What is an e-Visa?

When it comes to traveling overseas, the host country often requires a visa, especially if you’re planning to stay for an extended length of time.

Obtaining a visa used to mean going to the embassy or consulate’s office with mounds of paperwork in tow. There’s also an option for travelers that are fine with waiting from home. But, this forced them to anxiously wait for months on end as the documents returned from a foreign country. Thankfully, in the modern age of technology, more countries are beginning to accept electronic visas.

The process is usually simple, but is still dependent on the country.

As with the paper application for a visa, you will complete the electronic application and supply all the required documents. This could mean just a passport, while other countries require more forms of ID. Once your application for the e-Visa is submitted to the processing department, it’s reviewed and evaluated for authenticity.

Don’t forget about your payment for processing your e-visa application.

The fees vary from country to country. You should plan to pay approximately $100 for the online application. Acceptable methods of payment include a major credit card or debit bank card.

If the e-visa application is approved, you will receive an e-mail with a link to your e-Visa document, usually in PDF format. Some countries will accept this electronic visa, while other nations will request a hard copy of your e-visa, so it’s wise to have a hard copy available. You may wish to keep the hard copy with your passport and other personal information.

Most nations will require you to complete the process before the trip, while others will allow you to complete the e-Visa upon arrival.

It depends on the country, as well as how long you plan to stay. Some countries require different kinds of visas if you stay longer than 30 days. You will want to check the national website of your host country before reaching the destination. Also, some countries will need you to have a visa depending on the reason for your trip. Are you traveling to see relatives, for business, pleasure or some humanitarian effort?

Some airports and countries allow you to apply for an e-visa as well. Not only is it convenient, the process can help you pass time before a long flight. It is thought that eventually an electronic visa will resemble a credit card. The document will have all the necessary information on it when you visit another nation.

Unfortunately, not all nations accept electronic visas. With the standards constantly changing throughout the world, make sure to keep up-to-date on e-visa news. To help you get started, here are a few of the countries that currently allow electronic visas:

• Azerbaijan – Visa is required from everyone that enters this country. The application process for the electronic visa is straight forward and easy. But, if you go through a tour company, you will be required to schedule a tour while you are in Azerbaijan in order for them to process your e-visa.
• Cambodia – The Asian country has one of the quickest and easiest systems to process your e-visa. You may have a difficult time uploading a passport photo, but other than that, everything else is smooth sailing.
• India – Considered one of the most complicated electronic visa processes due to quite a bit of red tape. The Indian government asks many questions and requests you to upload several documents. Make sure to carve out some extra time before starting this application process.
• Kenya – Kenya has a relatively quick e-visa process from start to finish, lasting about two days. Once you receive your e-visa though, you have three months to visit the country. Otherwise, the visa will expire.
• St. Kitts and Nevis – Another country that makes an e-visa easy. As a country the relies on tourism for much of the economy, St. Kitts is very relaxed with travel documents. This allows for many people to visit without much paperwork. Their process is closer to a simple application than an electronic visa application.

As you can see, the internet has come a long way when it comes to completing a request for an e-visa. Not only is it more convenient for individuals traveling, but it’s also easier for those who are processing the thousands of applications. There is less likely to have lost paperwork and other relevant documents.

As technology continues to grow with online communication, more nations are willing to accept the electronic documents.

Are you in need of a travel visa? Take a trip soon and unsure which documents are required? Passport Health offers passport and visa services to fulfill all your travel document needs.

Written for Passport Health by Sabrina Cortes. Sabrina is a freelance writer with a Bachelor’s Degree from Georgian Court University. She currently lives in the Smokey Mountains of western North Carolina.