One of the things that slow people down from considering travel abroad for medical or dental care is the requirement for passports and visas. They believe the process is confusing and takes a long time. It’s not and it doesn’t.

Did you know you can obtain a passport application at your local post office? You can also arrange to have your passports photos taken there, and then the post office will send the paperwork to the U.S. State Department. You can complete the form online and then print it out or print. You can also download a Passport Application from the government by accessing Travel.State.gov. All you have to do is pay the fee. Send along any other identifying documents they request. Passport requirements differ in other countries so medical or dental tourists should call their consulate or embassy to find out.

The visa is a stamp placed in your passport by the visited country’s embassy or consulate that allows you to enter that country. For example, if you want to travel to India for medical care, you’d send your passport to the Indian embassy or consulate in your country. They will place a visa in your passport telling you how long you can stay. They then send the passport back to you in the mail. If you can appear at the embassy or consulate in person, you can wait a few hours for them to process your visa there and then pick up your passport/visa the same day or the next day.

You may obtain medical visas from growing numbers of countries around the world, expressly designed to meet the needs of medical travelers and medical and dental tourists traveling for dental implants, cosmetic surgery, obesity and weight loss, orthopedics and even cardiac care including India, Jordan, Costa Rica, Brazil, Croatia and dozens of others.

Once you enter the country you’re visiting, immigration or customs agents will stamp your visa with your date of arrival. When you leave, they also stamp your visa. Some visas are good for multiple visits and some are only good for one.

It’s not as complicated as you think and the minor inconvenience is more than worth the time and effort.