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My favorite visa procedure is in India. When your visa expire after 180 days, you can't renew it in India, you have to leave the country and go to the Indian consulate and apply for a new one. There is always a long line at Katmandu. It takes five days, because they have to get a police clearance from your home country. If your US passport says you were born in Iowa, they send the application to the Chicago consulate, which makes a request for a police clearance to the Chicago police department. You could be an escaped felon from Iowa, but if you have no record in Chicago you are clear. The visa is issued after a five day wait, if there is no negative police report. Of course, there never is, because the Chicago police just throw then all in the waste basket. Besides, the applicant has been in India for the past several years, so if he has done anything that would smudge his record,, it would be in India, not Chicago.
This has been going on for decades, it was that way when I got mine in 1996, and according to Lonely Planet there is still a five day wait.
How many people can't get approved who should? It seems that most who can't get visas approved have a criminal background or seem to have ulterior motives for their travel (ie unauthorized employment).
It depends where you are from and what country you are trying to get to.
Numerous people do not get approved for a US visa for example, and it has nothing to do with them being a criminal or not or seeking employment, etc. The US has the the fallacy of "prove you are not going to do something", which is impossible, hence why it is a fallacy. Same thing with the UK, where you can get denied time after time for a visa for failing to prove you are not going to do something.
Often it comes down to the consular officer, who basically has the authority to grant or deny visas without question from anyone, it is part of their powers. So some places will have a real jerk off officer who will just deny, deny, deny for the hell of it, while another officer will have more common sense. Often people play the wait game and wait for the jerk off to rotate to another assignment or go on leave then apply.
My favorite visa procedure is in India. When your visa expire after 180 days, you can't renew it in India, you have to leave the country and go to the Indian consulate and apply for a new one. There is always a long line at Katmandu. It takes five days, because they have to get a police clearance from your home country. If your US passport says you were born in Iowa, they send the application to the Chicago consulate, which makes a request for a police clearance to the Chicago police department. You could be an escaped felon from Iowa, but if you have no record in Chicago you are clear. The visa is issued after a five day wait, if there is no negative police report. Of course, there never is, because the Chicago police just throw then all in the waste basket. Besides, the applicant has been in India for the past several years, so if he has done anything that would smudge his record,, it would be in India, not Chicago.
This has been going on for decades, it was that way when I got mine in 1996, and according to Lonely Planet there is still a five day wait.
You have to do that with a few countries (not saying you do not know this), even if not a visa but to renew your stay time.
There are special bus trips in Thailand down to Malaysia for people to renew their visas. For the Schengen, non-visa people leave for a 24 hour period then come back. Some countries have restrictions though, like in Russia you can have a three year visa, but you can only stay so long at a time during a year.
You have to do that with a few countries (not saying you do not know this), even if not a visa but to renew your stay time.
There are special bus trips in Thailand down to Malaysia for people to renew their visas. For the Schengen, non-visa people leave for a 24 hour period then come back. Some countries have restrictions though, like in Russia you can have a three year visa, but you can only stay so long at a time during a year.
Nearly all countries have a law that technically, you cannot stay in the country for more than 180 days in any year on serial tourist visas. Even Mexico. But in many cases it is poorly enforced, so there is a significant expat community of people making the periodic visa run to the border. I did it when I lived in Chile and Guatemala. Bur if an actual visa is required from the consulate before arriving at the border, the consulate is where the passport is examined to see if the applicant is overstaying the 180-day limit.
By the way, you don't to have all your visas before you leave home, you can get them along the way from the consulate. If there is a flight from A to B, then B will have a consulate in A where you can get a visa, usually taking no more than 24 hours to process. And often a lot cheaper visa fee than if you get it at home.
There are a few places that are more complicated, like Russia and India, but for nearly all countries, just show up at any consulate with a couple of photos and get the visa by the next day.
By the way, you don't to have all your visas before you leave home, you can get them along the way from the consulate. If there is a flight from A to B, then B will have a consulate in A where you can get a visa, usually taking no more than 24 hours to process. And often a lot cheaper visa fee than if you get it at home.
There are a few places that are more complicated, like Russia and India, but for nearly all countries, just show up at any consulate with a couple of photos and get the visa by the next day.
This is not good advice. For US citizens with a valid passport it will work in most countries. But there are many that require getting a visa in advance. Also if you have been convicted of a crime--including DUI--even going to Canada will require an application and a several week wait to get it sorted.
Also the consulate in "A" might be on the other side of the country. Plus who wants to spend hours waiting in line while on vacation?
The only good advice is to be aware of your particular situation and plan accordingly.
This is not good advice. For US citizens with a valid passport it will work in most countries. But there are many that require getting a visa in advance. Also if you have been convicted of a crime--including DUI--even going to Canada will require an application and a several week wait to get it sorted.
Also the consulate in "A" might be on the other side of the country. Plus who wants to spend hours waiting in line while on vacation?
The only good advice is to be aware of your particular situation and plan accordingly.
How can you say it is not good advice, when you just said essentially the same things, but wish to quibble about the meaning of words liike "many"? What is good advice for someone who backpacks through hostels is not necessarily the same as good advice for someone traveling with a corporate gold card and flying business class from one 5-star hotel to another.
I've been to over 120 countries, and got every visa along the way, in the country just before I got there. I can't recall a single occasion in which I was told that I had to return to the USA to apply for a visa, and was denied for that reason. Ethiopia is currently one of them, unless you fly into ADD airport, where you can get a single-entry visa on landing, but if you then leave the country by land, you have to either fly back in to ADD, or return to the USA for a visa to reenter.
I'd sure rather wait in line for a day for a visa, than mail my passport to a dozen different embassies, each mailing with a tracking number, one at a time, with the first visa expiring by the time the last one is issued. In countries where going to the capital is inconvenient, they will generally have a consulate near the border. Or, if flying, there are no international flights except from the capital, so get your visa there. There are very few international airports in the world that have scheduled flights to Country B but there is no visa issuing consulate in a city near of the airport.
The point is, with very few exceptions, you can pick up your visas along the way. If you don't want to, that's your business, but it is not "bad advice" to report that you can and have the option to do so if it fits your travel plans.
How can you say it is not good advice, when you just said essentially the same things, but wish to quibble about the meaning of words liike "many"? What is good advice for someone who backpacks through hostels is not necessarily the same as good advice for someone traveling with a corporate gold card and flying business class from one 5-star hotel to another.
I've been to over 120 countries, and got every visa along the way, in the country just before I got there. I can't recall a single occasion in which I was told that I had to return to the USA to apply for a visa, and was denied for that reason. Ethiopia is currently one of them, unless you fly into ADD airport, where you can get a single-entry visa on landing, but if you then leave the country by land, you have to either fly back in to ADD, or return to the USA for a visa to reenter.
I'd sure rather wait in line for a day for a visa, than mail my passport to a dozen different embassies, each mailing with a tracking number, one at a time, with the first visa expiring by the time the last one is issued. In countries where going to the capital is inconvenient, they will generally have a consulate near the border. Or, if flying, there are no international flights except from the capital, so get your visa there. There are very few international airports in the world that have scheduled flights to Country B but there is no visa issuing consulate in a city near of the airport.
The point is, with very few exceptions, you can pick up your visas along the way. If you don't want to, that's your business, but it is not "bad advice" to report that you can and have the option to do so if it fits your travel plans.
Have fun standing in lines. And again I repeat, for people with criminal records, this is not good advice.
By the way, most people with Gold cards have them on their own, not through any corporation. There is no such thing as a corporate Centurion, either.
Have fun standing in lines. And again I repeat, for people with criminal records, this is not good advice.
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For one thing, I never gave any advice. I presented options. Which might be useful to real travelers, as opposed to wine-and-dine jet-setters seated at the front of the aircraft and a personal travel agent handling arrangements.
Second, if you have criminal record, it is much more likely to be discovered by the consulate in your home country, than by the consulate in Ouagadougou or Tegucigalpa, who says "come back this afternoon to pick up your visa."
Third, I did not compose my post primarily for forum users who have criminal records, who are a very tiny number of world travelers and present with a highly specialized set of travel complications beyond the scope of this forum. To those who are among them, let them be guided accordingly, but pay the rest of us the compliment of assuming we are not.
Fourth, a resourceful traveler nevr has any trouble finding something rewarding to do abroad during the interval waiting for the issuance of a visa. You do not "stand in line", you deliver your passport to the cousulate, fill out the form, pay the fee, and come back the next day. I didn't think I would have to explain that to anyone who had ever traveled before.
Last edited by jtur88; 05-14-2015 at 08:14 AM..
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