Travel Essentials & Entry Requirements
Prepare Before You Go
The right documents are an essential part of every journey.
Passport validity, visas, electronic travel authorizations, health guidance, airport procedures, and re-entry rules can vary by destination and traveler. Use these official resources to verify the requirements that apply to your journey.
Requirements Depend on More Than Your Destination
Entry and transit rules may depend on your citizenship, passport, destination, connecting countries, length of stay, purpose of travel, health circumstances, and the documents you hold.
A requirement that applies to one traveler may not apply to another. Rules may also change between the date a trip is booked and the date of departure.
For that reason, Go Right Travel provides direct access to official government resources and encourages every traveler to verify their requirements early—and confirm them again shortly before travel.
See When to Check Again
Valid Does Not Always Mean Ready for Travel
A passport can remain unexpired yet still fail to meet a destination’s entry requirements. Some countries require additional validity beyond the planned travel dates, while others may have different rules regarding blank pages, condition, or the passport type used.
Travelers should also verify that the name on each reservation matches the passport or identification document that will be presented.
Passport processing and replacement can take time, so review every traveler’s documentation before making nonrefundable arrangements.
Visit U.S. Passport ServicesU.S. Department of State
The Department of State provides official information for U.S. passports, international travel advisories, traveler preparation, emergency passport assistance, and the Smart Traveler Enrollment Program.
Passport and Visa Information
Begin with official passport services, renewal information, application instructions, and international-travel resources.
Open Passport InformationApply for or Renew a Passport
Review application help, forms, supporting documentation, processing options, and passport-service guidance.
Review Application HelpLost or Stolen Passport
Find official instructions for reporting a lost or stolen passport and beginning the appropriate replacement process.
Get Passport AssistanceInternational Travel Advisories
Review destination-specific advisory levels and current safety information published by the U.S. Department of State.
Review Travel AdvisoriesSmart Traveler Enrollment Program
STEP allows eligible U.S. travelers to register a trip with the nearest U.S. embassy or consulate.
Visit STEPInternational Traveler’s Checklist
Use the official checklist to review documents, destination research, health, safety, communication, and emergency preparation.
Open Traveler ChecklistHomeland Security and Airport Resources
Review security-screening procedures, packing guidance, airport preparation, TSA PreCheck, and Global Entry information before departure.
TSA Security Screening
Review screening procedures, identification guidance, special circumstances, permitted items, and airport-security information.
Review Screening GuidanceAirport Travel Checklist
Use TSA travel tips to prepare documents, baggage, permitted items, medications, electronics, and security-screening needs.
Open TSA ChecklistTSA PreCheck
Review eligibility, enrollment, renewal, participation, and trusted-traveler screening information.
Explore TSA PreCheckGlobal Entry
Review the U.S. Customs and Border Protection program for expedited processing for approved, low-risk international travelers.
Explore Global EntryCDC Travelers’ Health
Review current travel-health notices, destination-specific recommendations, vaccination information, and health preparation guidance well before departure.
Travel Health Notices
Review current notices regarding health risks and situations that may affect travelers in specific destinations.
Review Health NoticesDestination Health Guidance
Search by destination for vaccine recommendations, health risks, preparation guidance, and traveler-specific considerations.
Search DestinationsU.S. Customs and Border Protection
Review customs declarations, restricted or prohibited items, duty-free allowances, trusted-traveler programs, and the procedures for returning to the United States.
Know Before You Go
Review official information regarding declarations, personal exemptions, prohibited items, restricted products, and customs requirements.
Review Customs GuidanceReturning to the United States
Access official information for U.S. citizens returning from international travel and preparing for inspection and re-entry.
Review Re-Entry InformationA Smoother Departure Begins Before You Reach the Airport
Reviewing security procedures, identification rules, luggage restrictions, trusted-traveler information, and airport timing can reduce preventable stress on travel day.
- Confirm accepted identification
- Review liquid and baggage rules
- Check medication procedures
- Prepare electronic devices
- Confirm trusted-traveler numbers
- Allow appropriate arrival time
Review Health Guidance Well Before Departure
Health recommendations and entry requirements may differ. A vaccine may be recommended for personal protection without being required for entry—or a destination may require documentation under certain circumstances.
Travelers should consult official destination guidance and an appropriate medical professional regarding personal health, vaccinations, medications, mobility, and other individual needs.
Allow enough time to complete any recommended preparation and verify how prescriptions, medical devices, or health documentation should be carried.
Review CDC Destination GuidanceSome Journeys Require More Than a Passport
Depending on the traveler and destination, additional documentation may include a visa, electronic travel authorization, arrival form, proof of onward travel, health documentation, transit authorization, or other official approval.
Requirements may differ based on citizenship, passport type, residency, trip purpose, duration, connecting airports, and the countries passed through during transit.
Always use the destination government’s official website, the appropriate embassy or consulate, and other authoritative sources when confirming requirements.
United Kingdom Electronic Travel Authorisation
Travelers who are eligible or required to obtain a United Kingdom ETA should review the official government portal for eligibility, application information, fees, validity, and travel guidance.
Visit the Official UK ETA PortalCheck More Than Once
Entry, transit, health, passport, security, and customs requirements may change after a trip is booked. Build verification into the planning process rather than treating it as a one-time task.
Before Booking
Review passport validity, major entry requirements, visa timing, health considerations, and any known restrictions before making substantial nonrefundable payments.
During the Planning Process
Complete required applications, monitor processing, save confirmations, and verify requirements for all destinations and transit points.
Shortly Before Departure
Confirm the current rules again, review advisories, organize documentation, and retain accessible digital and printed copies where appropriate.
Organize the Essentials So You Can Focus on the Experience
Entry documentation is not the exciting part of travel, but it is one of the details that makes the experience possible.
Confirm requirements early, retain your approvals and contact information, and review everything again before departure. Once the essentials are prepared, you can arrive focused on the journey ahead.
Open the International Travel ChecklistImportant Traveler Responsibility Notice
Entry, transit, passport, visa, electronic authorization, health, vaccination, security, customs, and documentation requirements are determined by government authorities and may change without notice.
Requirements may vary according to citizenship, residency, passport type, destination, transit country, trip purpose, length of stay, health circumstances, age, and other traveler-specific factors.
Go Right Travel provides links to official resources as a planning convenience but does not issue passports or visas, determine eligibility, interpret immigration law, provide medical advice, guarantee the accuracy of third-party information, or guarantee admission into or transit through any country.
Each traveler is responsible for reviewing the current official requirements, obtaining all required documents and approvals, carrying acceptable identification, and ensuring that names and personal details are accurate and consistent across travel reservations.
Government authorities, transportation providers, immigration officials, and other authorized entities retain sole authority over boarding, entry, transit, customs clearance, and admission decisions.
Review Your Requirements Before Departure
Use the official resources on this page to confirm your passport, entry, transit, health, airport, and re-entry requirements. Recheck the information shortly before your journey begins.