Vacations should be relaxing, quiet experiences that give you the opportunity to get away from your day-to-day life. While that sounds amazing, we all know what happens in the planning process. We get frustrated because we do not get the best deals, or we stress over a million things that need to be fixed before departure. While some of them are, indeed, small and insignificant, others are more important. One of them is the visa.
If you travel abroad, one of the first things you need to take care of is your visa. After all, you cannot get that in 20 minutes like a pair of flip-flops at Walmart. There is a process in place, and that can sometimes take weeks. But what if I told you that it may not be necessary to go through the tedious application process at the embassy of the country you wish to visit?
The best way to avoid an embassy before your vacation is to inquire about the existence of an electronic visa. More and more countries adopted the electronic visa system, and it seems to be working because more states are planning to in the future. The gist is that you apply online, the visa is electronically linked to your passport, and you can just leave. The embassy is somewhat obsolete as travel documents are concerned in this particular case.
Unfortunately, electronic visas are not available for anyone. It is possible for a state to release e-visas for tourism purposes, but it is not available to you. It depends on your nationality. Treaties and accords are in place, which makes all that possible.
To find out whether or not you qualify for an electronic visa, or if the country you wish to visit even releases electronic visas, you can use multiple methods. One would be that you look up the state’s visa policy. Google can help you with that, and Wikipedia is reliable most of the times. But that implies a little reading session. However, the second method and the easiest one would be for you to use a visa service that provides a tool which can tell you everything you need to know in just a couple of clicks. If you use the latter, you should find out what you need a lot faster.
After your eligibility is out of the way, and you find out that you indeed qualify for an electronic visa, you need to move forward, which means that you have to put together a series of documents and information required in the application process. Each country has a different set of conditions, but the one thing that they all have in common is that you are required to have a passport. A passport is always necessary. The rest of the requirements can include an invitation letter, travel itinerary, international insurance, and so on.
The next thing would be for you to fill in an application. An online form typically takes very little of your time, and you should not have any issues along the way. A good visa service will always provide customer support in case you have questions or concerns, which should be of help. After you submit your application, your request is processed incredibly fast, with some electronic visas begin ready within 15 minutes since submission. Again, it depends on the country and the required document for your trip. A visa will always take more time to process than an electronic travel authorization, for instance.
After your application is processed, the e-visa is linked to your passport, and you can be on your way. Some people, to feel reassured, print out a physical copy of their electronic visa. In some cases, it comes as a requirement. No matter the situation, once your visa is released, you can travel to your destination. The allowed period you can stay after your arrival depends on the travel document, but it can vary from a few days to as much as 6 months.
The bottom line is that it is possible to avoid an embassy in the process of planning your vacation abroad. It is necessary for some conditions to be met, but if they are, you should have an easy time putting it all together. Other than that, do not forget to enjoy your vacation and go back home relaxed and refreshed.