Everyone goes around with a visa but do we know something or everything about that document -visa in our hand. Obviously, the answer is no. It is not a myth that you may not be able to answer any young kids whom you meet around, when they ask you about visa, the purpose or what’s the use of the visa we carry about. The power of information can however not be overemphasized as it is the determiner of success and failure in all levels. In the article, we will provide all the information you need to know about visas.
What’s a Visa?
A visa is a document given to an immigrant that allows him or her to enter or leave the country. Like every other acquired document, you will need to apply to get it before use. The issuance of a country’s is controlled by the country’s immigration officers or any other part of the government. Most developed countries in the world have a better immigration system and strong rules or laws against illegal migration into the country. Any immigrants must possess a visa to be granted entry into the country.
What Does a Visa look like?
A visa like every other document includes your name, picture, duration of stay, date of expiry, and other personal details like date of birth. Visas sometimes are issued electronically i.e e-visa which you must print out for verification by the immigration officer.
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Types of Visa
Visas are categorized according to the purpose of use and whether the visa is temporary or permanent. The types of visas include the following:
- Student visas: are the type of visas issued to those who are visiting the country for the purpose of studying and other education purposes like research, academic seminar training which will last more than six months, etc. Student visa is one of the temporary visas issued all over the world because studying only last for a couple of four or five years, depending on the course of study. You should know that a student visa is restricted to only studying and not working.
- Work visas: These are issued specially to the individuals who are looking forward to work and live in the country. Work visa is another temporary visa where a particular period of time is attached, usually a minimum of three years and maximum of five or ten years. Individuals who meet the requirements and the eligibility criteria of a particular job, are employed to work in the country and in the process, they are granted work visas to work and live in the country.
- Family visa: This type of visa is given to individuals whose spouse lives in another country and his/her partner is willing to come and live in the country. Visa like this fosters family reunion and good family relationship within the family members. You must also know that the visa is not limited to spouses only but also given to family relatives or members like grandparents, grandchildren, aunts, nephews, etc as long as they can prove to be part of the family. In this category, the spouse or family members who live in the other country will be the one to sponsor the visa of family visitors.
- Business Immigration/Investment visa: This category is mainly for those who are willing to make some investment into the country’s economy by creating a business enterprise. Such capital investment usually comes in different kinds of money like bonds, funds, assets, etc.
- National visa: This type of visa is given to the representatives or ambassadors of different countries, granting them access into the country. Most common entry permits are diplomatic visas, service or courtesy visas, etc.
- Digital nomad visa: This type of visa differs from country to country but it is mainly for those who are willing to spend some time in the country, usually within 6 months. In some countries, you cannot work during this period, and in others, you can work but you will have to do it remotely.
- Refugee visas: This type of visa is for those who have been displaced from their homes or persecuted from their country. You can only apply if you are being displaced from your home country. Other types of visas include:
- Pilgrimage visa
- Retirement visa
- Express entry visa
- Provincial nominee visa
The Three Most Common Way to Get a Visa
The following are the common ways to get any type of visa in the world:
- At the embassy: You can easily apply for your visa at the country’s embassy in your country or visit any of the country’s immigration partnering agencies.
- At the government immigration portal: Most government in these countries have an immigration website or portal where people can easily apply online like the Canada immigration portal – the IRCC (Immigration Refugees Citizenship Canada)
- At the point of entry to the country(on arrival): You can also apply for your visa at the point of entry to the country.
Even though all these methods depend largely on the country, the type of visa, you are applying for and the duration of the visa.
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Reasons why Visas are Rejected
Most people do not know why their visas are rejected by the country immigration officer and instead of looking for the reasons why their visas are rejected, they apply again relentlessly, failing numerous times and blaming it on the country immigration system. The following are the reasons why you visa is rejected:
- Passport blank page: Most passports do not have enough blank pages on them for the immigration officer to put a stamp on. These pages are very small which may leave no pages for stamping or authorization by the immigration officer. A passport usually contains three to four pages, which may be increased in some other country’s visas.
- Vaccination certificate: Some diseases are threatening to the lives of the citizens and other foreigners in the country even though the disease may not be a pandemic or endemic in the region you are coming from but it may be endemic in the country you are going to. It will be highly required that you get vaccinated against these diseases for protection, prevention and control of the spread of the disease. Lack of vaccination will make your visa rejected a couple of times which is why you must get vaccinated.
- Passport Validity: Most people do not know that visas are rejected not because their visa is not up-to-date or expired but only because of the day of the expiration which is no more than 3 or 6 months old. This period of validity depends on destination or the day of departure from the country which is used to calculate the va;lidity period.
- Criminal record: It is certainly possible that your visa is approved when all other requirements are met and your criminal record is zero. Developed countries place a high value on the use of a criminal record to identify if they are good enough to work or live in the country.
- Ban from Travelling: Different governments in the world have the power to declare person ana agata which is prohibiting you from entering the country.
- Inadequate health courage: It is very much important that you have reliable health insurance in the country.
Frequently Asked Questions
1. What is the difference between a passport and a visa?
A passport is a document issued from your home country for five years or more and it is a form of identification that you are a citizen of a particular country and a visa is a travel document giving the permission to enter a particular country. The visa is usually attached to your passport and a visa validity is shorter – five years maximum while a passport validity period is longer than a visa.
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2. What is an Exit visa?
An exit visa is a visa type that allows you to leave a particular country. This type of visa is no longer in use again in some countries because it violates the human rights of movement but some countries still use it like Iraq, Kuwait, North korea, Lebanon, etc.
3. What is the difference between a visa and a residence permit?
A visa is different from a residence permit because a visa is used to travel to and from a country while a residence is used to settle down in the country for a particular period of time.