Visa procedures     

                                                              

To have access to ‘Project Visa’, a database of information about visa in European countries, please click here.

To have access to contact details of embassies in Europe and in the world, please visit ‘Embassy World’ or ‘Embassy Abroad’ or check the website VisaGuide World. 

Definition

A visa is a document issued by a country giving an individual permission to formally request entrance to the country during a given period of time and for certain purposes  and usually stamped or glued inside of a passport, or sometimes issued as separate pieces of paper.

Many countries require possession of a valid passport and visa as a condition of entry for foreigners.

Conditions of issue

Some Visas can be granted on arrival or by prior application at the country's embassy or consulate, or sometimes through a specialized travel agency with permission from the issuing country in the country of departure. If there is no embassy or consulate in one's home country, then one would have to travel to a third country (or apply by post) and try to get a visa issued there. The need or absence of need of a visa generally depends on the citizenship of the applicant, the intended duration of the stay, and the activities that the applicant may wish to undertake in the country he visits; these may delineate different formal categories of visas, with different issue conditions.

The category of visa you may need

There are several types of visas according to the objective of your journey aborad.

The most relevant visas for students are the following:

• Tourist visa: for a limited period of leisure travel, no business activities allowed. This visa is usually used to attend masterclasses or summer courses abroad.
• Student visa: it allows its holder to study at an institution of higher education in the issuing country.
• Working holiday visa: it permits individuals travelling between nations offering a working holiday programme (e.g. summer courses, masterclasses, internships), allowing young people to undertake temporary work while travelling.

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.