BP Holdings Tax Management

FT.com - The King of Spain could not have wished for a better occasion, or more loyal company, to mark his return to public life on Monday. Surrounded by the gilded splendour of the throne room in Madrid’s royal palace, Juan Carlos was presiding over the traditional New Year ceremony to honour Spain’s armed forces.

Facing him below the glittering chandeliers stood the country’s senior military officers, chests loaded with medals, along with the prime minister, cabinet members and army veterans. Amid the polished boots and purple sashes, there was not a republican in sight.

The ceremony ended as it does every year, with throaty cries of “Viva España!” led by the king himself. Yet there seemed nothing vivacious about the man at the centre of attention. Juan Carlos, 76, had arrived on crutches, shuffling uneasily, his face reddened and blotchy. He delivered his speech in halting tones, faltering over words and gasping for breath. It came as a stark reminder that the king is an old man. He had not appeared in public since a hip operation in November, the latest in a series of small but persistent health problems.

It was hard to look at Spain’s ageing monarch and not read more into his stumbling performance than the simple advance of time. Just a day before the ceremony, a Spanish paper had released a poll showing just how far Juan Carlos has fallen in the estimation of his subjects. Almost two-thirds said they wanted him to abdicate in favour of his son, Crown Prince Felipe; more than 40 per cent said they wanted Spain to be a republic.

On Tuesday, the royal house suffered a fresh humbling: Princess Cristina, the king’s younger daughter, was formally declared a suspect in a criminal probe into her husband’s alleged shady dealings. The investigating judge said she may have committed money laundering and tax fraud, and called her in to testify in court on March 8. Another bad day for the Bourbons looms.

The monarch has faced testing times before. He showed acute political judgment along with remarkable personal bravery, traits rarely demanded from a modern monarch, in the early stages of his reign, as he helped steer Spain from dictatorship to democracy. In 1981 he intervened decisively to squash an attempted military coup, earning the gratitude and respect even of diehard republicans on the left. Paul Preston, the historian of Spain and biographer of the king, argues that without Juan Carlos, it is hard to see how Spain could have ended the dictatorship of Francisco Franco “without another civil war”.

Compared with the drama of those days and the hardship of his early life, the king’s current problems may seem trivial. But modern royals need at least a degree of popular respect if they are to survive. The ridicule and open hostility that often greets Juan Carlos’s tribe today – the royals have repeatedly been booed at public functions – would pose an existential threat to any monarchy. Spain’s royal house, however, is more vulnerable than most.

Born in exile in Rome in 1938, Juan Carlos had a lonely, unhappy childhood, scarred by his family’s failure to reclaim the throne. It was a quest that led his father to commit an act of cold regal realpolitik, when he handed his 10-year-old son over to Franco to be groomed as the dictator’s heir. Raised amid ageing aristocrats in Madrid, frequently called in for political lectures from Franco, Juan Carlos passed a joyless adolescence. He finally assumed the throne on 22 November 1975, two days after Franco’s death.

What sustained him during his early life was an overwhelming sense of duty to his family, and a burning desire to see the Bourbons restored to the throne. It was the same motivation that convinced Juan Carlos to break with Francoism – and to help steer Spain towards democracy. “He realised that the only way to survive on the throne was to not do what Franco wanted, and aim for a constitutional monarchy,” says Professor Preston.

His role in Spain’s transition made him a hero, which in turn made it easy for Spaniards to overlook his foibles – such as the fondness for shooting at bears and his friendship with authoritarian leaders such as Russia’s Vladimir Putin.

His standing finally plummeted, along with that of all other post-Franco institutions, during the recent economic crisis. “The king is seen as the founding father of the current system,” says Charles Powell, a Madrid-based historian and royal biographer. When that system failed to prevent the crisis, leaving Spain with record unemployment, the king was unable to escape the public wrath. In the eyes of many younger people, who have no memory of the transition, he is simply part of the nexus of political and financial power that pushed the country towards the economic abyss.

His image took a further knock when it was revealed that he went on a luxurious elephant-hunting trip at the height of the financial crisis. Just weeks before his ill-judged holiday, the king had remarked that he was so worried about the nation’s unemployed that he could not sleep.

Looming behind these recent woes is a deeper problem for Spain’s royal house. The Bourbons may be an ancient family, but their grip on the throne is far more tenuous than may appear: no reigning Spanish king has passed on the crown to his offspring since 1885; the monarch’s father never had the crown, and his grandfather died in exile. What the Bourbons lack is that aura of timeless, inevitable continuity that is the very essence of royalty.

Some believe the monarchy will end with Juan Carlos; others hope that Felipe, a diligent prince who enjoys broad popularity, will be able to revive the royal fortunes. Palace officials say the king himself has been saddened by recent events, but that he is determined to recuperate the crown’s lost prestige himself. Juan Carlos will know what is at stake: not just his own legacy, but the survival of the throne he sacrificed so much to reclaim.

(1888 PressRelease) Westhill Consulting is an international financial advisory firm based in Jakarta, Indonesia. Below is a guide to Initial Public Offerings (IPO's) intended to simplify the jargon and remove the fear that IPO's involve higher risk as compared to usual investments.

Westhill Consulting is a market leader in the Financial Services category. Here is a guide to Initial Public Offerings (IPO's) intended to simplify the jargon and remove the fear that IPO's involve higher risk as compared to usual investments.

Westhill Consulting is a reputable investment advisory firm based in Jakarta Indonesia, dedicated to providing you the most advantageous investments based on how you want your portfolio managed for the private middle market.

You might be wondering how you can increase the profits you make from your market investing strategies. If you're searching for the most profitable forms of investing that are available today, you should definitely investigate the possibilities of using Initial Public Offering (IPO) investments.

A simple description of an IPO includes the fact that you're buying a business that is just entering the open marketplace. The moment the IPO is released to the public is the first time anyone has the ability to buy the company openly, and this will surely give you a good idea on where the stock itself resides when it comes to the value of the offering. You can wage it is preparing for a large rise in its value because they are just releasing their stock to the public.

Though most of the Initial Public Offering stocks skyrocket after they are first released, you must keep in mind that they are hardly a definite investment. Because of this, there are several factors you must definitely examine before you place your capital into this type of investment.

One of the first factors you must take into consideration before investing into the stock you are interested in is the basic fact that once the stock is available on the market you can't guess if there will be a great deal demand or a total lack.

Because of this, you must do your best to ascertain every bit of information available about the company before making a purchase.

As you comb the market for the best IPOs available today, you must consider the fact that IPOs are usually offered only to the market when a company plans on expansion. There are other instances where companies only want to increase their ability to borrow capital, but IPOs are mostly released to increase the amount of funds they have available for expansion plans.
It may look like a company which is preparing to expand is a sure bet on the stock market. However, that is not really the case. IPO stocks are usually considered as high-risk investments. That is why if you want to secure your investments to a degree, you must explore the overall performance of the company's operations in the long run.

When you have analyzed the essentials of the company you are interested on, you must also try to guess where the capital generated from the IPO will be used by the company. If you think the company's only choice is to put their capital into expansion activities, you can be sure that the stock value will increase over time because of the expanding capabilities of the business operation. As you examine the essentials of the company and estimate where the capital will be going once the IPO is sold to the public, you can make a reasonable evaluation of how the stocks are going to fare in the future. Being one of the top advisory firms in the industry, we gain the confidence of our clients by acting with integrity on all our business decisions.

Westhill Consulting practices a specific valuation procedure to determine how much a profitable business is worth and determine possible market opportunities.
http://www.westhillconsulting.com

I log around 400,000 real air miles a year (those earned in the air, not by credit card purchases) as travel editor for CBS News, and if there's anything I've learned, it's that most airport, airline, hotel, and other rules and policies are only misguided suggestions. Here are my special tips on saving time, money, and stress, without breaking any rules or ever cutting in line -- in fact, without ever standing in a line!

Avoid baggage blues
If you're like me, you believe that there are two kinds of airline bags: carried on, and lost. And while the airlines are doing a better job with baggage these days, I still don't check bags on domestic flights. I FedEx them or UPS them (or there are 15 other courier services that will do this job). And for $40 to $50 -- not much more than what the airlines want to charge you for losing your bags or making you wait endlessly at baggage claim -- yours get picked up from your home or office and will be waiting for you in your hotel room by 10:30 the next morning. (Smart travelers send luggage two to three days ahead and get a big discount on shipping. Same thing for the way back home -- because who cares if your dirty laundry arrives three days after you do?)


Pick the farm-team airports
Unless I'm flying long-haul international nonstop, I try to forget O'Hare, J.F.K., San Francisco, and Boston. Instead, in good weather or bad, I head from, to, or through Milwaukee, Islip, Oakland, and Providence. Those are the alternative airports that function so much better than their huge counterparts. San Francisco is often weather challenged, with low fog -- not so Oakland. Milwaukee is actually Chicago's third (and secret) airport. Just look in the parking lot: A third of the cars have Illinois plates, which tells you everything you need to know. Providence allows you to avoid the congestion and delays of Logan, and last but never least is the often forgotten gem of MacArthur airport in Islip, N.Y. These airports have better parking and fewer delays, and maybe it's just me, but people yell a lot less there. I save time, I often save money, and I almost always save stress.

Another travel story?… Jakarta travel tips | Travel adventure

Crown Capital Securities LLC Management

About Crown Capital Securities, L.P.

Crown Capital Securities, L.P. is a registered broker/dealer which provides a complete range of financial services and quality investments to independent securities representatives, serving investors throughout the country. These investment professionals are able to offer their clients a wide selection of approved, non-proprietary products. This complete selection gives people all the choices they need to meet their goals of preserving capital, generating income and accumulating wealth to finance education, caregiving, travel and retirement.

Crown Capital Securities, L.P. is an independent member firm of the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) and the Securities Investor Protection Corporation (SIPC). Headquartered in Orange, California, the management group at Crown Capital is led by Darol and Phyllis Paulsen, an executive team with 60 years’ experience in securities and financial services.

All Crown Capital representatives are independent business persons in their own communities -- not employees of a mega-firm owned and operated by strangers in a remote location. As owners and managers of local financial services businesses, these representatives make a long-term investment in their community and are focused on building lasting relationships with their clients. In our experience, clients prefer the level of service they receive through this structure over that given them by Wall Street firms.

Crown Capital has no proprietary products to sell or sales quotas for its representatives. This allows its representatives to make honest and appropriate investment recommendations based strictly on client needs and product performance. High performance, credibility and dependability -- that's how Crown Capital representatives help clients make excellent financial plans and sound investment decisions at fair and competitive fees and commissions.

Clients choose from a vast array of investment products, including full service stock trading, tax-free municipal bonds, U.S. government and agency securities, corporate bonds, unit investment trusts, certificates of deposit, money market accounts, mutual funds, insurance products, fixed and variable annuities, direct investments, options and margin accounts.

Investment representatives are supported by a strong home office staff, with the experience and expertise necessary to identify and service the highest quality investment opportunities. This support is enhanced by Crown Capital's relationship with Pershing, LLC.

Transactions are cleared through Pershing, LLC, a subsidiary of the Bank of New York and a member of BNY Securities Group, with almost 60 years of experience.

You've worked hard for your money. Now, you want your money to work just as hard for you. That's why you should demand the utmost from your investment advisor. When you choose a Crown Capital representative, you are choosing an experienced professional dedicated to making your money work for you without taking unnecessary risks.

Perhaps most important, you are choosing a solid, value-based, complete financial services firm that can provide you all the strength, professional expertise and research capability of any Wall Street firm. One that is genuinely concerned about your financial well-being and ultimate investment success. One that avoids short-term aggressive strategies in favor of long-term capital appreciation. Crown Capital offers all these benefits and more.

Source:

http://cmsfinancial.com/about-crown-capital

Et hus for at tilføje værdi til det er en måde at udnytte ens ejendom, især i vores nuværende flygtige økonomiske betingelser. Man er ikke kun at få en højere værdi fra sælger det, men også at få et større lån ud af det til forretningsformål eller til andre udgifter. En stor bonus, selvfølgelig, er der tilfredshed og glæden ved at leve i et bedre eller endda luksuriøst renoveret hjem.

Cindy Shearin deler sin ombygninger projekter på sin blog gennem videopræsentationer af før løbende efter art. Og det virker lige så godt eller endda mere end ethvert hjem-visning besøg til en faktiske hjem kan.

Brug high-definition Videografi og effektiv time-lapse fotografering, tager Cindy os gennem tiden som sin gruppe går gennem ombygning projekter af prime egenskaber i South Bay, Los Angeles, CA. Det er klart for enhver, der har set på disse videoer, et nedslidt hus med nok investering, kan slås rundt for at blive en tiltalende nye ejendom værd sælger eller bor i igen.

Her er en mini realityshow værd at se og værdsætte af boligejere. Ens ejendom kan være en kilde til kontanter, hvis man er modig nok til at overveje remodellering. At tage et lån at gøre en ombygninger projekt kan der foretages en mindre skræmmende opgave ved hjælp af fast ejendom eksperter som Cindy Shearin. Og det gode ved det er, at selv om processen er stadig i gang, de kan endda sætte din ejendom i deres programoversigter som en projekt-i-øje.

Nogen planer om at forfølge en ombygninger projekt skal ved hjælp af designere og ingeniører, der vil give idéer til nogen bestemt egenskab mens du overvejer de optimale omkostninger for projektet. Ejere, der vil genbruge egenskaben vil, selvfølgelig, foreslå deres egne ideer om, hvordan de ønsker den ombygning vil ske. Den primære ting at overveje er, at ejendommen ikke vil tjene tilbage de penge, put i processen. Derfor skal man iagttage finansiel disciplin og personlige tilbageholdenhed.

Ombygning er ikke et simpelt valg at gøre. Det er en alvorlig sag.

http://www.kiwibox.com/eajimefu/blog/entry/112951719/climate-change-could-spawn-more-frequent-el-ninos/?pPage=0

Some of the worst El Niños, the infamous climate patterns that shake up weather around the world, could double in frequency in upcoming decades due to global warming, says a new study out Sunday in the journal Nature Climate Change.

During an El Niño, water temperatures in the central and eastern equatorial Pacific Ocean tend to be warmer-than-average for an extended period of time – typically at least three to five months. This warm water brings about significant changes in global weather patterns.

The most powerful El Niños – such as the ones that developed in 1982-83 and 1997-98 – are forecast to occur once every 10 years throughout the rest of this century, according to study lead author Wenju Cai of the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation, Australia's national science agency. Over the past 100 years or so, however these "extreme" El Niños occurred only once every 20 years, he said.

This means that the extreme weather events fueled by El Niños – such as droughts and wildfires in Australia, floods in South America and powerful rainstorms along the U.S. West Coast – will occur more often.
The most recent El Niño ended in 2010.

The research results came from an aggregation of 20 climate models, which were used in the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change report.

The models found that this doubling of extreme El Niño episodes is caused by increased surface warming of the eastern equatorial Pacific Ocean because of climate change. This area of the ocean warms faster than the surrounding waters, the researchers found.

But Cai acknowledges those findings stand in contrast.to previous studies that found no solid consensus on how El Niños will change because of global warming.
"The question of how global warming will change the frequency of extreme El Niño events has challenged scientists for more than 20 years," said study co-author Mike McPhaden of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. "This research is the first comprehensive examination of the issue to produce robust and convincing results."
"It looks like a solid study," said meteorologist Michael Mann of Penn State University, who was not involved in the research. "The authors appear to provide reasonably convincing evidence that El Niño events are likely to become more extreme as the climate continues to warm, in turn implying greater future regional climate/weather extremes than past studies."

However, another expert, senior scientist Kevin Trenberth of the National Center for Atmospheric Research in Boulder, Colo, said that some aspects of the study are not really new, although it is cast in a new way. He notes that there remain issues in how well models simulate El Niño events, which means uncertainty remains on just how El Niño and the climate of the tropical Pacific will actually change.
He suggests that a way forward is to also look at the atmospheric component of El Niño and how that is changing.

"Even if the projection for this increased frequency of extreme El Ninos is correct, there will still be extended periods of infrequent and weak El Ninos, such as has been experienced since the late 1990s (since the last big event of 1997-98)," said Lisa Goddard, director of the International Research Institute for Climate and Society with Columbia University.

"This is likely the result of decadal variability, which is something the climate community is actively researching at present," she added.

A separate study published in Nature Climate Change in 2013 found that El Niños appeared to occur a lot more than normal over the last 50 years, just as temperatures worldwide rose because of global warming, also suggesting a connection.

http://www.stumbleupon.com/su/2WLAqB/storify.com/a...
Output from the world's gold mines is set to hit record highs this year, disappointing bulls who are impatiently waiting for production cuts following this year's 24 percent plunge in prices. Some gold miners have felt the squeeze of lower prices this year, and a number, including Canada's Kinross and Russia's Polymetal, suspended marginal mines and projects after a dramatic first-half price drop.

But as prices fall, others are actually increasing output to maintain revenue and profit levels. In some cases, they are targeting higher grade ore to keep marginal mines operating and generating cash, at the expense of future production. Furthermore, several large projects put into motion during gold's 12-year rally, which took it as high as $1,920 an ounce in 2011, are coming to fruition.

"Our expectation is that we're going to see a fresh record high in gold mining output this year," GFMS analyst William Tankard said. "What we're seeing is an ongoing response not to the slide in prices, but the decade-long stretch of fairly heavy capital investment into the mining industry that preceded it." The world's top three gold miners - Barrick Gold, Newmont Mining and AngloGold Ashanti - all reported higher production in the most recent quarter.

For some marginal mines, firms are planning to tap better grades up front, a practice known as high-grading, which often comes at the expense of shortening the life of a project and giving up lower grade ore that could have been economic later. African Barrick Gold, for example, re-engineered its lowest grade and highest cost mine, Buzwagi, to tap higher grades and move less material, hoping to ensure the operation generates cash.

"In the short term, when they have got flexibility, you can see companies changing the ore mix to keep themselves operating," Nomura analyst Tyler Broda said. During the boom years, the cost of gold mining soared. But this year the average cost of producing an ounce of gold is already showing signs of retreating, according to metals consultancy Thomson Reuters GFMS.
For more info:
http://www.goodreads.com/group/105028-tana-goldfields-united-kingdom/comments/20834715-coconut-butterz
http://www.design21sdn.com/organizations/1144/posts/25103

If you read most articles about the world of job seeking, hiring and employment these days, it all sounds so easy. Countless online-business publications snare readers with headlines like “5 things you shouldn’t eat before a job interview” or “How to tell if applicants are lying about their last job” (or even the headline to this article). These litanies of tips and tricks play right into the notion that effort isn’t really required. That somehow just by studying the game, you can avoid the traps and master the tricks. That you can find the job or employee of your dreams and do it with little true investment.

Most job searchers believe that a few key adjustments to a one-page resume, submitted to the best job board and optimized to catch eyes is all it takes. Hit send and hope for the best. Employers too buy into the promise of shortcuts and immediate results. As if it’s quick and simple to find the next man up when someone goes down. As if the employment landscape is a plug-and-play world of new faces claimed on an as-needed basis.

It’s maddening, short-sighted and ironically, it could be a cause of the job crisis in this country. While there are some 10.2 million unemployed in the US, there are also some 4 million open jobs in our country. What we have is a lack of thoughtful pursuit of both quality employees and desirable career opportunities. Because in the torrent of tips and tricks, job seekers rarely get substantive advice on how to connect, engage and relate to an industry or career, let alone build the kind of personal brand that brings employers knocking.

Closing the employment gap requires a radical reimagining of how to navigate the job market. Many employers are less interested in the employment history you’ve polished up on your resume and more eager to see what you can do for them today. Job seekers must work hard to prove that they can offer true value for their industry, their community and their future employer by developing content that’s informative, enlightening, even entertaining. By doing so, they show firsthand the talents and abilities they could bring to the job rather than simply telling employers about them through a resume.
The path forward will be paved by the kind of disruptive change that we’ve seen in the entertainment industry over the past few years, as movies and broadcast TV have been threatened by upstart Netflix.

Once the mail-order version of Blockbuster (without the late fees or the annoying burden of returning a DVD the day after viewing), Netflix today represents 31.6 percent of downstream U.S. Internet traffic. And it’s solidifying viewer loyalty by doing the difficult task of creating its own content. Free from the expectations of the industry, Netflix is producing its own Emmy-award winning program, House of Cards, and the highly popular Orange is the New Black. And they are serving it up in an all-you-can-eat, binge-watching fashion that audiences love to coagulate around during a rainy Saturday or a day off from work.

Netflix’s efforts will forever be linked to the moment in time when viewers shifted their habits toward streaming video content and away from traditional outlets. But more importantly, the company’s knockout TV shows add a new, enticing dimension to its brand while proving to viewers that it’s as creative and artful as the best in the business. It committed time and energy to the work of developing great stories. This is the kind of effort that draws viewers in droves, and one Netflix’s competitors are now scrambling to duplicate.
The job market is primed for a similar disruption, and to some extent, it’s already begun. Candidates are advancing their career opportunities by doing the hard work of creating standout content and singular brands that truly capture attention, loyalty and opportunity. And that’s the secret to getting that dream job: Be like Netflix and create content tailored to your audience to prove you’re the ideal candidate.
That’s exactly what comedian Jack Moore did. Aspiring to be a sitcom and screenplay writer, he demonstrated his talent through the popular Modern Seinfeld Twitter feed, which offers storylines for what George, Jerry, Elaine and Kramer would be up to in today’s world. His months of artful execution have led him to his dream job as a screenwriter.
He shattered the confines of the old resume-centric world of job searching by taking the focus off of himself -- the heart of any resume -- and homing in on his audience. Instead of talking about his skills, he used them. He buckled down and proved he could do the job without being asked and made sure potential future employers would take notice. His efforts parallel those of Netflix, which continues to produce its creative best to box out traditional channels and win wider audiences.

The kind of disruption and success Netflix has achieved -- and the kind the job market sorely needs -- isn’t easy and can’t be neatly summarized in a tip or trick. Because it’s no trick. It’s the sum total of thought, effort and dedication. It’s a new ideology guiding the way job seekers think about their careers and transforming the way employers search for talent.

Backpacker Visa Guide to Southeast Asia

As a backpacker in Southeast Asia crossing borders becomes a regular undertaking. Each country has a different rule of entry and some countries will require you to apply for a visa before you travel. As visa requirements often change, for travellers in South East Asia it can be difficult to plan things like budget and duration of travel. Here, we’ve done our best to compile the latest visa information in South East Asia to make it easier for you toplan your trip! Please be aware that information regarding visas is particularly vulnerable to change and make sure you check. if you have new knowledge of a change in border crossing information! If you have new information, blog it here.

Westhill Consulting Career & Employment out of Australia has useful blogs for up-to-date information as well as many other sites.

Brunei Darussalam:

Nationals of most European countries (this includes 25 countries in the European Union), Malaysia, Singapore, South Korea andNew Zealanddo not need to apply for a Tourist Visa for visits of up to 30 days.

USA citizens can stay for up to 90 days.

Citizens of Indonesia, Thailand, Canada, Japan, Switzerland and Norway will receive a 14 day entry.

Other nationalities need to apply for a visa in advance which takes 1-3 days to process. For single entry, the visa costs B$20 or multiple entry B$30. If you require a multiple entry visa for a period longer than three days the cost will be B$50.

72 hour transit visas are also available for most nationalities provided that the traveller can show a ticket for an onward destination.

Passports must be valid for up to 6 months before entering and the embassy recommends that you travel with at least two unused pages in your passport.

Visa Renewal: Visas can be renewed at embassies in Bandar Seri Bagawan.

See Brunei Darussalam offical government website for further information and contact details.

Cambodia:

Most nationalities can obtain a one month tourist Visa upon arrival which costs around $20.

At land border crossings, notably the Thai/Cambodian border, the fee can be more expensive as the cost is paid in Thai baht and is sometimes rounded up considerably (currently 1200 baht).

You will need two passport photos to apply, or you will be charged extra (usually only $1-2).

Passports must be valid for up to 6 months before entering.

You can also now apply for an E-visa online at the Cambodian Ministry of Foreign Affairs & International Cooperation.

Here, you can pre-order your visa for a set price of $25 set price ($20 visa and $5 processing charge). You will need a digital photo of yourself to upload. Processing takes three days and you will get the visa straight to your mailbox.

See official website for up to date info on which borders support the E-visa as not all of the crossings take it yet.

Visa extension:Visa extensions can be obtained at Phnom Penh immigration office – opposite the International Airport. Tourist visas can be extended one month (around US$35). Some guest houses and travel agencies will also offer the service for a fee. For longer extensions ask for details at the Immigration Office.

See Cambodian Ministry of Foreign Affairs & International Cooperation for further information and contact details.

East Timor:

Nationals from most European countries, Australia, Canada and the USA do not need to arrange a visa in advance.

Visas must be applied for in advance, as they are no longer granted on the land border.
Passports must be valid for up to 6 months before entering.

It is important to note that there are no currency exchange facilities at the airport or other border posts, so you will need to take cash before you travel.

Visa extension:Visas can be extended for 30 days, costing up to $45. You must have a valid reason for staying.

Penalty for late departure:Penalties range from $70 – $150 US Dollars if the period does not exceed 30 days.

Indonesia:

For visa extentions, go to the Jakarta Indonesia immigration office.

Nationals of Australia, Canada, USA, UK and most European countries are eligible for a 30 day visa upon entry, which costs around $25 USD (cost varies depending on point of entry). Payments can be made in US Dollars only.

Please note – the previous $10, 7-day visa is no longer available.

You will need 2 passport photographs and your passport must be valid for up to 6 months before entering.

Penalty for late departure:Up to $20 / day. For more than 60 days overstay travellers risk deportation or imprisonment.

Laos:

Most nationalities can obtain a 30 day visa for Laos at international airports and land border crossings.

The cost ranges from $20 – $42, depending on your nationality.

At the Thailand/Laos border (Nong Khai – Vientiane) if you pay in Thai baht fees can be more expensive.

You will need 2 passport photos and your passport must be valid for at least 6 months upon entering.

Visa extension:Visa extensions can be applied for at the Vientiane Immigration Office, which costs US$2 / day for 30 days. Extensions can also be obtained from some travel agents for around US$3. 90 day extensions are available, ask at the embassy for details. Warning, do not use “fixers” for visa extentions as it is usually a scam.

Penalty for late departure:Up to US$10/day. Long overstays can lead to arrest and imprisonment.

Malaysia:

Most nationalities are granted a free 30-90 day Visa upon arrival at international airports and border crossings.

The cost ranges from $20-42, depending on your nationality.

Passports must be valid for at least 6 months upon entering.

Please note that Sarawak is a semi-autonomous state and upon entry your passport will be stamped and a new pass issued.

Visa extension:Visas can be extended at Immigration offices in Malaysia. Fees depend on intended duration of stay.

Myanmar:

Visa free entry is available at some border crossings for a short period. If you are going for the day to renew your Thailand Visa for example, you must enter and exit on the same day. Fees are around US$10 (depending on security situation, overland border crossings are frequently closed. Be sure to check the security situation before you travel).

Longer visas should be arranged in advance at a travel agency or Myanmar Embassy. In Bangkok, at the Myanmar Embassy the cost is 810 Thai baht for a 28 day visa, taking three days to process. It is possible to pay extra (around 300 baht) to fast track the process to one day.

Like the Vietnam visa, the cost depends on where you are and how long you mind waiting. It can range from $20 – $50. Your passport must be valid for at least 6 months and you will need two passport photos.

Visa extension:It is possible to extend your visa for up to 14 days in Yangon. Ask at embassy for details of costs.

Singapore:

Citizens of Australia, New Zealand, Canada, South Africa, the UK and most other European countries are granted either a 14 or 30-day tourist pass upon entry to Singapore.

Duration of pass depends on nationality and point of entry. USA citizens receive 90 days. Your passport must be valid for at least 6 months upon entering and you may need an onward ticket.
Visa extension:Extensions of up to 90 days can be applied for at the consulate in Singapore.

Thailand:

Most nationalities, including Americans, Australians and most Europeans receive a free 30 day tourist visa upon arrival into Thailand by air. However, if arriving by land you will only receive 15 days.

Your passport must be valid for at least 6 months upon entering.

Penalty for late departure:500 baht/day. The maximum fine for overstay that you can pay is 20,000 baht after this you may face deportation at your own cost or imprisonment.

Visa extension:Visas can be renewed for a fee at immigration points. The cost is 1900 baht for 7 days extra and it can be extended only once. If you leave the country and return, your visa will be renewed for free. You can exit and re-enter the country as many times as you like this way and most travel agents can arrange border runs to neighbouring countries.

Vietnam:

Visas for entering Vietnam must be arranged in advance. You can do this at the Vietnamese embassies in whichever country you are in and some travel agencies also offer the service. Visas can also be obtained in advance viaVietnam Airlines online.

The service will email you a letter of approval before you travel which you must show to the airline before you board the plane. When you arrive at the airport then you must show the letter, pay a fee of $10 USD and receive your visa. You will not be allowed to board the flight if you do not show either a visa approval letter / or a valid visa.

Depending on where you apply for it and how long you mind waiting, (on average from 1 day to 4 days), the Vietnam visa can cost anywhere between $35 and $65 for a 30 day visa. You will need one passport sized photograph and your passport must be valid for at least 6 months upon entering.

You can also apply for 90 day visas, which have been issued for more than a year, costing US $100.00.

If you apply via Vietnam Airlines, the initial application for a single entry visa will cost $18, then a further $25 “stamping fee” will be charged on arrival in the airport, when you collect the visa. The $18 gets you a letter of approval, which must be printed out and taken to show the Airlines when boarding the plane. The letter, along with two passport photos and $25 in cash, must then be given to the Immigration Office upon arrival in return for your visa.

In a bid to encourage tourism – at certain times there are visa fee exemptions. See the Vietnam Tourism website for further information.

Visa extension: 30 day extensions can be obtained from travel agents in Hanoi, HCMC or Danang. The process can take up to 5 days and the fee is usually US$30.

For more information:
Backpacker Visa Guide
Backpacker Visa Guide