The validity of your passport is crucial as most countries will not grant a visa to potential travellers whose passports are valid for less than six months from the date of issue of the visa or the intended date of entry. A passport must also have enough blank right hand pages for the actual stamping of visas, and for entry and exit stamps where needed.

What happens in actual practice is that a passport's validity is recognized only upto the point in time six months before its expiry date. I once slipped up in this respect by not renewing my passport in time, only to find that I had to make an important business trip to the United Kingdom from my base in West Africa. The immigration officer at my point of departure drew my attention to this fact, warning me that I may not be allowed entry into England.

I went ahead anyway and at the immigration desk in London, I pointed out my problem to the officer examining my documents. It was a vital meeting I had to attend rather unexpectedly, I explained, and I had only planned to stay three days. For good measure, I added that the business I would be negotiating involved a major purchase from a British supplier. The officer looked me straight in the eye, sizing me up as it were, and said he would permit me entry, adding that the British equipment should be purchased. I was in and out in three days as promised, although the proposed purchase from the British supplier did not work out.

On another note, even if you are not guilty of having bought that extra bottle of liquor, it is useful to remember the following, to avoid the hassle of being stopped while passing through Customs:

  • Be as well-dressed as possible; a shabbily dressed person is more likely to be stopped.
  • The first-class passenger is less likely to be stopped than the economy-class passenger, likewise, the person who looks relaxed than the person who does not.
  • People who are engaged in conversation while walking are often not interrupted or disturbed.

Before traveling, check that the following documents are in order:

  • Passport
  • Ticket
  • Cash
  • Credit Card
  • Calling Card
  • PNR (Personal Name Reference) number
  • A list of alternate connections (if a connection is missed)
  • Copies of passport and relevant visas

The following is a checklist of procedures to be followed at least a day before departure:

  1. Ensure that you have your ticket and currency at least a day before traveling.
  2. You should have a seat on all sectors of your flight.
  3. Seat preferences should be conveyed, if the ticket permits. Keep in mind whether the seat is to be window, middle (if the configuration is such) or aisle seat; on the lower or upper deck (for first- or for business-class passengers); in the smoking or non-smoking section, or in a specific row or number (the first row, for instance, is sometimes the most comfortable).
  4. Ensure that any special requests, such as those for vegetarian meals or special assistance for disabled people or unaccompanied minors, have been made.
  5. Hotel reservations should have been made and confirmations received, and your hotel's address and telephone number should be handy.
  6. Find out whether an airport tax has to be paid and keep the exact currency amount handy. Also, pack some extra currency of your home country according to your requirements so that you will have enough for telephone calls, taxi fare or miscellaneous items for your return home.
  7. Arrangements for ground transportati0on from airport to hotel should have been made.
  8. Check the validity of your passport and visas. Bear in mind early in your travel plans that passport renewal can take two to three months in some countries.
  9. Check the validity of your credit cards, calling cards and airline membership cards.
  10. At the airport check-in desk, ensure that the extra miles have been or will be credited to your frequent flyer account. This should be double-checked after travel, as airlines sometime slip up in this area.
  11. It is also useful for the frequent traveler to collect several sets of immigration and Customs forms, as well as arrival and departure cards, for destinations that are frequented. These can then be filled in prior to each departure, and kept handy in your passport case.
  12. It is useful to memorise your passport number, its place and date of issue, and its expiry date, as the information often has to be filled in on disembarkation forms. There is then no need to take your passport out prior to disembarkation and thus run the risk of not keeping it back safely.
  13. It is good to keep copies of important travel documents in your briefcase and luggage (more on this in Chapter 9).
  14. Keep a pen and a notepaper, or a dictaphone, in your hand luggage for ready use on a flight.
  15. Keep visiting cards handy; both your own and those of people you will be meeting.