Vis-à-vis : A guide to understanding Visas

A Visa is the first of the many gatepasses one requires in order to travel internationally. Travelling is done for various purposes like for leisure, work or research etc. But which type of VISA to opt for, for exactly what purpose is something we may find a little confusing to wrap our brains around. In this blog, I’ll help you sort things out.

1. Transit Visa:

This type of visa allows a person to pass through a country without having to stay there. For example, when a flight from India to the US has a layover in Abu Dhabi, for more than 8 hours, travellers of that flight can stay in Abu Dhabi for the duration of that time.

2. Short Stay Visa (Private, Tourist, Medical, Business):

For people travelling for specific purposes and a limited amount of time, short stay visas are best suited to their time-bound requirements. Short term activities like tourism, family visits, medical care or business requirements are best suited under this type of visa.

3. Athletic Visa:

This category serves the purpose of enabling professional athletes to participate in sporting events held outside of their home country. Since many of them take place in different countries, athletes and sporting professionals need to travel around the world to attend the events which constantly requires them to apply for visas for every country. 

4. Refugee Visa:

In times of political crises, refugees are forced to take shelter in other countries due to war, political turmoil or violence. In such cases, a refugee visa allows them to stay in a different country and work there, study or have access to general healthcare facilities.

5. Pilgrimage Visa

This type of visa allows a person to travel to religious places for pilgrimage. Popular pilgrimage visas include the Hajj visa for Saudi Arabia, a pilgrim visa for Pakistan, the Iran Ziyarat visa which allows non-Iranian Muslim citizens to visit Iran for pilgrimage. This year, a special Jubilee Pilgrimage visa category is available for people planning to attend the Catholic Church’s Jubilee celebrations in Rome, Italy.

6. Student Visa:

A student visa allows students to travel to a particular country in order to pursue higher education legally after school. Nowadays, a lot of students opt for this visa and travel abroad to popular destinations to pursue their educational goals such as the United States of America, United Kingdom, Germany, Russia, France, Australia etc. This student visa can be extended into Graduate visas, Skilled worker visas and so on, enabling students to find further occupational opportunities abroad.

7. Resident Visa:

In simple terms, a resident visa is a residence permit which allows a person to live in a foreign country. The duration of the stay permitted may be definite or indefinite based upon the requirements of the traveller.

8. Dependant Visa:

A dependent visa allows a primary visa holder’s family members to stay with them in a foreign country. These dependents can travel, study and stay in the host country and in some cases can even work in the destination country.

9. Digital Nomad Visa:

Remote work travel is becoming a growing trend nowadays amongst travel enthusiasts. To facilitate this trend, the digital nomad visa allows a person to work remotely in a foreign country. If one owns or works for an organization that allows them to work from anywhere in the world, he or she is considered to be qualified for this type of visa.