Visa For Indian Nationals

‘Little by little, one travels far’, the farther you travel from your homeland crossing the national boundaries you require a valid document to prove the entry to that country. This valid document proving the entry is known as visa which is either stamped on the Passport or it is an e-visa in a printed form.

The issuing authority of the visa is the branch of the country’s foreign ministry/immigration department which with the help of the applicants’ documents decides on the approval or rejection of the visa.

Visa allows the person to stay in the foreign land for a limited period as mentioned on the visa. The validity and stay period differs for each country and the type of visa received based on the immigration rules. People travel to different countries for multiple purposes as per the requirements.

Visa Category

Short stay/Tourist/Visitor Visa: When the purpose of the travel is to meet the family or friends, tourism purpose and the stay will be for a short period then the applicant applies for the tourist/visitor visa.

This visa also includes the business purpose for some countries wherein the stay is less than 30 days or 6 months and the purpose of stay is temporary till the completion of the work assigned.

Long stay Visa: When the stay is for more than 6 months then the visa is known as long-stay visa which is further classified based on the purpose

• Student Visa: When the students visit a foreign country for study purposes and the course if of more than 6 months then the student is required to apply for the student visa.

• Work Visa: When the employee visits the foreign country for the work purpose for more than 6 months or on a contractual basis then the employee is required to apply for the work visa once the approval is received from the employer.

• Dependent Visa: This visa is issued to certain family members of the holder of the long-term visa. This visa is normally for the spouse and children of an employee holding a permanent /temporary work visa.

• Residence Permit: This is issued to the people who stay for a longer period in the residence country. This permit helps to receive a permanent residence in a foreign country.

Immigrant Visa: This visa is to settle permanently in the issuing country for the couples. Normally spouse/de facto partner/ civil partner is granted this visa of the resident of the given country.

Family Visa: This visa covers the close family members including parents – who are unable to take care because of age or health, children – who haven’t reached the age of maturity, grandparents & grandchildren – when immediate children or parents respectively are unable to take care of them.

Transit Visa: Traveling to the destination country and having a stopover in the other country requires to have a transit visa. A Transit visa is issued for a short period/term as the transit period is for several hours or less than 10 days depending on the country of transit.

Types of Visa

Visa is usually stamped in the Passport but in recent times many of the countries have started moving towards electronic visas also known as e-visa for the visitors to make the process faster and avoiding the list of documents to be arranged.

Stamped Visa: This is a sticker visa which is stamped in the Passport in recent times visitor/tourist do get the option for the e-visa but rest of the categories who have a longer stay gets the visa stamped in the Passport. Australia & New Zealand are an exception as most of their visa is processed electronically.

US, UK, Canada, Schengen countries do not have an e-visa facility for visitors too.

E-Visa: Electronic visa or e-visa is the easiest process to get it completed and this visa is mostly used by many countries for the visitor/tourism purpose in which the applicant is not required to visit the VFS center or Consulate to get their visa processed.

On Arrival Visa:  There are certain countries that do not require the visitor to get the visa processed from their home country instead these countries get the visa stamped when the visitor arrives in their country.

Documents required for processing the visa for Indian Nationals

Below is the list of the documents that are generally required for the processing of the visit visa. Documents required varies from country to country.

• Passport

• Photographs

• Visa Form

• Cover Letter

• Bank Statement

• Income Tax Returns

• Air Ticket

• Hotel Accommodation

• Insurance

• NOC/Leave Letter for employed applicants

• Company Registration papers for self-employed applicants

Visa Required – country-wise  for visit purpose

Apply for Visa

Visa can be applied 90 days before the travel date however it is advisable to apply for the Visa at least 30 days before the intended date of the travel as the processing time of the visa differ for every country and to avoid last-minute hassles.

Reading the Visa

Visa must be always checked once received before traveling. Details to be checked on the visa are:

• Name as per passport

• Date of Birth

• Passport Number

• Passport Expiry Date

• Visa Validity

• Date of entry & exit

• Entry

Visa Refusal

Visa may be refused for the applicants if they are unable to meet the criteria set by the immigration department to enter the respective country. Reasons for refusal of visa can be:

• Passport not valid

• Photographs inappropriate

• Visa form not filled or certain details are wrongly entered

• Cover Letter doesn’t have proper details

• Purpose of the travel not justified

• Insufficient finance

• Unable to prove the employment in the origin country

• Unable to prove the exit before the visa expires

Visa, a document that is considered as an entry document in a foreign land however, holding a valid visa doesn’t grant entry to the country. Entry to the respective country is solely dependent on the immigration officer at the airport.