Visa Services
A visa (from the Latin charta visa, meaning "paper which has been seen"),[1] is a conditional authorization granted by a country to a noncitizen to enter and temporarily remain within that country. Visas typically include limits on the duration of the noncitizen's stay, territory within the country they may enter, the dates they may enter, or the number of permitted visits. Visas are associated with the request for permission to enter a country and thus are, in some countries, distinct from actual formal permission for an alien to enter and remain in the country. In each instance, a visa is subject to permission by an immigration official at the time of actual entry and can be revoked at any time.
A visa is commonly a stamp endorsed in the applicant's passport or other travel document. The visa, when required, was historically granted by an immigration official on a visitor's arrival at the frontiers of a country, but increasingly today a traveller wishing to enter another country must apply in advance for a visa, sometimes in person at a consular office, by mail or over the internet. The actual visa may still be an endorsement in the passport or may take the form of a document or an electronic record of the authorisation, which the applicant can print before leaving home and produce on entry to the host country. Some countries do not require visas for short visits.
Some countries require that their citizens, as well as foreign travelers, obtain an "exit visa" to be allowed to leave the country
Types of Visa
The Philippine Immigration Act prescribes fourteen different visas grouped into two broad categories:
- Section 9 visas (non-immigrant visas), for temporary visits such as those for tourism, business, transit, study or employment.
- Section 13 visas (immigrant visas), for nationals who wish to become permanent residents in a country
Some visas have been introduced by subsequent legislation or proclamation of the President which are not classified by the Philippine Immigration Act as either being a Section 9 or Section 13 visa. These visas are called special visas and are issued to groups such as retirees, investors and entrepreneurs.
General Requirements for Visa
- Duly accomplished and signed application form
- Valid Philippine Passport (at least six months from date of travel)
- Four 1.77” x 1.37” recent pictures, signed at the back, white background and no eyeglasses
- Original copy of the latest Income Tax Return
- Travel Agency Certification of Itinerary
- Bank Certificate
- Bank Book
- Letter of Request to Embassy Concerned
- International Credit Card (if available)
- Land Title (if any)
- For business trips, business registration certificate and letter of invitation form host organization
- Roundtrip Air Ticket
- At least US$3,000 worth of Traveler’s Checks
- Travel Insurance
- Personal Appearance
- Additional Requirements will depend on the Country to be visited
Evidence substantiating the purpose of the trip and intent to depart from the country visited after a temporary visit is required. Such evidence might include: a letter from the employer, documents outlining the travel plans while in the country to be visited and other evidence showing why a return to the Philippines is necessary, such as family ties, employment and other obligations in the home country. It is the applicant’s own lookout to convince the consular officer of the intent to return to the Philippines after the sojourn in the country visited.
Each Embassy has its own processing procedure, filing and releasing time, visa free and appearance waiver.
We from Karagatan Tours and Travel Corp. main responsibility is to assist but have no role in the assessment of a visa application, which is the sole prerogative of the Visa Section of whichever Embassy the Visa is applied for. The company cannot guarantee instant approval for it depends on your financial capability, credit history and the like and will not in any manner be liable or responsible for any delay in the processing or rejection of any visa applications, once the documents have been delivered for processing.