What is the Difference Between an E-Visa and Visa On-Arrival?



A visa is a legal document that allows you to enter a specific country for a specific duration of time. An E-Visa means that people are able to apply for a visa online. They can sign the application form and attach all the documents in virtual form and then submit the application. On the other hand, a visa on arrival means that you do not need a proper visa in order to travel and you can just purchase the tickets on your passport and then travel on your passport, after arriving at your destination, your passport will get a stamp of on arrival visa by the authorities and it would allow you to stay in the country for a specific duration of time.

Here are further E-Visa details and Visa-on-arrival details that you should know.

 

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Distinguishing Features of E-Visa

  • In E-Visa, the whole application process takes place in a virtual environment. You have to apply for the visa by downloading the form and filling it up on your device. After that, you have to attach all the documents required to support the applications in a file and then submit it online. You have to make sure that you are attaching the files in the format they instructed in. Because once you make a mistake and submit the file, there is no going back so you have to do it right the first time.
  • One of the main advantages of applying for a visa online is that you don’t have to leave the place and visit the embassy. That process takes a lot of time and on the other hand, you can apply for an E-Visa in less than 20 minutes.
  • E-Visas are not offered by every country so the first main thing that you have to do is check the list for the country that you are going to apply for. The easiest way to get E-Visa is by downloading the form and then submitting it.

Distinguishing Features of On-Arrival Visa

  • The main distinguishing factor of an On-Arrival Visa is that you do not have to apply for a visa formally by submitting the application and by following a proper procedure. You can just travel on the basis of your Passport and your passport will get a visa stamp after arriving in the country.
  • It is advised and mandatory to check the On-Arrival Visas list for your country, by doing so you would not have to face any major problems
  • Every country has a list of Nationalities that they allow to visit their country for a specific duration of time and they only allow them to visit their countries by Passports only.
  • The important thing in the visa-on-arrival details is that your passport should have at least 12 to 6 months before it expires at the time of arrival in the country. You have to show the proof of the residency or reservations of the hotel that you’re going to stay in as well. If anything is missing you will have to fly back to your country.

Final Verdict

The main difference between the E-visa and On-Arrival visa is that you have to apply for the visa in the E-visa category but in the On-Arrival visa, you actually don’t have to apply for a visa formally. The 2nd difference is that the whole process is virtual for E-Visa and not for the On-Arrival visa. Both the E-Visas and On-Arrival Visa depend upon various factors like some country’s visas can be applied completely in a virtual environment and for the others, you will have to visit the embassy.

About This Author

Philip Diack is Founder and Managing Director of Passports and Visas.com, a national passport and travel visa service with offices in Atlanta, Miami, Washington, DC, NYC, Denver and San Francisco.

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