Do "Head of States" need visas - visiting other countries.
 

I am just curious if Presidents, Prime Ministers, etc., need visas when visiting other countries? Once, in Korea, I saw the lone GI, who traveled on the same plane with me, was led away without having to go through immigration.

I think there was a bit of hoopla a couple years ago over the President of Belarus being denied a visa to go to a NATO summit.

i am sure that they need to be 'invited' first before they can make a state visit, and that means being waitlisted no doubt for the busy destinations.

I believe the US issues A-1 diplomatic visas for visiting heads of state from countries requiring visas. I have no idea how it happens - I would imagine it is all taken care of ahead of time and someone from the State Department meets them on arrival. My guess is other countries do the same.

The Queen of the United Kingdom doesn't even have a passport. Since British passports say something like "her majesty requests... that such-and-such be allowed to travel without hindrance" (paraphrase) there's no point in her having a document that lists her request.

The formalities are generally taken care of by the appropriate protocol people on the host and home side. This often means the aide(s) handling the paperwork and passports (and often visas) before departure and on arrival; this does not generally or necessarily require personal contact with the general immigration authorities.

It also depends on which countries are being visited and by whom, but this is a subsection of the above.

A "state visit" is a particular type of visit and has its own established protocols. Most visits of foreign leaders/head of states/government are not official state visits.

There are many such incidents. Being denied transit rights is another one. ;)

This brings up an interesting question. Do "heads of state" even possess passports?

Generally, yes. All heads of state? I don't know and there may be a few exceptions, but even then most do. Some heads of state even have their personal passports and then their diplomatic ones while others have just the latter.

Poor President of Taiwan seem to need a visa to go to most countries of the world (except a few island nations in the Pacific). :D

Castro
 

Don't forget Castro. When he goes to the UN in NYC the US gives him a special visa that only allows him to be in lower Manhattan. Also they give him a "to and from only" to JFK.

Similar restrictions (perhaps different geography) have applied to certain other non-head-of-government/state officials too -- generally officials from not-so-favored nations. ;)

So on what basis does she travel to non-commonwealth countries?

I cant recall any non-commonwealth country she has ever visited other than on a state visit. Anyhow as the main purpose of a passport is to show and prove your identity and she has her profile on more banknotes, stamps and coins than anybody alive, there's really no need for her to have a passport. :D