My sister-in-law was in recently to visit from Italy. She has been living there for just under a year with her younger sister and daughter to fulfill a lifelong dream of hers. When she left to start her trip back to finish the remainder of her year there she ran into some slight issues with her visa. Do not worry, it all got sorted out and she is back in the land of her dreams. Her brief situation made me think about how different it is to travel internationally as a civilian as opposed to as an active service member. I touched on that concept briefly back when it was announced that Cuba would reopen its doors to tourism. I wanted to take this chance and dive a little bit deeper.
Visas
For most people getting a visa might be a no-brainer but for people that have only traveled internationally as part of military duty this may be a mystery. While on assignment some countries accept your military orders as your documented permission to enter and exit a country. You still need a passport but the papers are your ticket to a visa. Outside of official duty every-day joes have to apply for the right to enter and exit a host country. There are 160 different countries that United States citizens can visit without a visa acquired in advance. This list includes popular destinations such as Japan, Italy and France among others. The key to remember is that in most cases the visa you are issued on site at any of these countries is for tourism only which means you cannot be there to conduct business or in an official capacity. Also these visas cannot be renewed and when they expire you will need to leave the country for a set amount of time before you can re-enter.
Local Customs
I cannot stress this enough, ignorance of the law is never an excuse. I have seen many a tourist fall prey to the thinking that because they are a US citizen they have some form of immunity to the laws of a host country. When I was living in the Middle East (Qatar) the local law enforcement could not fathom why the American tourists chose not to follow their rules while in country. To them the law was the law of the land regardless of if you weren’t a citizen. Some of my active duty compatriots had uncle sam come to their rescue when they violated local customs but they were there in an official capacity and I assure you that their commanding officer made them pay later on.
Embrace the Surroundings
One of the best things about travel you take as a civilian is that you are afforded a chance to fully embrace the local culture without the restraints of the UCMJ or official guidelines from a superior officer. This means going to places that may have been off-limits to US military members. Now get your mind out of the gutter, I’m not advocating anything that is illegal in the US. A prime example involves a massive waterpark that was built just outside the military base in Qatar. The park was open to tourist and natives but in the interest of preventing any international incidents the US military banned troops from attending. There was no such ban when there as a tourist.
No matter what just make sure to be safe, have fun and leave with no regrets.