It is not uncommon for an investor to assume that an uninterrupted history of visa grants to Europe, North America or elsewhere around the world, is a permanent situation.
Moreover, it is also not uncommon for members of the general public, to miss interpret the accessibility facilitated by a visa as an accessibility that would serve them good in times of need.
What defines a visa; a Visa is token granted to a national who is foreign to the country s/he plans to travel to. This token may allow the traveler to enter the country and stay for a specified period of time. Visas are usually attached to a traveler’s passport. Visas are granted on a single or a multiple entry basis.
The Power of the Visa
A travel Ban similar to that issued by the US government in 2017, prohibited holders of a single or multiple entry visas from arriving at the Borders of the US. The fact that the visas were valid, did not form an obligation on the US border officers to honor the power of the visas and grant access to the traveler.
A visa is not a permanent or an everlasting token that would guarantee access to its holder to the country of destination. A government issuing the visa has the right to suspend it or stop it without any recourse.
In the past, immigration and border officials vetted visitors on the points of entry and a decision was made to grant a visa or deny it right there and then. Visas are now issued by consulates and Embassies thousands of miles away from the border.
What happens in the case of emergencies? When you most need your visa?
Countries who offer refugee protection programmes, are particularly concerned with visitors transforming into refugee claimants. Should a case of unrest be detected in any jurisdiction around the world, a government who had issued a number of visas to the nationals or residents of this turbulent country, may issue an administrative order to suspend travel facilities from this turbulent country. What good is a visa then?
Difference between a Visa and a Residency
Lets take country “X” as an example.
Residents of country X are different from visitors. They are either citizens of a foreign country but happen to hold a long-term residence permit in country X, or are citizens of country X.
In most cases, a resident has the right to enter and remain in country X. In the case a resident of country X departed this country to his home land, political unrest erupted in this home land, and where country X feared an influx of refugees to its borders, a travel ban may be issued to visa holders of this “home land”; but residents of country X will have the right to board the plane and return to country X.
