Travel in the Third World used to be easy for Westerners, with few restrictions and little in the way of police checks, paperwork or permissions, to hold travellers back. Europe, in those days, offered more barriers to travellers, with frequent customs and police enquiries.

Nowadays the position is reversed. In most Third World countries, the hindrances to free travel grow yearly, both in number and variety. Ambiguous taxes are demanded at borders and airports. The legality of these may be questionable, but the man behind the desk is all-powerful, so travellers do not have any choice. Many countries whose monetary systems are unstable and which therefore have flourishing black markets now require travellers to complete a currency declaration on entry, detailing all monies, jewellery, cameras, tape recorders, etc. This is checked on departure against bank receipts for any money changed. Some countries are very thorough in their searches of departing travellers, and border officials are often corrupt.

When it comes to groups, border officials naturally try to cut down on the massive form-filling process by completing just one form for the group leader. This can make life very difficult later if one person in a group wishes to change money at a bank or wishes to leave the group but does not have their own individual form and cannot immediately produce the group form or the leader to vouch for him or her. Individual forms should always be obtained, where possible.

Vaccinations

Make sure that you have all the necessary vaccinations and that they are still up to date. Some Third World border officials relish the opportunity to inject women if they can, and will also inject the men in the party to make it look legal; it is more than likely that the needle will have been used many times and is not sterile. Sometimes you have to get a certificate of exemption for the cholera vaccine, even though it has not been a legal requirement for many years in most countries. Avoid the need for any injection in the Third World that is not given by a Western-style doctor.

Deliberate delays

Some countries purposely delay the issue of permits in capital cities so that the travellers will spend more money there. As most travellers are limited for time, a straightforward tourist tax would be more acceptable.

Registration

In many places, the law requires that you register with the police within 24 hours of arrival. Often a fee is charged for this. Usually, if you are staying at a hotel, the registration is done for you by the hotel and the costs are included in your room charges; but if you are in a very small hotel, camping or staying with friends you will either have to do it yourself or pay someone to do it for you. As this often entails fighting through a queue of several hundred local people at the immigration office, with the possibility that you have chosen the wrong queue anyway, baksheesh to a hotel employee to do it for you is a good investment.

Most of these countries also require that you register with the police in each town in which you stop. In some cases, in the south of Sudan, for example, you have to report to the police in every town or village through which you pass. In smaller places the registration is usually much easier.

Permission from the central government may be necessary to travel outside major cities. Usually, to get this permission you go to the ministry of the interior, but if a tourist office exists, it is wise to check there first. Any expedition or trekking party will have to do this anyway. This system is not always just 'red tape'. If there is local strife it may be for travellers' safety.

Restricted areas

Many countries have restricted or forbidden areas. For example, much of Africa and Asia has large areas of desert or semi-desert. Restrictions on travel in these areas are formulated by governments for travellers' safety and take account of such obvious things as ensuring that travellers have good, strong vehicles carrying plenty of water and fuel and are spending the nights in safe places.

Unfortunately, officials in these out-of-the-way places tend to be the 'bad boys' of their profession. Forced to live in inhospitable places, they are usually very bored and often turn to drink and drugs. When a party of Westerners suddenly turns up, they see this as a chance to show their power, get their own back for the old colonial injustices, hold travellers up for a day or more, charge them baksheesh, or turn on a tape recorder and insist on a dance with each of the girls and suggest they go to bed with them. If there is a hotel locally, they may hold travellers there overnight so as to extract a percentage from the hotel-keeper.

Unfortunately, your permit from central government means nothing in such places. These people are a law unto themselves. Some have been known to insist on visas from nationals of a country who do not require one. This often requires you to go back to the nearest capital city, where incredulous officials may, or may not, be able to sort things out.

The police in very remote areas often arrange that you cannot get fuel to move on without their permission and to get that you have to spend a lot of money with the local tourist organisation and hotel, as well as fork out baksheesh to the police themselves. Local officials also have a habit of taking your government permit from you and then 'losing' it. This makes life difficult both there and with local officials in other areas later on. It is best to carry many photocopies of the original government permission (photocopying machines are always available in capital cities) and never hand over the original. Let officials see the original, if necessary, but always give them a photocopy instead.

If you are travelling as a group, most officials and most hotels will want a group list from you. Carry enough copies of a group list made up of names, passport numbers, dates of issue of passports, dates of expiry of passports, dates of issue of visas, dates of expiry of visas, numbers of visas and occupations.

Fortunately, new passports no longer quote occupations; but where these are asked for, never mention the following: photographer, journalist, writer or member of the armed forces, unless you are travelling in such a capacity officially.

Photography permits

Some countries, for instance Sudan, Mali and Cameroon, require that you obtain a photography permit. These are usually only available in the capital, so overland travellers will have problems until they can get to the capital and obtain one. As with currency declarations, officials obviously like to save work by giving one permit for a group, but it is best to get one per person. I have known several instances where big-headed students have made citizen's arrests of travellers taking photographs, who then had to spend a couple of hours at the police station waiting for their group leader with the photo permit to be located.

Possession of a photo permit does not necessarily mean that you can take photographs. It is usually best to enquire with the local police first. In some areas where photography is forbidden, local guides may goad you on to take photographs. Beware of this situation, they are then likely to blackmail you for money or other gifts by threatening to inform the police.

In theory, you should be able to find out about documents and permit requirements from the consulate in your country of origin, but for Third World countries this can never be relied on, as local officials make their own rules. Information from source books such as this one and from up-to-date travellers is best.

Visas

In an effort to control illegal immigrants, Western countries now often require visas from nationals of countries that did not require them a few years ago. In a tit-for-tat response, these countries now require visas from the nationals of Western countries and often charge extortionate prices to issue them in the West. These charges often cause the numbers of tourist visitors to collapse, so after a while the prices are lowered. Where such visas can be obtained at local airports, borders or consulates in neighbouring countries, they may be cheaper.

Before issuing visas, most countries will require at least two clear pages left in your passport and the passport to be valid for at least six months after your date of entry into the country concerned. Some countries will also require proof that you have suitable funds available and a return or onward air ticket. Some even require onward air tickets for overland travellers. You may also require a letter of introduction from your own government or a sponsor if travelling on business.

If you are travelling overland or on an extended continuous journey, visas for later destinations may become out of date before you reach your goal. So enquire whether or not you can get such visas while en route.

A few of the Gulf countries require a certificate of 'no objection'. Some Third World countries may hold your passport for six weeks or more while searching their archives for any previous records on applicants before issuing a visa. If you have to travel somewhere else during this period, UK citizens can obtain a temporary second passport. Never carry both passports on the same journey.

Visas for some countries, such as the ex-French or Belgian colonies, may not be obtainable in the UK: it is cheaper to have visa services get these for you than to go to Paris or Brussels yourself.

Many countries still refuse to issue visas to anyone whose passport contains Israeli stamps. If you visit this country, ask the immigration officials not to stamp your passport. If your passport does contain Israeli stamps, get a new passport as soon as possible.

If for some reason you have to obtain a new passport while you are away and your current passport contains an active visa, this will have to be retained and either the current passport extended or the older passport attached to the new one. If you have the right of residence in the UK, make sure that this is clearly stated in any replacement passport.

Business passports, with their larger number of pages, can cause problems in the Third World. If you have had many visas for the same country, local immigration officers may start questioning you as to why you keep coming back.

For the Third World, the standard EC-size passport is preferable and more convenient to carry under clothing for safety.

Do as much organisation as you can before you leave home. Carry plenty of passport-size photographs and be prepared for delays, harassment, palms held out and large doses of the unexpected.

Warning

Be especially careful of crossing borders with anyone that you do not know well because, if that person has a previous record or is carrying banned substances, you could also be arrested. Likewise, never take another person's belongings across a border.