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Confused about visas? When traveling you need to be careful to do your research on whether you will need a visa to enter a country or not. As an American, I have a lot of freedoms entering some countries and staying for a certain period of time. In other countries I need to make sure I apply beforehand for a visa. Some countries I may never be able to visit at all with my American passport.

Here are some examples of visas that you may encounter in your travels:

No visa needed: Some countries have agreements with other countries in which you don’t need to apply for a visa to visit. Make sure that you are aware of what work you can do in that country and how long you are legally allowed to stay before you may need to apply for a visa.

Visa on arrival: This is probably the easiest visa to deal with! Usually you pay upon arrival for a visa with a few restrictions, i.e. how many days you may stay in the country.

Visa application beforehand: Most countries that require a visa for foreigners will give you an option of getting a visa before arrival through an embassy or consulate. If you are good at planning ahead this may be an option to save some time at the airport. Other countries require a bit more complicated visa process beforehand, such as Vietnam for Americans.

Agreement between your country and the visiting country: Sometimes, there will only be a stamp in your passport when you arrive at your destination which serves as your visa. This is usually because there is an agreement between your country and the visiting country. Americans have this agreement with the EU and Thailand, for instance. In both cases, there is a limit on how many days you may stay in the area per year or 180 day period. You are also not allowed to work.

The Kathmandu airport – one of the crazier experiences we have had in an international airport!

Special visas for extended stay or work

I have had to apply for work visas in three countries: England, Kenya, and Germany. I needed these visas so that I could stay longer than the allotted time for a normal tourist. With these visas I could also work legally within the country. Depending on your visa you may also be restricted to your specialty. You may also not be allowed to take odd jobs or work extra hours.

If you are planning on moving to another country, make sure you do your research on your visa. Working illegally or accidentally overextending your stay is a common problem with travelers. Many countries will put a ban on your passport if you overextend your stay or are found to be working within the country. If you have not applied for a work visa this can be a serious felony. In the EU if you are found to have overextended your stay you are banned from the whole of Europe for at least 10 years in some cases!

The German freelance visa: One of the most nerve wracking but satisfying experiences I have had in getting a visa!

Visa advice

I would suggest that once you decide on the country or countries that you want to visit, you should do extensive research on whether you will need a visa to enter the country or not. Also budget for how much the visa may cost. Bhutan, for example, costs $250/day!

If you are interested in working abroad, do your research! See if there are any agreements between your home country and the country you are interested in. Sometimes you may have your heart set on working in a certain country but it may be extremely difficult to get a visa. Often this depends on your field of work, but sometimes visas are just difficult to get.

Getting rejected

There are many factors in getting your visa rejected, including the economy and how disgruntled the government employee is that is handling your case. I applied for a work visa in England many years ago and my application was rejected. Although I had a job offer, strong application, and great references, the employee who handled my case rejected the application three times! I never reapplied after that because I got my job in Kenya. I’ll never know if I might have been able to get that visa eventually!

In some cases, you can re-apply for your visa. In others, try to figure out what was missing or what they didn’t like about your application. I know some people who were able to get a visa on a second (or third, or fourth) try. Sometimes they were merely missing an item of information or the embassy wanted to hear something specific from them. Other times they just had a different case worker who liked them better! Don’t give up!

Have you had any interesting experiences in acquiring visas that you would like to share in the comments below? I know I have some stories I could tell!