User:Est. 2021/sandbox/Visa

Types

Tourist entry visa to the People's Republic of China

Transit visa, issued by Japanese Consul Chiune Sugihara in Lithuania to Susan Bluman in World War II

Press visa to Kaliningrad 1992

Each country typically has a multitude of categories of visas with various names. The most common types and names of visas include:

By purpose

Transit visas

For passing through the country of issue to a destination outside that country. Validity of transit visas are usually limited by short terms such as several hours to ten days depending on the size of the country or the circumstances of a particular transit itinerary.

• Airside transit visa, required by some countries for passing through their airports even without going through passport control.
• Crew member, steward, or driver visa, issued to persons employed or trained on aircraft, vessels, trains, trucks, buses, and any other means of international transportation, or ships fishing in international waters.

Short-stay or visitor visas

For short visits to the visited country. Many countries differentiate between different reasons for these visits, such as:

• Private visa, for private visits by invitation from residents of the visited country.
• Tourist visa, for a limited period of leisure travel, no business activities allowed.
• Medical visa, for undertaking diagnostics or a course of treatment in the visited country's hospitals or other medical facilities.
• Business visa, for engaging in commerce in the country. These visas generally preclude permanent employment, for which a work visa would be required.
• Working holiday visa, for individuals travelling between nations offering a working holiday program, allowing young people to undertake temporary work while travelling.
• Athletic or artistic visa, issued to athletes and performing artists (and their supporting staff) performing at competitions, concerts, shows, and other events.
  • Cultural exchange visa, usually issued to athletes and performing artists participating in a cultural exchange program.
• Refugee visa, issued to persons fleeing the dangers of persecution, a war or a natural disaster.
• Pilgrimage visa: this type of visa is mainly issued to those intending to visit religious destinations and/or to take part in particular religious ceremonies. Such visas can usually be obtained relatively quickly and at a low cost; those using them are usually permitted to travel only as a group, however. The most well-known example is Saudi Arabia's Hajj visa.

Long-stay visas

Visas valid for long term stays of a specific duration include:

• Student visa (F-1 in the United States), which allows its holder to study at an institution of higher learning in the issuing country. The F-2 visa allows the student's dependents to accompany them in the United States.
  • Research visa, for students doing fieldwork in the host country.
• Temporary worker visa, for approved employment in the host country. These are generally more difficult to obtain but valid for longer periods of time than a business visa. Examples of these are the United States' H-1B and L-1 visas. Depending on a particular country, the status of temporary worker may or may not evolve into the status of permanent resident or to naturalization.
  • Journalist visa, which some countries require of people in that occupation when travelling for their respective news organizations. Countries that insist on this include Cuba, China, Iran, Japan, North Korea, Saudi Arabia, the United States (I-visa), and Zimbabwe.
• Residence visa, granted to people obtaining long-term residence in the host country. In some countries, such as New Zealand, long-term residence is a necessary step to obtain the status of a permanent resident.
• Asylum visa, issued to people who have suffered or reasonably fear persecution in their own country due to their political activities or opinion, or features, or association with a social group; or were exiled from their own country.
• Dependent visa, issued to certain family members of holder of a long-stay visa of certain other types (e.g., to spouse and children of a qualified employee holding a temporary worker visa).
• Digital nomad visa, for digital nomads who want to temporarily reside in a country while performing remote work. Thailand launched its SMART Visa, targeted at high expertise foreigners and entrepreneurs to stay a longer time in Thailand, with online applications for the visa being planned for late 2018. Estonia has also announced plans for a digital nomad visa, after the launch of its e-Residency program.

Immigrant visas

See also visa policy of the United States#Immigrant visas for specific letters/codes

Granted for those intending to settle permanently in the issuing country (obtain the status of a permanent resident with a prospect of possible naturalization in the future):

• Spouse visa'' or ''partner visa, granted to the spouse, civil partner or de facto partner of a resident or citizen of a given country to enable the couple to settle in that country.
• Family member visa, for other members of the family of a resident or citizen of a given country. Usually, only the closest ones are covered:
  • Parents, often restricted to helpless ones, i.e. those who, due to their elderly age or state of health, need supervision and care;
  • Children (including adopted ones), often restricted to those who have not reached the age of maturity or helpless ones;
  • Often also extended to grandchildren or grandparents, where their immediate parents or children, respectively, are for whichever reason unable to take care of them;
  • Often also extended to helpless siblings.
• Marriage visa, granted for a limited period before intended marriage or conclusion of a civil partnership based on a proven relationship with a citizen of the destination country. For example, a German woman wishing to marry an American man would obtain a Fiancée Visa (also known as a K-1 visa) to allow her to enter the United States. A K1 Fiancée Visa is valid for four months from the date of its approval.
• Pensioner visa (also known as retiree visa or retirement visa), issued by a limited number of countries (Australia, Argentina, Thailand, Panama, etc.), to those who can demonstrate a foreign source of income and who do not intend to work in the issuing country. Age limits apply in some cases.

Official visas

These are granted to officials doing jobs for their governments, or otherwise representing their countries in the host country, such as the personnel of diplomatic missions.

• A diplomatic visa in combination with a regular or diplomatic passport.
• A courtesy visa is issued to representatives of foreign governments or international organizations who do not qualify for diplomatic status but do merit expedited, courteous treatment – an example of this is Australia's special purpose visa.

By method of issue

Normally visa applications are made at and collected from a consulate, embassy, or other diplomatic mission.

On-arrival visas

  Countries that issue visas or permits on arrival as a general rule for all arriving visitors

  Countries that issue visas or permits on arrival to a selected group of nationalities (more than 10)

  Countries that do not routinely issue visas or permits on arrival to foreign visitors

Also known as visas on arrival (VOA), they are granted at a port of entry. This is distinct from visa-free entry, where no visa is required, as the visitor must still obtain the visa on arrival before proceeding to immigration control.

• Almost all countries will consider issuing a visa (or another document to the same effect) on arrival to a visitor arriving in unforeseen exceptional circumstances, for example:
  • Under provisions of article 35 of the Schengen Visa Code, a visa may be issued at a border in situations such as the diversion of a flight causing air passengers in transit to pass through two or more airports instead of one. In 2010, Iceland's Eyjafjallajökull volcano erupted, causing significant disruption of air travel throughout Europe, and the EU responded by announcing that it would issue visas at land borders to stranded travellers.
  • Under section 212(d)(4) of the Immigration and Naturalization Act, visa waivers can be issued to travellers arriving at American ports of entry in emergency situations or under other conditions.
  • Certain international airports in Russia have consuls on-duty, who have the power to issue visas on the spot.
• Some countries issue visas on arrival to special categories of travellers, such as seafarers or aircrew.
• Some countries issue them to regular visitors. There often are restrictions – for example:
  • Belarus issues visas on arrival in Minsk international airport only to nationals of countries where there is no consular representation of Belarus.
  • Thailand only issues visas on arrival at certain border checkpoints. The most notable crossing where visas on arrival are not issued is the Padang Besar checkpoint for passenger trains between Malaysia and Thailand.

Country	Universal eligibility	Electronic visa alternative	Limited ports of entry	Ref.
Armenia	X	✓	X
Azerbaijan	X	✓	✓
Bahrain	X	✓	X
Bangladesh	✓	✓	✓
Bolivia	X	X	X
Brunei	X	X	X
Burkina Faso	X	X	X
Cambodia	X	✓	X
Cape Verde	✓	X	X
Chad	X	X	X
Comoros	✓	X	X
Congo	X	X	X
DR Congo	X	X	X
Djibouti	✓	✓	X
Egypt	X	✓	✓
Eritrea	X	X	X
Ethiopia	X	✓	✓
Gabon	X	✓	✓
Gambia	X	X	X
Ghana	X	X	X
Grenada	X	X	X
Guinea-Bissau	✓	✓	X
India	X	✓	✓
Indonesia	X	X	✓
Iran	X	✓	✓
Iraq	X	X	✓
Jamaica	X	X	X
Jordan	X	X	X
Kenya	X	✓	X
Kuwait	X	✓	X
Kyrgyzstan	X	X	✓
Laos	X	✓	✓
Lebanon	X	X	X
Macau	X	X	X
Madagascar	✓	✓	X
Malawi	X	X	X
Maldives	✓	X	X
Marshall Islands	X	X	X
Mauritania	✓	X	✓
Mauritius	X	X	X
Mongolia	X	X	✓
Mozambique	✓	X	X
Namibia	X	X	✓
Nauru	X	X	X
Nepal	✓	X	X
Nicaragua	✓	X	X
Nigeria	X	X	X
Oman	X	✓	X
Palau	✓	X	X
Papua New Guinea	X	✓	✓
Paraguay	X	X	✓
Rwanda	✓	✓	X
Saint Lucia	X	X	X
São Tomé and Príncipe	✓	✓	X
Saudi Arabia	X	✓	X
Seychelles	✓	X	X
Sierra Leone	X	X	X
Somalia	X	X	X
Sri Lanka	X	✓	X
Sudan	X	X	X
Taiwan	X	✓	✓
Tanzania	X	✓	X
Thailand	X	X	✓
Timor-Leste	✓	X	✓
Togo	✓	X	X
Tonga	X	X	X
Trinidad and Tobago	X	X	X
Tuvalu	✓	X	X
Uganda	✓	✓	X
Ukraine	X	✓	✓
United Arab Emirates	X	X	X
Yemen	X	X	X
Zambia	X	✓	X
Zimbabwe	X	✓	X

Electronic visas

Main article: electronic visa

Electronic visas

  Countries granting electronic visas universally

  Countries granting electronic visas to select nationalities

  Countries requiring electronic registration from most visa exempt visitors (excluding Australian eVisitor)

  Countries that plan to introduce eVisas in the future

  Countries without electronic visas facilities

An electronic visa (e-Visa or eVisa) is stored in a computer and is linked to the passport number so no label, sticker, or stamp is placed in the passport before travel. The application is done over the internet, and the receipt acts as a visa, which can be printed or stored on a mobile device.