Everything about Visas

Lets admit it. Its not a cake walk for Indians nationals, when it comes to traveling the globe. We can't just pack the bags, book the tickets and fly to many destinations. A visa may be required to many destination. When an international trip is planned, it is necessary to understand the visa procedures in the country.

Wikipedia Definition for Visa is an indication that a person is authorized to enter the territory for which it was "issued", subject to permission of an immigration official at the time of actual entry. Obtaining a visa is not an uniform procedures in all countries or for all nationalities. Each nationality can be treated differently and each country has a different procedure. So Lets get it straight.

1.Transit Visa can be obtained while on transit, i.e., When traveling to New York, if a stopover is in Paris, a transit visa for France can be obtained in this case.

2.On-Arrival Visa can be obtained while entering the country at the immigration. Not all countries issue On-Arrival visa to all nationalities. For Indian Nationalities, Thailand provides On-Arrival visa facilities but Singapore does not.

3.Tourist Visa can be obtained prior to the travel by apply to the Embassy of intended country.

4.Working Holiday Visa permits tourist to take-up temporary jobs while visiting the country.

5.Visit Visa can be obtained when visiting an resident/citizen of the country.

This was a brief about the types of visas for tourist purpose. In addition to these visas, there are many other types of visa, depending on the purpose of travel. There are also countries it permit visa-free travel.



Lets now get the basics of visa.
  • Every visa has a validity, duration of stay and number of entries.
  • Validity/Duration of stay can be in the form of hours, days, months or years depending upon the type of visa.
  • Overstaying or staying with an expired validity is an offense and can be prosecuted for the same.
  • Duration of stay can be extended, which is in turn at the discretion of the immigration office.
  • Visa can be a single entry visa or multiple entry visa.
  • With a single entry visa, one can enter the country only once and can stay for the duration permitted. For the next entry a new visa has to be obtained.
  • With multiple entry visa, one can enter the country any number of times till the validity expires but duration of stay still holds good for each entry.
  • Visa comes with a fee.
  • Mandatory documents for visa – passport size photographs, valid passport (must have empty sheets and should be valid for at least 6 months), confirmed accommodation voucher, ticket to confirm leaving the country.
  • Optionally one might also be requested to submit proof for financing the trip in the form of IT Returns, Fixed deposit, Salary slip, Bank statement etc.
  • Transit Visa needs a minimum stopover time to be fulfilled as per the transiting country.
  • Tourist Visa needs processing time which may take 1 – 10 working days or even more.
  • While applying for tourist/visit visa, consider the processing time and the validity of the visa. Applying too early or too late can jeopardize the plan.
  • As on October 2010, India is not participating in any working holiday program.
  • Common Visa can be obtained for certain regions which permits a single visa for all the countries in that region. The regions are formed by the countries under signed agreements. For instance, Schengen Visa permits travel into schengen region for a period with a single visa. Even though it is a common visa for the area, duration of stay, validity and number of entries hold good.
  • E-visa or the electronic visa is electronic form of visa and can be obtained by applying in the official internet websites of the country.
Finally, there are some visa free countries which permits India nationals without any visa. But that does not mean no passport. Passport is a mandate for any international travel.

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