Visa support

On almost every tour, we apply for the visa. You do not.

The visa is included in the package price on almost every tour we run. If a trip is different, its own page says so above the price.

An IBEX group at Saint Basil's Cathedral, Red Square — Visas we filed · Our own group, Saint Basil's Cathedral, Red Square

What we do

We apply, not you

On tours where the visa is included in the price, you do not go to the embassy, book an appointment or fill in the form. Our team does it. Two trips are different, and both say so on their own pages: for Uzbekistan we arrange the invitation letter only, not the full application, and the multi country Asia tour includes three of its four visas.

We apply as a group, with bookings made first

Several countries will not give a visa without confirmed flights and hotels. So we book those first, then send the group's applications together. This is one of the reasons a group application goes through where a person applying alone gets stuck.

We tell you exactly what to bring

You get a checklist for your destination, not a general list. If something is missing, we follow up with you, because an incomplete application gets sent back.

What you give us

Your exact list depends on where you are going, and you get it when you book. Usually it is these.

A passport with enough time left before it expires. We tell you how much for your destination.
Photos in the size and style the embassy asks for. We tell you what that is.
Bank statements, and proof of your job or business. Most embassies ask for these.
Anything else your destination needs. It will be on your checklist.

If your visa is refused, you do not lose everything.

No tour company can guarantee a visa. Embassies do refuse applications, and they do not always say why. We send the strongest application your documents allow, as part of a group, with the bookings already confirmed.

This is what happens to your money, in order.

We keep nothing of ours: IBEX charges no processing fee and no cancellation fee of its own. Whatever comes off is what the airline or the embassy keeps, and we show you what it was.
The embassy fee is not returned: Embassies do not refund the application fee when they refuse a visa, and no tour company can change that. The embassy charges this fee, not us. It is the one cost a refusal always takes.
Money already spent that cannot be recovered: If your air ticket has already been issued, the airline takes its cancellation charge. A hotel booked at a non-refundable rate works the same way. Only what cannot be recovered is taken off. We add no fee.
The rest comes back to you: You get back the rest of what you paid. We do not keep it, and there is no extra cancellation penalty for a refusal.
Your exact amount depends on your trip: How much the embassy keeps depends on which embassy you applied to. How much cannot be recovered depends on how close to departure it happens. So we do not print one amount here. Get the amount for your own trip in writing before you pay, and hold us to it.

Ask before you pay and we will send the amount for your trip in writing, with your booking reference on it. What airlines usually keep once a ticket is issued is on the booking terms page. That is a guide to the airline’s charge, not a charge of ours.

Get the amount for your trip in writing

Every destination page says which visa is included and who applies for it. See the destinations.