Typically, every country affixes certain conditions to their visa permits, such as duration of stay, validity dates, whether the visa is applicable for multiple visits, and the regions covered by the visa. Some countries do not need visas for a short stay. On the other hand, some nations want their natives and foreign residents to acquire an “exit visa” to be granted permission to move from the country.

What is a Visa

A visa is an official government license, generally stamped in the recipient’s passport. It allows a foreign national to enter, stay, and transit through any non-native country. In other words, it is usually needed to move between nations for study, work, tourism, or for those who consequently plan to live and work in a foreign nation for the rest of their lives. Moreover, foreign individuals may be granted either an immigrant or a non-immigrant visa to enter and stay. The particular visa one wishes for depends upon the requirements and purpose of an individual, including his/her standing on the rules of immigration.

Types of Visa

Every nation has visas of multiple categories. The names of visas that are commonly known include :

1. Transit Visa: It is issued when exceptionally multiple transits are made from the country to a destination outside it. Transit visas have a validity generally limited to short terms, such as from several hours to a period of 10 days, and may stretch up to six months depending upon the circumstance of a particular transit.
2. Airport transit visa : Some countries require these visas, in case one needs to make several transits through the airport of a particular country.
3. Visitor or short-stay visa : As named, such visa is required for short visits to a foreign country, mainly for business, tourist or personal purposes. Several countries have categorized visas depending upon the nature of the visits, such as Tourist visa, Private visa, visa for medical reasons, Business visa, Working holiday visa or Refugee Visa.
4. Long-stay visa : This visa is issued for comparatively longer period of time, but still allows finite stays. This type of visa is granted to a foreign national for the following purpose, such as for work and employment, including seasonal work, for higher and secondary level studies, scientific and research work, family reunification, medical treatment, and for other law-specific reasons as well as international agreement.
5. Immigrant visa : This type of visa is granted to those who intends to immigrate to the country issuing it. It is obtained when seeking a permanent residence in the foreign country and with an inclination of possible naturalization in the future. This visa can be a Partner or Spousal visa and Marriage visa.
6. Electronic visa : This type of visa is electronically linked to the number of passport and gets stored in a computer. Before travel, the passport does not bear any label, stamp or sticker. Australia was the first country to pioneer electronic visa issued by the Electronic Travel Authority for visitors. It also issues the eVisitor visa for European visitors and businessmen. Nowadays, every country is adopting the same technique.

Visa Conditions

Some visas can be granted at the time of arrival and by sending prior applications to the country’s consulate, the embassy, or via a non-public visa service expert in issuing documents meant for international visits. The embassy registers such agencies, foreign authorities, or consulates to assist international travelers who are reluctant to travel to the embassy or apply in person.

A non-public visa and passport service centers charge an additional fee for verifying customer applications and supporting documents and dispatching them to the concerned authority. In case there is no consulate or embassy in one’s own country, one must apply to a third country to obtain a visa.