January 22, 2004 3:29 a.m. EST

Countries Pile

Fees, Red Tape

On U.S. Tourists

In Response to Post-9/11 Changes,

Foreign Governments Hit

Americans With New Visa Rules

By ELEENA DE LISSER

Staff Reporter of THE WALL STREET JOURNAL

It's payback time for U.S. travelers.

Partly in retaliation for the United States' tougher stance toward foreign visitors, a number of countries have raised visa fees and erected new hurdles for incoming American citizens. While the higher fees and new paperwork aren't onerous, the added steps could catch some travelers off guard and add a new degree of complexity to overseas trips.

For instance, after the U.S. raised visa application fees for incoming Chinese visitors, Beijing last year hit back, boosting fees 67% for Americans heading to China. In the past year, Nepal, Pakistan and Thailand also raised visa fees for U.S. travelers. Russia not only raised fees, but now also requires all American men ages 16 to 45 to fill out a form detailing, among other things, whether they were ever in the armed services.

Brazil has been the most visible in its displeasure with new U.S. policies that require many foreigners to be fingerprinted and photographed upon entry. This month, Brazil started fingerprinting American travelers upon arrival, causing hours-long delays in customs for Americans. A Brazilian tourism official says the process has significantly improved since then and that U.S. visitors shouldn't take more than a few minutes to be processed. Brazil also has raised its visa fee.

Other countries are introducing new layers of paperwork. Saudi Arabia, which has always required letters of invitation from a registered company in the kingdom, now requires the original letter to be submitted with an official seal from the Saudi Chamber of Commerce. Previously, a faxed or e-mailed copy was acceptable, according to companies that help foreigners do the paperwork for Saudi visas.

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Russia's new paperwork, "Form 95," not only grills American males about their military service, it also asks for details about "specialized skills or training, including firearms, explosives, nuclear, biological or chemical experience." In addition, it wants to know the names of two of your previous bosses.

Officials at the Saudi and Russian embassies in Washington, D.C., and the Russian consulate in New York, couldn't be reached to comment.

Foreign embassy and consulate officials readily admit that fees have been raised in reaction to U.S. moves in the past two years. In many cases, visa fees charged by foreign governments have risen to $100 or more. That's the same amount the U.S. now charges foreigners to apply for a visa. In diplomatic circles, these tit-for-tat changes are known as "reciprocity" fees.

A U.S. State Dept. spokeswoman said that U.S. visa application fees increased to $100 from $45 during 2002. She said that the application fee was raised to cover the cost of visa processing services.

China, which has four different types of entry visas, raised fees last year 67% for Americans. The Chinese didn't raise fees for citizens of other countries. "The embassy here is instructed by Beijing to raise the visa fee for reciprocity," said the head officer of the visa section of the Chinese embassy in Washington.

Kurt Katay of Wildland Adventures, a Seattle company specializing in trips to Africa, the Middle East and South America, says that while some travelers "get kind of ticked off" at the fees, he hasn't had travelers cancel trips. "A small fee of $50 to $100 doesn't deter them after they've spent several thousands of dollars on a trip," he says.

Chile last year started charging Americans a $100 reciprocity fee, cash only, upon arrival at the airport. At the Chilean embassy in Washington, the woman who answered the phone said that it was only fair for Americans to pay this fee since that is what the U.S. charges Chileans applying for a U.S. visa. She also said that when Chileans apply for a visa and get rejected, they can't get a refund.

Not all the new fees are retaliation. At the Thai embassy in Washington, an official says the fees were raised for economic reasons, not political ones. A tourist visa for Americans increased 67% to $25 and a business visa increased 150% to $50. "We should've adjusted the price a long time ago," he said. "Everything costs."

While fees have risen, no one is saying it's more difficult for U.S. citizens to get visas to enter foreign countries. For example, the Russian form required of U.S. males is only one page, and while it asks a lot of personal questions, it is "not excessively time consuming," says Alex Thomas of Travel Document Systems, a company that helps travelers get their passports and visas in order.

The one exception, according to Mr. Thomas, is Brazil, which he says has upped the scrutiny of American buisness-travel visa applications in recent months. Listing São Paulo -- a city known more for its business rather than tourist attractions -- as the destination, or listing the name of a technology employer, can raise flags. Travel agents strongly recommend against claiming you're a tourist when you're really traveling to Brazil on business -- even if the business is only one day of a week-long visit that's mostly sand and samba.

"If they have any reason to think that you may be going some place other than the beach, they'll call people about their applications," Mr. Thomas says. "It seems like they're trying to get you to say something that would enable them to deny or limit your visa."

Dale Patterson of Zierer Visa Service says Brazilian consulates used to routinely grant a five-year multiple-entry visa for tourists. Today, he says, some clients get the five years, while others get only 90 days and that it's "hard to get a rationale from the individual consulates."

An official at the Brazilian consulate in San Francisco said the five-year visa is the standard for tourists and that business travelers aren't subjected to closer scrutiny.

The New Visa Policies

A list of changes in visa and travel entry requirements by foreign governments.

Brazil

PREVIOUS POLICY: Visa was required for American visitors but less than $100.

CURRENT POLICY: Tourist visa costs $100 plus $10 handling cost fee. Also, Americans will be fingerprinted and photographed upon arrival.

China

PREVIOUS POLICY: Americans paid same fees, ranging from $30 to $90 for U.S. citizens of visa, as other foreigners.

CURRENT POLICY: Americans pay 67% more. Visa fees now start at $50 and depending on the type go to $150.

Russia

PREVIOUS POLICY: Visa was required. Fee was less than $100.

CURRENT POLICY: Higher fees for U.S. citizens plus American males, between the ages of 16 to 45, must submit an additional form listing all the cities and countries visited in the past decade and past military service.

Nepal

PREVIOUS POLICY: Visa was $15

CURRENT POLICY: Visa is now $30

Thailand

PREVIOUS POLICY: Fees for business, tourist and transit visas range from $10 to $20.

CURRENT POLICY: Fees applied to U.S. applications now range from $15 to $50.

Saudi Arabia

PREVIOUS POLICY: A copy of a letter of invitation from a Saudi sponsor was required.

CURRENT POLICY: Letter of sponsorship must be an original document bearing the seal of sponsor's company and seal of Saudi Chamber of Commerce. No faxed or e-mailed letters.

Write to Eleena de Lisser at eleena.delisser@wsj.com1

URL for this article:

http://online.wsj.com/article/0,,SB107473551773508467,00.html

Hyperlinks in this Article:

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Updated January 22, 2004 3:29 a.m.

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