a request unless the diplomat was a national security risk. The United States asked the government of India to waive the immunity, but the Indians refused, so the U.S. then "requested her departure" from the country, the official said. At a court hearing late Thursday involving only lawyers in the case, U.S. District Judge Shira A. Scheindlin was told by Khobragade's lawyer, Daniel Arshack, that he had told Khobragade not to board a flight Thursday afternoon until he had informed the judge presiding over her case that she has diplomatic immunity and had been ordered by the Department of State to leave the country. The judge said it seemed odd that bail conditions continued to contain language that Khobragade could not leave New York when the Department of State had ordered her to do so. "If she wants to go from India to China or something, it is not anybody's business right now. To say you may not travel outside the Southern District is kind of silly at this point," the judge said. "They have ordered her out and agreed she has diplomatic immunity now." The judge said Khobragade "is permitted to obey the order of the State Department without any adverse consequence to her and her sureties," though she said Khobragade could be arrested and forced to answer the indictment if she returned to the United States without diplomatic immunity. Arshack said Khobragade, whose nighttime flight from Kennedy Airport was delayed a couple of hours before finally taking off, was "pleased to be returning to her country."

EAC Citizens Thrilled to Use ID's At Border

Crossing borders of Rwanda, Uganda and Kenya by the nations' citizens is set to increase as the use of national identity cards and other agreed national documents, including voter's card and student's identity cards, came into force yesterday. The project, to be implemented under a tripartite arrangement, was agreed upon during a summit between the three Heads of State in Uganda in June last year. The leaders agreed to establish a single tourist visa, a single customs territory-launched last year-as well as fast track a joint railway line project, oil pipeline, and adopt national identity cards as travel documents. The ID initiative is meant to facilitate free movement of people within the region as stipulated in the East African Common Market protocol, the second stage of the integration process. A spot visit of the Rwanda-Uganda borders at Gatuna by The New Times showed that the rollout of the new initiative was long over due. Although it was New Year's public holiday, lines formed at the migration offices with several Rwandans using their identity cards to cross to Uganda. The same scenario transpired on Ugandan side of the border. "I'm going to Kabale District in Uganda to visit my friends. I just heard that today people will start crossing the border with identity cards; I don't have a passport so I had to utilise this opportunity," Theoneste Ndindiriyimana, from Gicumbi District, said at Gatuna border. Boniface Tumwijukye, a Ugandan from Ntungamo District, who crossed to Rwanda using his ID, said it would serve citizens more if the project was extended to Burundi and Tanzania as well. "I'm going to Cyangugu for adult English teaching; it's a good process because you don't have to spend much time at the border. However, to make it fully beneficial it needs to be extended to other countries to help us move in all East African countries freely," the teacher said. Currently, only Rwandans and Kenyans have national identity cards, meaning Ugandans will be using voter's cards until the country issues IDs to its citizens. At Kigali International Airport, all systems were set to receive Kenyans and Ugandans using identity cards or voter's cards as travel documents and also to allow Rwandans flying out to the two destinations to use the same document. However, by the time this paper visited the immigration offices at the airport, (at around 5pm) there had not been a single traveller who had used the new system. But the officer in charge of immigration at the airport, Charles Nkubito, confirmed that all systems were set and immigration staff notified on the new procedures. "The security staff and other personnel are well aware of the new system and will allow Rwandans to check in with their identity cards and also to receive Kenyan and Ugandan visitors using the arrangement. But most of our travellers are still using passports," he said.