A visa is a permit to enter and stay in a country for a person who is not a citizen of it. A visa is issued by authorized representatives of the state. Many countries require a mandatory visa permit for entry, but sometimes they conclude agreements among themselves on the possibility of visa-free entry for citizens or facilitate the procedure for obtaining a visa.
If you ask people who often travel to different countries what a visa is, then most of them will say that it is a mark or sticker in the passport, which indicates that a person can come to a foreign country and stay on its territory for some time. But initially, a visa was a resolution passed by an official, according to which the document was either given legal force, or, if a person was denied a visa, the document was invalidated.
The practice of admitting only those people who received a visa to their territory began to be used by different states for a long time. Back in the days of Kievan Rus, for foreigners wishing to get to the capital city of Kiev, a resolution was needed from someone from the princely family. This practice can already be considered the ancestor of the visa regime. Even then, states tried to control foreign citizens on their territory with the help of such permits.
The existence of visas is directly related to the fact that there are countries that oppose the unhindered movement of foreign citizens on their territory. There are states that are oriented towards the development of tourism, they are going to facilitate the visa regime, abolishing visas or making them very easy for travelers to obtain. Some, on the contrary, are tightening the entry rules so that those who wish to emigrate under the guise of a tourist cannot fulfill their wish.
Today, many politicians claim that the borders in their country are transparent and visas are easy to obtain. This is partly true. In the embassies of states, you can find out everything you need to get a visa. Usually it is required to bring documents confirming the sources of income or the presence of a sufficient amount on the account for the trip, fill out a questionnaire, and provide a photo. Sometimes embassies require a certificate of employment, a tourist invitation from the country or other documents. As a rule, obtaining a tourist visa is not very difficult. There are also such types of visas as business, student and transit.
A transit visa is issued to people who travel by land through the country without intending to stay in it for a long time. Usually, its validity period does not exceed a few days.
A student visa is needed for those who enter an educational institution of another country, listen to any courses there, and, in general, come to study. The situation is similar with a business visa, which is required for those who are going to conduct any business on the territory of another country.
The visa regime is aimed at controlling, if not the behavior of foreign citizens on their territory, then at least their number, and also to prevent illegal emigration and entry into the country of those people who, for some reason, are not welcome guests for it.
