Whether you're traveling to the United States to buy MC Escher art at an auction or visiting China's Port of Shanghai for your vacation, your most important step in your travel preparations is not booking your flight or arranging for your hotel stay or even asking your neighbor to look after your dog while you're gone. It's making sure your passport is in order. Before you travel anywhere, read this article on the importance of passports in traveling, how to get a passport, and read some passport protection tips.

You are not automatically issued a passport by your country's government any more than you are automatically issued a birth certificate or a driver's license. If you want one, you need to apply for one, generally six months or more before you plan to travel because these things take time. To get a passport, you will need proof of your citizenship, a special photo (you can have one taken at any mall or photography studio) and a guarantor, such as your boss at Sterling Edmonton or your family doctor, who can vouch for your identity.

Once you pay your passport fee (generally between $50 and $100) you will be issued a passport. Passports are valid for varying lengths of time depending on the country of issue. Here in Canada it's five years. Most countries won't let you in if there isn't six months or more until your passport's expiry date. So, don't get so involved in your work on the Trent Severn waterway that you forget to renew your passport, or you could get in trouble when your flight lands.

In addition to your passport, many countries will also require you to apply for a visa with their immigration department. A visa is a stamp that permits you to enter the country for a specific purpose (i.e. travel, to get a job) for a set amount of time (3 months or more). Apply several weeks to months ahead so you get your passport back before you have to get in the Oakville airport limo and go to the airport. Some countries, such as members of the Commonwealth, have deals with each other so that travelers going between them don't need visas.

When you are traveling, whether it's to wedding venues in Toronto or the Great Wall of China, your passport is the most important thing you own. Keep it on your person at all times, preferably in a safe place like a money belt rather than a backpack or pocket. You might also store it in the hotel's safe. Never allow anyone else, such as a rental agency, to "hold onto" your passport as "insurance" or you may never see it again.