3 ms·

Does anyone know: How difficult is it for a Sri Lankan citizen to get a temporary visa to come to a developed nation (e.g. for vacation or a business trip)? W

Does anyone know: How difficult is it for a Sri Lankan citizen to get a temporary visa to come to a developed nation (e.g. for vacation or a business trip)? What is the reasoning for this situation? Other than edge cases where a nation is a security risk or where illegal immigration is a concern what does democratic a country gain by keeping visitors out?

smnrchrds 6y ago
>How difficult is it for a Sri Lankan citizen to get a temporary passport to come to a developed nation (e.g. for vacation or a business trip)? It's called a visa, not a temporary passport. I have friends with weak passports who were Canadian Permanent Residents apply for a visitor visa for the US. They applied 3 months before their intended date of visit (for a conference). The visa was approved 1.5 years after the conference had ended. Another friend in a similar situation had his visa application in process for ~2 years, at which point Trump enacted his travel ban for certain nationalities, including his, so his application was denied after 2 years. In some countries, even booking an interview appointment with the consulate to apply for a visa can take months and maybe more than a year. Most people don't bother with international travel, because it is far too arduous and expensive to get a visa.
deleted 6y ago
[deleted]
el-salvador 6y ago
I can speak from my experience as a Salvadoran/Latin American where visa restrictions affect Northbound travel. * Take El Salvador and Mexico: They are two countries that are close to each other, they also share language and have historical events in common. It is just a 1.5 hour flight from San Salvador to Mexico City, or a 7 hour drive from border to border. If someone from El Salvador wants to travel to Mexico for business purposes or tourism, and they would be required to have a US/EU visa or do the following: Estimated time required | Task 30 min | Make an appointment (next available slot is in three months) ??? | Have a monthly income higher than 100 days of the mexican capital. This excludes most of Salvadorans, I'd have to check the Labour Ministry for the statistics though. 1 hour | Research mexican minimum wages, convert currency and evaluate if you can apply. 1/2 day | Proof of income signed by the manager /HR / accountant of the company 1/2 day | Notarized copy of the Tax ID and National ID of the signee of the proof of income letter 1/2 day | Notarized copu of the Tax ID and terms of incorporation of the company 2-4 hrs | Account statements of the past six months in official bank letterheard, in a letter format, addressed to the Mexican embassy. 2 hrs | Photo taken according to the specifications in a photo studio. 4 hrs | Hotel / airplane reservations 3 months | Wait for appointment 1hr-6hr | Drive to the Embassy in the capital. 1/2 day | Day of appointment. 5 min | Interview/Aprpoval/Rejection 1 day | Wait for passport to be handed in Visa price: It's actually free :) Other circumstances can cause more paperwork: If company or family members is paying your expenses, or if a Mexican company is inviting you. El Salvador is around haldway on the Passport rankings, and this is not the most complicated case. There is a Mexican Embassy in El Salvador, no translations or apostilles are needed for documentation, and the country is small enough to allow for same day travel to the embassy. Somtimes it requires travelling to another country for the visa interview, mailing your passport and having no passport in the meantime, or to have biometrics taken in a third country (!) * Some countries don't ask for a local visa if the traveller has a US/EU visa. Like Salvadorans don't need a Mexican Visa if they have a US/EU visa. Or Nicaraguans to Costa Rica. Or Ecuadorians to El Salvador.
pnw_hazor 6y ago
Most illegal immigration (US anyway) are people that overstay legally obtained non-immigrant visas. Thus, the main reason it is difficult for people from some poor countries to get non-immigrant visas to rich countries, is that the rich countries want reasonable assurances that the applicant intends to return home rather than overstay the visa. https://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2019/04/real-immigration-crisis-people-overstaying-their-visas/587485/ https://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2019/04/re...
tmmx 6y ago
I am a Sri Lankan, and as far as I know only developed nation that allow visa free travel for Sri Lankans is Singapore. If you want to visit any other developed nation, you have to show you have enough funds (or someone else is sponsoring) and have connections to Sri Lanka. I think one of the why our passport ranks in the bottom was during the Sri Lankan civil war there was lot of refugees from Sri Lanka, so developed countries started to look at every Sri Lankan as potential refugee or asylum seeker. It has been 11 years since the civil war ended, but developed world's treatment remains the same. The irony is sometimes you will see some European tourists, who had no issues getting visa to Sri Lanka, begging and doing street performance in the streets of Sri Lanka.

smnrchrds 6y ago

>How difficult is it for a Sri Lankan citizen to get a temporary passport to come to a developed nation (e.g. for vacation or a business trip)? It's called a visa, not a temporary passport. I have friends with weak passports who were Canadian Permanent Residents apply for a visitor visa for the US. They applied 3 months before their intended date of visit (for a conference). The visa was approved 1.5 years after the conference had ended. Another friend in a similar situation had his visa application in process for ~2 years, at which point Trump enacted his travel ban for certain nationalities, including his, so his application was denied after 2 years. In some countries, even booking an interview appointment with the consulate to apply for a visa can take months and maybe more than a year. Most people don't bother with international travel, because it is far too arduous and expensive to get a visa.

deleted 6y ago

[deleted]

el-salvador 6y ago

I can speak from my experience as a Salvadoran/Latin American where visa restrictions affect Northbound travel. * Take El Salvador and Mexico: They are two countries that are close to each other, they also share language and have historical events in common. It is just a 1.5 hour flight from San Salvador to Mexico City, or a 7 hour drive from border to border. If someone from El Salvador wants to travel to Mexico for business purposes or tourism, and they would be required to have a US/EU visa or do the following: Estimated time required | Task 30 min | Make an appointment (next available slot is in three months) ??? | Have a monthly income higher than 100 days of the mexican capital. This excludes most of Salvadorans, I'd have to check the Labour Ministry for the statistics though. 1 hour | Research mexican minimum wages, convert currency and evaluate if you can apply. 1/2 day | Proof of income signed by the manager /HR / accountant of the company 1/2 day | Notarized copy of the Tax ID and National ID of the signee of the proof of income letter 1/2 day | Notarized copu of the Tax ID and terms of incorporation of the company 2-4 hrs | Account statements of the past six months in official bank letterheard, in a letter format, addressed to the Mexican embassy. 2 hrs | Photo taken according to the specifications in a photo studio. 4 hrs | Hotel / airplane reservations 3 months | Wait for appointment 1hr-6hr | Drive to the Embassy in the capital. 1/2 day | Day of appointment. 5 min | Interview/Aprpoval/Rejection 1 day | Wait for passport to be handed in Visa price: It's actually free :) Other circumstances can cause more paperwork: If company or family members is paying your expenses, or if a Mexican company is inviting you. El Salvador is around haldway on the Passport rankings, and this is not the most complicated case. There is a Mexican Embassy in El Salvador, no translations or apostilles are needed for documentation, and the country is small enough to allow for same day travel to the embassy. Somtimes it requires travelling to another country for the visa interview, mailing your passport and having no passport in the meantime, or to have biometrics taken in a third country (!) * Some countries don't ask for a local visa if the traveller has a US/EU visa. Like Salvadorans don't need a Mexican Visa if they have a US/EU visa. Or Nicaraguans to Costa Rica. Or Ecuadorians to El Salvador.

pnw_hazor 6y ago

Most illegal immigration (US anyway) are people that overstay legally obtained non-immigrant visas. Thus, the main reason it is difficult for people from some poor countries to get non-immigrant visas to rich countries, is that the rich countries want reasonable assurances that the applicant intends to return home rather than overstay the visa. https://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2019/04/real-immigration-crisis-people-overstaying-their-visas/587485/ https://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2019/04/re...

tmmx 6y ago

I am a Sri Lankan, and as far as I know only developed nation that allow visa free travel for Sri Lankans is Singapore. If you want to visit any other developed nation, you have to show you have enough funds (or someone else is sponsoring) and have connections to Sri Lanka. I think one of the why our passport ranks in the bottom was during the Sri Lankan civil war there was lot of refugees from Sri Lanka, so developed countries started to look at every Sri Lankan as potential refugee or asylum seeker. It has been 11 years since the civil war ended, but developed world's treatment remains the same. The irony is sometimes you will see some European tourists, who had no issues getting visa to Sri Lanka, begging and doing street performance in the streets of Sri Lanka.