What Travel Documents Should I Take?
There are two reasons for carrying semi-official documents:
- Helping you get a job.
- Easing your way through customs.
As a rule of thumb take any document which you think will be useful or which looks impressive. This can include:
Copies of degrees or education certificates
These can be useful when applying for jobs, particularly in the field of Teaching English as a Foreign Language. In some countries, such as Japan , it will increase your job prospects considerably. It is a good idea to leave the original documents at home and take a photocopy with you - if it is vital to have the original then you can send for it.
Letters of introduction or sponsorship
If you have arranged to visit any organisations abroad try to get a letter of introduction. This will not only give you a contact abroad but it will show any cantankerous border guards that you have a specific goal in their country.
Plastic cards
Border guards are fascinated by small, plastic cards, particularly if they have your photograph on them. Take as many of these as you can lay your hands on, such as matriculation cards, student discount cards (including an International Student Identity Card, which are available from student unions, and invaluable for getting travel discounts abroad), sporting association cards and the such like. One traveller who was driving through Africa was given considerable hassle by the border guards in Chad. Eventually he produced so many official-looking plastic cards that the guards relented and let him in. (Afterwards he was not sure whether they were impressed or if they just got bored with his outpouring of cards.)
Bank statements
If you can get hold of a bank statement that shows you have a significant amount of money to your name then take it with you. By the time you are overseas this sum may have evaporated but it is a useful backup. If you do not have the means for this before you go it would be worthwhile borrowing some money from a friend or relation for a short time and then get a statement immediately before you pay it back. You may never have to use any semi-official documents but one of the joys of travel is coming across the unexpected. The better prepared you are then the better you will be able to cope with it.
