The visa on Arrival – when is it useful and what is there to consider ?

Preparing a trip abroad can be quite time-consuming. You not only have to make sure that you have your personal belongings with you, but also that you need a visa to enter some countries. One way to do this is to apply for a visa on arrival (VOA). This allows you to get your visa when you land in your destination country, instead of applying for it in advance. In the following article we want to show you how a visa on arrival works and what it is important to consider.

With a Visa on Arrival (VOA), you will receive a visa on arrival in your destination country, instead of applying for it before entering. Some people decide to do this because they do not have time to apply for a visa for the stay before the start of the trip, or because they may have forgotten to apply for a visa in advance at the embassy in their homeland.

Nowadays, more and more countries offer visas on arrival. This procedure is more convenient for many travelers and can save both time, money and trips to the embassy. In general, a visa on arrival can be worthwhile if you

• Planning short trips from 2 weeks to a month or
• if there is no corresponding consulate in your own city or country.

Although applying for a visa on arrival can be a good option for some travelers, it is not an optimal solution for everyone and not everywhere. The application for a VOA can be associated with some difficulties, which should be known about and which will be explained in more detail below.

A visa on arrival is generally not available in every country. Some travel countries that require a visa do not offer this on arrival. In the event that it is available, it may be that it applies only to tourist visas, and not to business visas, or vice versa.

In addition, travel countries often change their visa requirements and often do so without prior notice.

Furthermore, preparations are still to be made for a VOA. Although you do not have to go through the entire visa application process for a VOA, you still have to do some preparatory work. For example, Vietnam offers a visa on arrival, but the country requires that you obtain an official letter of authorization from a representative in Vietnam before you arrive in the country. Other countries may have different requirements, such as applying for a VOA online before your departure.

However, there may also be longer waiting times on arrival at the destination country, especially during the high season or on public holidays, which can significantly delay the application for a visa at the airport.

Please also note that you will also have the appropriate cash for the fees available when applying in the destination country. These fees are also variable and can change frequently.

It is therefore important to prepare yourself accordingly when deciding on a visa on arrival and to find out in advance exactly how the requirements are designed in the destination country.

So before the trip, it is absolutely necessary that you have thoroughly understood the requirements for VOA and are also sure that you meet them. If you are unable to meet these requirements, you may be refused entry to the destination country. In this case, the rejection at the airport is much more difficult to handle than at home.

The procedure for applying for a visa on arrival also varies slightly from country to country. Although most travel countries follow the standard procedure, in some travel areas there are certain requirements that must be met. Therefore, you should clearly know the procedural process to make sure that you know everything that needs to be done before the start of the trip and at the place of arrival in order to obtain a visa on arrival. Information on this can be obtained from the Federal Foreign Office.

In addition, collect in advance all the information you need for the visa forms. View or download the online version of the Visa on Arrival forms. It is also advisable to make a note of all the necessary, required information in advance in order to have it ready on site. In addition to the personal data, this is, for example, the passport number or contact persons with address and telephone number, the data on the place of work or home address. If it is possible and allowed, you should print out and fill out the application forms at home in order to save time at the place of arrival.

The compilation of the documents for the visa application is also an important preparation. In any case, this includes the return flight tickets, booking confirmations from hotels, possibly also bank statements or invitation letters. All these documents should be kept together with the completed application forms. Also, in the event that you prefer electronic versions of your documents, make sure that the documents are also available offline. When you arrive at the immigration office in the destination country, you often do not have access to Wi-Fi. Therefore, it is always advisable to use a cloud service such as Google Drive to store the documents and make them available offline. In addition, you should also make copies of passport photos and make sure that the photos also comply with the visa requirements.

Also, the fee for the visa on arrival must be paid in the currency of the host country or sometimes in USD. A currency exchange is usually possible in the Visa on Arrival departments, so you can usually exchange USD. Other important currencies such as the euro or the British pound can also be exchanged. So you should know what the fee for the visa is and have it ready either in USD or in the currency of the host country.

Our international visa service will be happy to assist you in applying for a visa for your travel planning. We can apply for the right visa for you worldwide and personally take care of your visa documents for your desired country. Here you can order your visa easily and conveniently online and then leave the rest to us.