Visa (document)? |
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A visa (short for the Latin carta visa, lit. "the document has been seen") is a document issued by a country giving a certain individual permission to formally request to enter the country over a given period of time and for certain purposes (but see below for caveats and exceptions). Most countries require possession of a valid visa as a condition of entry for foreigners, though there exist exemption schemes (see passport for examples of such schemes). Visas are typically stamped or attached into the recipient's passport.
Visas are associated with merely seeking the permission to enter (or exit) a coutnry, and thus distinct from actual formal permission for an alien to enter and remain in the country. This formal permission is typically granted by stamping the visa and, in some cases, providing an additional document as proof of status, such as the United States' I-94. The common phrase "he has to leave because his visa has expired" is thus, strictly speaking, incorrect: the visitor's status has expired, the visa may or may not have.
Some countries, such as the defunct Soviet Union, require that their citizens obtain an exit visa in order to be allowed to leave the country. Currently, foreign students in Russia are issued only an entry visa on being accepted to University there, and must obtain an exit visa to return home. Citizens of the People's Republic of China that are residents of the mainland are required to apply for special permits in order to leave the mainland, including to enter the Special Administrative Regions of Hong Kong and Macao. Saudi Arabia requires all resident foreigners, but not citizens, to obtain an exit visa before leaving the kingdom.
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Conditions of issuance
Some visas can be granted on arrival, usually only to citizens of countries enjoying good relations with the issuing country, or by prior application at the country's embassy or consulate. The need or absence of need of a visa generally depends on the citizenship of the applicant, the intended duration of the stay, and the activities that the applicant may wish to undertake in the country he visits; these may delineate different formal categories of visas, with different issuance conditions.
Some countries will have reciprocal visa regimes. This means that if Country A requires citizens of Country B to have a visa to travel there then Country B will apply reciprocity and required a visa from citizens of Country A even if Country B's citizens are not a migratory problem for Country A. Brazil, for example, imposes a visa on American and Canadian citizens because those two countries imposed a visa requirement on Brazilian citizens.
A fee may be charged for issuing a visa; these are typically also reciprocal, so if country A charges country B's citizens 50 USD for a visa, country B will often also charge the same amount for country A's visitors. The fee charged may also be at the discretion of each embassy and could be hiked to discourage unserious applicants. A similar reciprocity often applies to the duration of the visa (the period in which one is permitted to request entry of the country) and the amount of entries one can attempt with the visa. Exped processing of the visa application will also generally incur additional charges.
The issuing authority, usually a branch of the country's foreign ministry or department (e.g. U.S. State Department), and typically consular officers, may request appropriate documentation from the applicant. This may include proof that the applicant is able to support himself in the host country (lodging, food), proof that the person hosting the applicant in his or her home really exists and has sufficient room for hosting the applicant, proof that the applicant has obtained health and evacuation insurance, etc. Some countries ask for proof of health status, especially for long-term visas; some countries deny such visas to sufferers of certain illnesses, such as AIDS. The exact conditions depend on the country and the category of visas. Developed countries frequently demand strong evidence of the intent to return to the home country, if the visa is for a temporary stay.
The issuing authority may also require applicants to attest that they have had no criminal convictions, or that they do not partake in certain businesses (like prostitution or drug trafficking). Some countries requested information as to the ideological leanings of the applicant; this used to be the case of the United States, which inquired whether visa applicants were Communist sympathizers (and denied visas to known or suspected sympathizers.)
Bearers of official, and especially diplomatic, passports are generally subject to supplemental checks (diplomatic personnel must be formally recognized as such by the host country to benefit from diplomatic immunity.)
Types of visa
Common types of visas are:
- transit visa, usually valid for 3 days or less, for passing through the country to a third destination.
- tourist visa, for a limited period of leisure travel, no business activities allowed. Some countries (e.g., Kuwait) do not issue tourist visas. Saudi Arabia introduced tourist visas only in 2004 although it did (and still does) issue pilgrimage visas for Hajj pilgrims.
- business visa, for engaging in commerce in the country, usually valid longer and more easily renewable than a tourist visa.
- student visa, which allows its holder to study at an institution of higher learning in the issuer's country.
- working holiday visa, for Working Holiday makers traveling between nations offering a working holiday programme, allowing young people to undertake temporary work while traveling.
- diplomatic visa, which confers diplomatic status on its holder and is normally only available to bearers of diplomatic passports.
- journalist visa, which some countries require people in that occupation to obtain when travelling for their respective news organizations. Countries which insist on this include Cuba, Iran, North Korea, Saudi Arabia, the US (I-visa) and Zimbabwe.
- fiance visa, granted for a limited period prior to intended marriage based on a proven relationship with a citizen of the destination country, for example a German woman who wishes to marry an American man would obtain a Fiance Visa (also known as a K1 Visa) to allow her to enter the United States.
- immigrant visa, granted for those intending to immigrate to the issuing country. They usually are issued for a single journey as the holder will, depending on the country, later be issued a permanent resident identification card which will allow the traveller to enter to the issuing country an unlimited number of times. (e.g. the United States' Green Card).
- on-arrival visa, granted immediately prior to entering the country, eg. at an airport or border control post. This is distinct from not requiring a visa at all, as the visitor must still obtain the visa before they can even try to pass through immigration.
Entry and duration period
Visas can also be single-entry, which means the visa is cancelled as soon as the holder leaves the country, double-entry, or multiple-entry, permitting multiple entries into the country with the same visa. Countries may also issue re-entry permits that allow temporarily leaving the country without invalidating the visa. Even a business visa will normally not allow the holder to work in the host country without an additional work permit.
Once issued, a visa will typically have to be used within a certain period of time, and the period of validity starts only on entry into the country. A notable exception to this is India, where the visa validity period starts immediately when the visa is issued.
It is important to note, however, that the validity of a visa is not the same as the authorized period of stay in the issuing country. For example, if a visa has been issued January 1st and expires March 30th and the typical authorized period of stay in a country is 90 days, then the 90-day authorized stay starts on the day the passenger reaches the country, which has to be between Janurary 1st and March 30th. The traveller could therefore theorically stay in the issuing country until July 1st.
Once in the country, the validity period of a visa can often be extended for a fee. Overstaying a visa's validity period is considered illegal immigration and the offender may be fined, deported, or even blacklisted from entering the country again.
Entering a country without a valid visa or visa exemption may result in detention and removal (deportation or exclusion) from the country. Undertaking activities that are not authorized by the status of entry (for example, working while possessing a non-worker tourist status) can result in the individual being deemed removable, in common speech an illegal alien. Such violation is not a violation of a visa, however despite the common misuse of the phrase, but a violation of status.
Visa refusal
A visa may be denied for various reasons, for example:
- if the applicant is felt to be intending to stay permanently while applying for a temporary visa
- if the applicant does not have a genuine reason for their journey;
- if there is already an immigration problem in the country the applicant intends to visit;
- if the applicant is asking for a resident visa and has no visible means of sustenance;
- if the applicant has a criminal record;
- if the applicant is considered to be a security risk.