How important is the visa process?

 

Obtaining the correct visa for the country or countries you wish to travel to is critical. The customs regulations for all countries around the world are becoming stricter on visa requirements due to previous instances with terrorist attacks and they want to assure that only people of good character enter into their country.

 

Every country has the right to issue visas only to people they deem of good conduct. If you have any previous criminal history, it is prudent to advise us of this so that we can assess and notify you if this will cause problems entering into a specific country or with your visa application.

 

When entering any country you are required to pass customs, and if a visa is required for entrance into that country and you are found to not be in possession of the correct visa you could be denied entry and sent home on the first available flight. As having the incorrect visa will cause problems not only for you, but for any company you may be representing, we’ve found that corporate organizations prefer their staff to have the correct visas for any countries they may be entering.

 

In organising relocation or business visits, companies would be wise to begin the visa process as early as possible, even if it is only an initial enquiry, so we can provide all the necessary documents including application forms. This way, if your situation becomes urgent, it can be dealt with quickly and efficiently.

 

Every Consulate and Embassy has different processing times including some of up to 2 months. This is relative to reciprocal agreements between countries.

 

If you enter certain countries, for example Israel, then you may later have serious difficulty entering other countries, for example Saudi Arabia, Syria or the United Arab Emirates.

 

Depending on the reason for travel, whether for business, pleasure or secondment the requirements vary. For example long term secondments require a considerable amount of documents including Contracts, Medicals and Criminal History checks.