A visa (from the Latin charta visa, "paper that has been seen") is a document showing 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. The authorization may be a document, but more commonly it is a stamp endorsed in the applicant's passport. Visas are associated with the request for permission to enter (or exit) a country, and are thus, for some countries, distinct from actual formal permission for an alien to enter and remain in the country. The Visas are stamped by the Embassies, High Commissions (for Commonwealth countries) and Consulates (sub units of Embassies and High Commissions). At times Honorary Consulates are also authorized to stamp visa.
NOTE: A visa does not generally give a non-citizen (some countries refer the person as an ‘alien’) any rights, including a right to enter a country or to remain there. The possession of a visa is not in itself a guarantee of entry into the country that issued it, and a visa can be revoked at any time. The visa process merely enables the host country to verify the identity of the visa applicant before, rather than coincident with, the entry of the applicant.
The visa typology is something that all of us need to know. We are providing for definitions and illustrations to help one and all to understand.
There are different categories of visas which are linked to the purpose of the travel to overseas and they are listed below
- Business Visa
- Transit Visa
- Visa on Arrival (Airport Visa) (VoA)
- Intra Company Transfer (ICT)/Work Visa
- Dependent Visa
- Student Visa