It is important that you know what visa requirements will apply to you so that you can prepare for this well in advance. Many consulates, for instance, now require that students appear in person to apply for their visa. Some students even take these visa requirements into consideration when choosing the country where they want to go when spending a summer, semester, or year abroad.

If you need a student visa, applying for it can be an involved process that requires your careful attention. You should begin to do research about the student visa requirements for the country or countries you will be visiting and living in even before you know you have been accepted to your program. Gathering the required documentation for your student visa can take as much or more time than your study abroad application itself. 

Passports Are the First Step in International Travel and Applying for Entry!

In order to apply for entry into another country, you must have a passport in your possession which is valid for 3, 6, or even 12 months beyond your return date. The standard requirement CC proposes for its faculty-led programs is a 6-month cushion between the end of the program and the expiration of the passport, but you should always verify this for the specific country's passport you will be traveling on and the country where you will be going.

If you do not currently have a passport with adequate validity, you should apply for a new passport immediately.  It can take several months to obtain a new or renewed passport, so an early start on this process is essential. 

• U.S. Passport Information Hub
• Current Processing Times for U.S. Passports (new and renewal)

Applying for an Entry Visa is an Independent Process

While most travelers on individual CC Block Away programs can enter the destination countries without an entry visa, using their passport alone for up to 90 days, this is not always true for international students studying at CC, and is often not adequate for longer programs.  It is important that you do thorough, early research to determine if a visa is required in your specific case.

If you will be studying abroad through a program provider (such as IES, Syracuse, etc), typically they (or the host institution abroad) will provide you with the documentation and information you need in order to obtain your student visa, in most cases. It is important that you carefully and thoroughly read all information available to you about this process, deadlines, and what is expected of you. If your program offers a group visa processing service, we highly suggest that you utilize this.

The Center for Global Education at Colorado College is not responsible for obtaining student visas nor can we be responsible for visa complications, delays, or visa denials. Unfortunately, Colorado College does not have the ability to change visa requirements, nor does it help if we call consulates or embassies on your behalf. Though we're happy to help you in whatever way we can, the decision to issue you a visa rests solely with the consulate or embassy.

ENTRY REQUIREMENTS CAN CHANGE AT ANY TIME. We advise that you pay close attention to consular updates, as you are responsible for knowing and addressing the requirements for your host country and study abroad program. All students must obtain an appropriate visa if required of their host country, in order to participate in their program. Failure to obtain a visa will result in you not attending the program. 

STUDENTS PLANNING ON MULTIPLE STUDY AWAY PROGRAMS WITHIN A GIVEN ACADEMIC OR CALENDAR YEAR

Students who are enrolling in multiple programs, whether individual blocks or longer programs, within the same calendar or academic year should meet with Global Education BEFORE CONFIRMATION OF ENROLLMENT to ensure that additional visas are not required.  Even in countries which allow entry without a visa, the entry period is often limited to a 90-day visit within any 6-month span.  When enrolling in multiple programs, the duration of stay may exceed 90 days, which creates a visa concern.  Since most CC-led study away programming is not eligible for longer stay student visas as they are not located at local universities, it may not be possible for a student to complete multiple CC-led programs within the same year due to the limited duration of the tourist visa (entry with passport).  

INTERNATIONAL STUDENTS & ENTRY VISAS

International (non-U.S.-citizen) students at Colorado College may have additional costs and requirements related to studying abroad which are not common for U.S. citizens. 

• You may be required to obtain a visa to enter the program’s host country when U.S. citizens do not. Visas commonly require paying a fee.
• You may need to schedule visa appointments through consular offices outside of Colorado and travel independently to these appointments.
• If your program is a CC faculty-led program, you will likely need a letter from Colorado College to support your visa application. Please allow at least two weeks for these letters to be issued before your visa appointment; waiting until the last minute to request these may mean that we do not have time to issue them to you.
• You may need to apply well in advance to obtain a visa appointment.  Do not wait until the final weeks before departure to begin this process. We recommend beginning the visa process as soon as is allowed (for example, Schengen visa applications can now be initiated 180 days/6 months before program departure, rather than the previous 90 days).

CC Financial Aid does not cover these costs connected to applying for visas for any CC block abroad programs. If you believe you will need financial support in order to obtain the necessary visa for a program to which you have been accepted, please contact CC Global Education.  Funds are available (on a limited basis) from Global Education.

In the event a student utilized CC funds in order to obtain their visa for study abroad only to later withdraw from the program, that student may be billed for the visa expenses as these are only supported by CC when the visa leads to participation in study abroad.  It is important that students understand the financial implications of a late withdrawal from a study abroad program.  

Please be aware that the visa application process for some countries may require students to surrender their passport for several weeks or months prior to the start of the study abroad program. These consular requirements may impact students' independent travel plans. Visa requirements should be investigated and considered by all applicants prior to planning independent travel (including travel over breaks or arriving early to your program site). All students are required to be in possession of the proper visa documentation in order to participate in our program.

Country-specific visa instructions and resources are available, and students should investigate requirements well in advance. You can find your host country's embassy webpage through the U.S. Department of State's webpage. You should ALWAYS refer to the visa instructions on your host country's embassy webpage, as information and deadlines can change with no advance notice.

Early in 2025 the European Union will be instituting a new a travel authorization required of anyone from one of the global nations which do not require a visa to enter EU nations. It is essentially a "no visa needed travel authorization", called ETIAS for short. ETIAS travel authorisation is an entry requirement for visa-exempt nationals traveling to any of these 30 European countries. It is linked to a traveller’s passport. It is valid for up to three years or until the passport expires, whichever comes first. If you get a new passport, you need to get a new ETIAS travel authorization.

• United States of America
• Canada
• Argentina
• Australia
• Brazil
• Chile
• Israel
• Japan
• Mexico
• New Zealand
• Peru
• Singapore
• Taiwan
• and many more.  

Students traveling on CC Blocks, Half-Semesters, or Full-Semester programs often opt to extend their travel during breaks prior to or following the official CC program.  When students opt to do this, they should be aware of the following understandings:

Colorado College is not responsible for travel assistance for students who are traveling independently outside of the dates of a CC Group program.  All arrangements for travel, lodging, meals, and wellbeing are the responsibility of the student.  Students participating in a partner-led program should also confirm with the provider any policies related to independent travel that they may hold as part of the agreement with the student. 

The travel and health insurance included with all CC-led study away programs provides coverage for the duration of the program as well as 24 hours on either side of the official program dates. Students traveling outside of these dates are encouraged to purchase their own short-term travel and international health insurance. 

While CC's coverage through International SOS is limited to the program dates of each study away program, students can always access the informational resources of International SOS, even while traveling on their own.