What's a visa for?

Brief introduction of visa for going abroad:

I. Overview of visas

Visa is a kind of license issued by a government agency of a country according to its own laws to foreigners who apply for entry, exit or transit.

According to the principles of international law, any sovereign country has the right to decide whether to allow foreigners to enter or leave the country, and to issue visas, refuse to issue visas or announce the cancellation of visas already issued according to its own laws.

The visa is usually attached to the passport or other international travel documents held by the applicant. Under special circumstances, valid passports or other international travel documents can be written on a separate sheet. With the progress of science and technology, some countries began to issue electronic visas and biological visas, which greatly enhanced the anti-counterfeiting function of visas.

Visa plays an important role in checking and controlling entry-exit personnel, protecting national security and preventing illegal immigrants and criminals.

Second, the visa category.

Visas in countries around the world are generally divided into entry visas and transit visas, and some countries also have exit visas. Visas in China are divided into entry visas and transit visas.

(1) Entry visa

An entry visa is a visa that allows the holder to enter the country from a port open to the outside world or a port designated within a specified time. China entry visas will take effect from the date of issuance, and some countries will stipulate the effective date of entry visas separately.

(2) Transit visa

Transit visa is a visa that allows the holder to go to a third country through the territory of the country from a port open to the outside world or a designated port within a specified time. To obtain a transit visa, you must obtain a valid entry visa or permit from the destination country in advance (except visa-free countries). According to international practice, people who hold a joint ticket and don't leave the airport within 24 hours are generally exempt from visas, but some countries still require foreigners passing through their own countries to apply for transit visas.

(3) Exit visa

An exit visa is a visa that allows the holder to leave the country through a port that is open to the outside world or designated. Some countries have no restrictions on exit ports. Many countries, including China, have cancelled exit visas, and foreigners leave the country with valid certificates within the period allowed by the visa or within the validity period of the residence certificate.

(4) Other categories

Some countries have also set up entry and exit visas, entry and exit visas and re-entry visas. There are no such types of visas in China at present.

Port visa refers to a visa issued by a country's visa authority to foreigners who arrive at their country's port of entry according to law, so that the parties can enter the country in time to deal with emergency affairs. Countries that implement port visas have stipulated the conditions and procedures for applying for port visas. In some countries, port visas are called visas on arrival, and the procedures for visas on arrival are relatively simple.

Three. Visa type

There are many kinds of visas in different countries. According to the identity of the holder, the type of passport and the reason for the visit, visas are generally divided into four types: diplomatic visas, courtesy visas, official visas and ordinary visas. Some countries classify visas into travel, visit, work, study and residence according to the reasons of visitors. They are introduced as follows:

(1) Diplomatic visa

A DiplomaticVisa is a visa issued by the competent authorities of a country to people who should enjoy diplomatic privileges and immunities for entry or transit. Diplomatic visas are usually issued to holders of diplomatic passports. The issuing country gives the holder considerable convenience, preferential treatment, privileges and immunities according to its own laws and international practices.

(2) Official visa

Service visa (service? Visa) is a visa issued by the competent authorities of a country's government for people who should be regarded as public servants when entering or passing through the territory of that country. Some countries call this visa an official visa? Visa). Official visas are generally issued to holders of official passports.

(3) Official visa

Official visa (official? Visa) is a kind of official visa, which refers to a visa issued by some countries to applicants with official passports that conforms to their official status and has the same effect as an official visa. Countries that issue official passports generally implement the corresponding official visa system. China has no official visa system. Chinese visa authorities usually issue official visas to foreign guests who come to China on official business with official passports.

(4) courtesy visa

Courtesy visa (courtesy? Visa) is a visa issued by the competent authorities of some countries to people who can give corresponding courtesy when entering or transiting. These people are generally high-level people who do not hold diplomatic passports or retired foreign party, government and army officials and celebrities. The issuing country gives the holder due respect and courtesy according to its own laws and international practices.

(5) Ordinary visa

Visa is a kind of visa issued by the competent department of a country's government for people who enter or transit the country for private reasons. Ordinary visas are generally issued to people who hold ordinary (private) passports or other valid international travel documents.

Four. Visa form

Visa has different forms and titles in its development. Such as endorsement visa, stamp visa, sticker visa, machine-readable visa, individual visa, group visa and so on.

(1) Endorsement visa

Refers to a simple written endorsement on a valid passport, indicating the specific requirements for allowing the holder to enter or leave the country. Most of the early visas took this form.

(2) Stamped visa

The fixed format of the visa is engraved on the seal. When making a visa, stamp the visa page of the applicant's passport or other travel documents and fill in the necessary contents. The whole process is manual. With the development of technology, visa machines are replaced, or the contents of visas are printed on passports in a fixed format by computers.

(3) Sticker visa

Sticker visa is to make the contents of the visa on special visa paper according to a fixed format, and paste the printed visa on the applicant's passport with adhesive. Sticker visas are usually printed by computer. The sticker visa in the United States is also a photo of the applicant on the scanned visa paper. Canada's sticker visa does not have a photo of the applicant, but it has an anti-counterfeiting mark, and this part is plastic sealed by plastic sealing technology.

(4) Individual visa

A separate visa refers to a one-page visa that is separate from a passport or other international travel documents. This is a special form of visa and must be used together with the passport or other international travel documents held by the applicant. Different countries have different regulations on the recipients of individual visas.

(5) machine-readable visa

Machine reading visa (machine? Readable? Visa -MRV) refers to the visa for machine reading. On the basis of machine-readable passport technology, the machine-readable travel document consulting department of ICAO has developed a technology to read and identify visas by machine. This technology greatly simplifies international travel procedures and shortens customs clearance time.

(6) Electronic visa

Some countries also use computer network and magnetic card technology to develop "electronic visa" or "invisible visa". Countries such as Australia and Singapore have begun to try this kind of visa.

(7) Individual visas and group visas

Personal visa refers to the visa placed on each applicant's passport or other international travel documents. Group visa refers to the visa on the group list. Persons holding the same group visa must enter and leave the country with the group.