EMIGRATION AND IMMIGRATION

    VISA DOCUMENTS - TYPES

Entry and Duration Period

Visas can also be single-entry, which means the visa is cancelled as soon as the holder leaves the country, double-entry, or multiple-entry, permitting multiple entries into the country with the same visa. Countries may also issue re-entry permits that allow temporarily leaving the country without invalidating the visa. Even a business visa will normally not allow the holder to work in the host country without an additional work permit.

Once issued, a visa will typically have to be used within a certain period of time, and the period of validity starts only on entry into the country. A notable exception to this is India, where the visa validity period starts immediately at the time the visa is issued.

It is important to note, however, that the validity of a visa is not the same as the authorized period of stay in the issuing country. For example, if a visa has been issued January 1st and expires March 30th and the typical authorized period of stay in a country is 90 days, then the 90-day authorized stay starts on the day the passenger reaches the country, which has to be between January 1st and March 30th. The traveller could therefore theoretically stay in the issuing country until July 1st.

Once in the country, the validity period of a visa can often be extended for a fee. Overstaying a visa's validity period is considered illegal immigration and the offender may be fined, deported, or even blacklisted from entering the country again.

Entering a country without a valid visa or visa exemption may result in detention and removal (deportation or exclusion) from the country. Undertaking activities that are not authorized by the status of entry (for example, working while possessing a non-worker tourist status) can result in the individual being deemed removable, in common speech an illegal alien. Such violation is not a violation of a visa, however despite the common misuse of the phrase, but a violation of status.

Visa Refusal

A visa may be denied for various reasons, for example:

• if the applicant is felt to be intending to stay permanently while applying for a temporary visa
• if the applicant does not have a genuine reason for their journey;
• if there is already an immigration problem in the country the applicant intends to visit;
• if the applicant is asking for a resident visa and has no visible means of sustenance;
• if the applicant has a criminal record;
• if the applicant is considered to be a security risk.

   Help to Visa Application Forms. How to find the right one(s)?

PASSPORT APPLICATIONS, RENEWALS

A passport is a formal identity document or certification issued by a national government that identifies the holder as a national of a particular state, and requests permission, in the name of the sovereign or government of the issuing country, for the bearer to be permitted to enter and pass through other countries. Passports are connected with the right of legal protection abroad and the right to enter one's country of nationality. Passports usually contain the holder's photograph, signature, date of birth, nationality, and sometimes other means of individual identification. Many countries are in the process of developing biometric properties for their passports in order to further confirm that the person presenting the passport is the legitimate holder.

A passport is usually necessary for international travel, as it normally needs to be shown at a country's border, although there exist agreements whereby the citizens of some countries can enter some other countries with other identity documents. It may be stamped or sealed with visas issued by the host country authorising entry.

Some governments try to control the movements of their own and other citizens by issuing so-called internal passports. For instance, in the Soviet Union, all citizens were issued propiska to control their movement around the country. This system has been partly retained in Russia.

As identifying documents, passports are frequent subjects of theft and forgery.

History

The modern concept of a multi-journey, multi-destination passport issued only by the holder's country of nationality, dates only from the mid-twentieth century. Before this, passports could generally be issued by any nation to any person, but for a very limited time and generally for a single journey. In this way, early passports are more similar to modern visas than to modern passports, whose primary function is to prove the identity and nationality of the holder. Until the 1920s passports were a single paper page. The modern 'booklet' style passport originated as a commercial product in the UK, as a leather pouch containing a booklet for entry and exit stamps, and a small pocket for the passport. The design was copied by the UK government a few years later.

The term 'passport' most probably originates not from sea ports, but from medieval documents required to pass through the gate ('porte') of city walls. In medieval Europe such documents could be issued to any traveller by local authorities and generally contained a list of towns and cities through which the holder was permitted to pass. This system continued in France, for example, until the 1860s. During this time passports were often not required for travel to seaports, which were considered open trading points, but were required to travel from them to inland cities. Early passports often, but not always, contained a physical description of the holder, with photographs being added only in the early decades of the 20th century.

Following the world wars, the League of Nations (International Conference on Passports, Customs Formalities and Through Tickets, 1920), and later the United Nations and the ICAO, issued standardisation guidelines on the layout and features of passports. These guidelines have largely shaped the modern passport.

In recent years there has been a movement to introduce biometric information to passports to improve identity security. It is at present questionable whether such technology is sufficiently developed and robust for this task. The U.S., for example, has twice delayed the introduction of this technology due to poor reliability results.

Standards - Technical Characteristics

Passports have a standardised format. They begin with a cover identifying the issuing country, then have a title page also naming the country, followed by pages giving information about the bearer and the issuing authority. Then, a number of blank pages are given for foreign countries to affix visas, or stamp the passport on entrance or exit. Passports are numbered by the issuing authority.

Passports used to carry information (family name, given names, date of birth, place of birth, etc.) only in textual form. In recent years, however, passports issued by many countries have become more complex.

Machine readable passports have a standardised presentation, bearing a zone where some of the information otherwise written in textual form is written as strings of alphanumeric characters, printed in a manner suitable for optical character recognition – that is, reading by a machine. This enables border controllers and other law enforcement agents to process such passports quickly, without having to input the information manually into a computer – for instance, in order to check in a database if the passport was not stolen, if the holder of the passport is not a criminal, or to record the movement of foreigners.

Biometric passports with RFID Chips will carry supplemental information about the bearer, in a digitised form.

Languages

In 1920 the International Conference on Passports, Customs Formalities and Through Tickets mandated that passports be issued in French and at least one other language, though many countries, particularly in Asia, now issue passports in English and the language of the issuing country. Belgium allows its citizens to choose which of its three official languages (Dutch, French, or German) should appear first in the individual's passport. Passports issued by European Union member states bear all of the official languages of the European Union. United States passports, once issued in English and French only, have been issued in English, French, and Spanish since the second Clinton administration.

Soviet passports were only printed in Russian and French, even though the USSR was a diverse country of many languages. This was due to the fact that Russian was designated as the language of international communication, putting the other union languages at a disadvantage.

Common Passport Designs

The member states of the European Union are perhaps the best-known countries to have a common format for their passports. European Union (EU) passports have standardised layouts and designs, although the photo page can be at the front or in the back of the booklet and small differences in design indicate which member state is the issuer. Ordinary EU passports are burgundy-red, with the words "European Union" written in the national language or languages (e.g. Dutch, French, Finnish, Maltese) on the front, below which is the official name of the country, the national seal, and the word for "passport", in the respective language(s), can be found at the bottom. Malta was the first country of the new EU states from Central Europe and the Mediterranean to issue EU passports. Estonia began issuing EU passports in July 2005. Others such as Poland, Latvia and Cyprus are likely to follow in the coming years.

The Caribbean Community (CARICOM) recently began issuing passports to a common design, featuring CARICOM's symbol along with the national seal and official name of the member state in its official languages (i.e. English, French, Dutch). The first member state to issue CARICOM passports is Suriname, to be followed by Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Guyana, Antigua and Barbuda and other countries.

The declaration adopted in Cusco, Peru, establishing the South American Community of Nations signalled an intent to establish a common passport design, but this appears to be a long way away. Already, some member states of regional sub-groupings such as Mercosur and the Andean Community of Nations issue passports that bear their official name and seal along with the name of their regional grouping. Examples include Paraguay and Ecuador. Member states of the Andean Community of Nations have agreed to phrase in new Andean passports bearing the official name of the regional body in Spanish by January 2005, although previously issued national passports will be valid until their expiry date.

Government Restrictions and Special Cases

Although most countries recognise the passports of most other countries, there are a number of exceptions. Generally these exceptions are due to circumstances where one country does not recognise another territory's administration as a sovereign state. Some countries also decline to accept passports that do not afford the bearer the right to live in the issuing country.

Most countries make it a policy not to accept passports issued by authorities they do not recognise as states. The usual one-off exceptions are persons involved in negotiation between authorities (analogous to diplomatic talks) and those offering humanitarian relief. Standing exceptions include passports issued by the Hong Kong and Macau Special Administrative Regions of China. In Brazil, citizens of such countries must apply for a Brazilian laissez-passer, a type of travel document usually allowing only a single entry into the issuing country.

In most countries, the passport (sometimes including counterfeit ones) is state property which may be withdrawn at any time. In some countries the executive authorities may declare a passport void, although such cases may be subject to judicial review; judicial decision may be needed for other countries. For instance, typically, a person on bail must temporarily surrender his passport while awaiting trial if he poses a flight risk.

Some countries impose particular political and ideological requirements or prohibitions on passport applicants, issuing passports, and perhaps exit-visas, only to those who meet those requirements.

International Travel without Passports

In some circumstances, travel between countries may be done without showing a passport. These include:

Reciprocal Agreements

A few countries have agreements allowing for cross-border travel without passports (but generally with identification). Examples include:

The United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland: Citizens of the UK and Ireland require no passport to travel between the two countries; however, the Irish government has since 1997 required a suitable form of photographic identification to be carried. Other EEA nationals must show a national ID card or Passport. All other nationals require a passport. Many nationals also require visas for both countries. See Common Travel Area 
The NAFTA countries: the United States, Canada, and Mexico, although after a recent announcement, all persons entering the United States, including U.S. citizens, will be required to have a passport, even from Canada and Mexico, starting December 31, 2006 for air and sea travel. On December 31, 2007, passport requirement will also be extended to all land border crossings. The Canadian Government has responded to this by stating that soon U.S. citizens will be required to have a passport to enter Canada. 
The Nordic countries (since 1952), Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden, including Faroe Islands and Greenland. (Called the Nordic Passport Union, this area joined the larger Schengen treaty region in 1997.) 
Lebanese citizens entering Syria do not require a passport if carrying their Lebanese IDs. Similarly, Syrian nationals do not require a passport to enter Lebanon either, if carrying their Syrian IDs. 
Indian, Nepalese and Bhutanese citizens do not require a passport to travel between the three countries. However some identification is needed to cross the borders. 
Croatia does not require a passport for citizens of Bosnia and Herzegovina who have a Bosnian ID card. Likewise Bosnia and Herzegovina does not require Croatian citizens to have a passport only a Croatian ID. 
Many Latin American nationals can travel within their respective regional economic zones, such as Mercosur (Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay, Uruguay and Venezuela) and the Andean Community of Nations (Bolivia, Peru, Ecuador, Colombia, Venezuela) or on a bilateral basis (e.g. between Chile and Peru) without passports, presenting instead their national identification cards or voter registration cards for a limited period. Often, this travel must be done overland rather than by air. There are plans to extend these rights to all of South America under the new South American Community of Nations.

EU, EEA, and the Schengen treaty
Citizens of the European Economic Area (the European Union plus Iceland, Liechtenstein, and Norway) enjoy the freedom to travel and work in any European Union country without a passport or visa, although transitory dispositions may restrict the rights of citizens of new members to work in other countries.

Furthermore, countries that have signed and applied the Schengen treaty (a subset of the EEA) do not implement border controls between each other, unless exceptional circumstances apply. (Most of the balance of EU countries, plus Switzerland, have signed the Schengen treaty, but not applied it yet. The main reason is, that, according to EU laws, the member states which had joined the EU in 2004 would have to meet strict criteria with respect to their efforts protect EU external borders before intra-EU border controls between the old member states and such new member states may be lifted. Switzerland requires some time to adopt national databases to those of the EU.)

As a consequence of the above, for instance, a French citizen may travel to the United Kingdom, another EEA nation, and then freely work in that country. However, since the UK has not signed the Schengen treaty, he will have to carry at least a national ID card, which will normally be checked at the border. On the other hand, if and when Switzerland applies the Schengen treaty, the French citizen will be able to travel to Switzerland without being stopped at the border, but he will not be able to work freely in that country without authorisation, as it is not a member of the EEA (this notwithstanding the fact that, in most cases, such authorization to work would nevertheless have to be granted by Swiss authorities according to a specific treaty on free movement which had been concluded between the EU and Switzerland). Further, most European countries require all persons to carry or, at least, possess an identity card or passport. So while Switzerland will not check our French traveller at the border, he may have to show his ID card at some stage within the country, although in practice this is rare. Except at the border, ID cards are not required by UK law; however, there is a de facto requirement to prove your identity to conduct business. Our French traveller would have to show ID to obtain a UK bank account or to prove his eligibility to work.

Refugees and Stateless Persons
Stateless persons (those to whom no country will grant a passport or citizenship) generally travel internationally on transit documents issued by the United Nations under the terms of the 1951 Convention relating to the Status of Refugees. These are accepted in lieu of passports by most governments. Similarly, refugees and asylum seekers often travel under non-national interim documentation, rather than the passport of the country from which they are fleeing.

The Vatican City
The Vatican City has no formal immigration controls. As the only entrance to the tiny country is overland from Italy, the de-facto immigration requirements of the Vatican City are the same as those of Italy. However, having crossed the border into Vatican City, they are liable to Vatican law not Italian, retaining their authority as a separate state.