Visa is a permission issued to a person to enter into a particular country in the form an endorsement or stamp on the passport of a person. Without a valid visa one cannot  travel to any country for any purpose.  If you apply sufficiently early, the procedure for visa application is almost simple and straight forward. But some countries like America take more caution and care before issuing visa to a person and therefore the procedure is difficult and not easy to get through.

The basics

It is the personal responsibility of every passenger to make sure that he has obtained a visa for the country   which he is planning to visit. It is better not to depend on the travel agent, or your airliner or your uncle or Google in this regard. It is better if you can do the research and gather information regarding the visa rules related to a particular country and try to comply with them if you want to take a visa and travel to that country. Visa regulations keeps on changing.
So,   it is better to  get an updated information before you start the process for applying for your visa to a particular country.

Types of visas

Most of us will be aware of some facts regarding the tourist visa of some countries. But there are several other types of visas also which are used for particular situations or for particular uses. Let us examine some important ones one by one.

Working holiday visas

If you are a person between the ages of 18 and 30 and if you want to do ranch work in Canada, or become an executive in Ireland, or spend some time in an American summer camp, or make an adventurous trip to Australia,  then   working holiday visa will be type of visa needed for you.      Every country has their own conditions as to the type of work that can be allowed there, legal tax requirements,   requirement of sponsorship etc. Normally working holiday visa will be given for 12 months. Travel agencies engaged in student travel will be able to give the latest information in this regard. One need not be a student for applying for this type of visas.

Transit visas

This type of visa allows one person to enter into a country for a specific purpose for a short duration of time. It can vary from 3 hours to 3 days depending upon the need and circumstances.  In UK there is a similar visa known as DATV which is useful for a person who changes flight but not going for immigration check up and who is  not from European Economic Area. Transit visa regulations keep on changing. So make sure you know them completely before planning to obtain a transit visa.

Medical visa

Medical visas are intended for people who travel to foreign countries for medical purpose. As treatment charges in developed countries and developing countries are having wide variation.  Medical tourism is a booming industry in some countries.  Cosmetic surgery, orthodontic surgery, organ transplantation etc  are some of the  specialized medical fields which attract many medical tourists. For such people medical visa is the most suitable one.

Business visa or work visa

Business visas are given to visitors for conducting short term visits related to their business activity like attending a conference, undergoing training or conducting client negotiations etc. Whereas work visas are given for people who want to get employment for longer terms in foreign countries.             Business visa and work visa are not one and the same. They are different and different countries use different terms like work   permit, green card, sponsorship authorization etc for this type of visas.

Other types of visas

There are other types of visas like marriage, student, diplomatic, journalist, immigrant, pensioner etc which are issued for specific situations related to travel to other countries. All these types of visas are controlled by the entry conditions like single entry, double entry and multiple entries. The multiple entry or re-entry visa allows the holder to leave the country without invalidating the visa and enter the country again.