Visa (document)

A visa (short for the Latin carta visa, lit. "the document has been seen") is a document issued by a country giving a certain individual permission to formally request to enter the country over a given period of time and for certain purposes (but see below for caveats and exceptions). Most countries require possession of a valid visa as a condition of entry for foreigners, though there exist exemption schemes (see passport for examples of such schemes). Visas are typically stamped or attached into the recipient's passport. A visa should be distinguished from documents such as the U.S.A. I-94 which are formal permission for an alien to enter and remain in the country in the status given. The common phrase "he has to leave because his visa has expired" is a common error: the status has expired, the visa may or may not have. Visas are associated with seeking merely the permission to enter (or exit) and is not the same as the actual formal granting, at the entry point of the country, of the necessary legal status to enter and remain there for a prescribed period (usually evidenced by a white form stapled to a passport like an American I-94 form, or a stamp in the passport given at the entry-place).

Related Topics:
Latin - Country - Passport

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Some countries, such as the defunct Soviet Union, require that their citizens obtain an exit visa in order to be allowed to leave the country. Currently, foreign students in Russia are issued only an entry visa on being accepted to University there, and must obtain an exit visa to return home. Citizens of the People's Republic of China that are residents of the mainland are required to apply for special permits in order to enter the Special Administrative Regions of Hong Kong and Macao. Saudi Arabia requires all resident foreigners, but not citizens, to obtain an exit visa before leaving the kingdom.

Related Topics:
Soviet Union - Russia - People's Republic of China - Mainland - Special Administrative Regions - Hong Kong - Macao - Saudi Arabia

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Entering a country without a valid visa or visa exemption may result in detention and removal (deportation or exclusion) from the country. Undertaking activities that are not authorized by the status of entry (for example, working while possessing a non-worker tourist status) can result in the individual being deemed removable, in common speech an illegal alien. Such violation is not a violation of a visa, however despite the common misuse of the phrase, but a violation of status.

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Some countries will have reciprocal visa regimes. This means that if Country A requires citizens of Country B to have a visa to travel there then Country B will apply reciprocity and required a visa from citizens of Country A even if Country B's citizens are not a migratory problem for Country A. Brazil, for example, imposes a visa on American and Canadian citizens because those two countries imposed a visa requirement on Brazilian citizens. This is done for purely political motives as the visa requirement can act as a strong deterrent to potiental North American tourists to Brazil and therefore make no economic sense.

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