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).

Entry and duration period

Visas can also be single-entry, which means the visa is cancelled as soon as the holder leaves the country, double-entry, or multiple-entry, permitting multiple entries into the country with the same visa. Countries may also issue re-entry permits that allow temporarily leaving the country without invalidating the visa. Even a business visa will normally not allow the holder to work in the host country without an additional work permit.

Related Topics:
Re-entry permit - Work - Work permit

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Once issued, a visa will typically have to be used within a certain period of time, and the period of validity starts only on entry into the country. A notable exception to this is India, where the visa validity period starts immediately when the visa is issued.

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It is important to note, however, that the validity of a visa is not the same as the authorized period of stay in the issuing country. For example, if a visa has been issued January 1st and expires March 30th and the typical authorized period of stay in a country is 90 days, then the 90-day authorized stay starts on the day the passenger reaches the country, which has to be between Janurary 1st and March 30th. The traveller could therefore theorically stay in the issuing country until July 1st.

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Once in the country, the validity period of a visa can often be extended for a fee. Overstaying a visa's validity period is considered illegal immigration and the offender may be fined, deported, or even blacklisted from entering the country again.

Related Topics:
Illegal immigration - Fine - Deported - Blacklist

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