If you haven't applied for your passport yet, DO IT NOW! You must have your passport in your hands at least 6 months before your intended date of departure. Your passport allows you to leave and return to your home country; without it you cannot travel out of your home country. Your government issues your passport.

If you are an American Citizen, a passport application can be obtained and submitted at your local post office. For further information on getting your passport, please visit Passport Service.

If you are a Canadian Citizen, please visit Passport Canada for further information.

Be especially careful to follow the directions about photos and birth certificate. DO NOT send the passport application to IYWT. You must apply for your passport yourself and give all necessary information to the appropriate authorities.

If you are not a US or Canadian passport holder and you are holding a foreign passport for a county other than the country in which you are now living, please contact IYWT directly.

If you hold a US or Canadian passport and are a citizen of more than one country and hold a valid passport for each of those country's, you must use either your US or Canadian passport for this program. WHY? I.e. if you enter Brazil with a Brazilian passport, you are a Brazilian citizen. If you enter France with an E.U. passport, you are a French citizen. If you do not use your US or Canadian passport, the government of the United States or the government of Canada can take no official diplomatic action in case of an emergency i.e. evacuation, consular visits, on your behalf while you are on exchange in your host country. You will also be subject to the laws, taxation, and military requirements if you enter your host country with a passport of that nationality.

When you receive your passport, YOU MUST SIGN IT WITH YOUR FULL LEGAL NAME AS IT APPEARS ON YOUR PASSPORT. Also, note the passport number, date of issue, place of issue, and date of expiration for your files. Finally, make several photocopies of the inside vital statistic page and place them in several secure locations.

• Get your passport
• Sign your passport
• Check the expiration date of your passport
• Make BLACK & WHITE photocopies of your passport
• Create a digital copy of your signed passport (e-mail this to yourself or save it to a thumbdrive)
• Send your passport to IYWT (if needed)