Whether applying for sponsor licences in London or work permits for the Middle East, every type of visa application process is fraught with complications. After all, if it was as easy as ticking a few boxes and just waiting for your card in the post, there’d really be no point in visas existing in the first place!
Like it or not, visas exist for the sole purpose of making sure that only a very select bunch of people get into the country in question for the reasons they wish to enter. From work to extended vacations to setting up a brand new life and so on and so forth, border controls tend to be very specific when it comes to who can and cannot come in. And just to make things all the more complicated, every single country the world over has its own unique take on visa applications and acceptance criteria.
Nevertheless, when it comes to the millions of visa applications that are rejected every year on a global basic, a spectacular proportion are turned down due to one of five extremely common mistakes. So if you’re planning to pen your own application for entry to literally any country in the world in the near future, do yourself a favour by making sure you don’t fall foul of the following five pitfalls:
1 – Filling Out the Wrong Form
It sounds like a rookie error you wouldn’t be stupid enough to make, but thousands do…every day. Of course there will always be those that don’t pay attention, but in others it’s a case of simply having not noticed the very (VERY) slight differences between two forms. For example, any country’s ‘Form 534’ and ‘Form 543a’ could be 99% identical in every way, but are in fact for two totally different types of visa. And if you go and fill out the wrong one, it’ll be headed straight into the trash without so much as a second thought.
2 – Not Providing Essential Documents
This is a tricky one to nail to say the least as what you’ll need by way of documentation will vary significantly from one country to the next. Some are only interested in seeing your passport while others will want pretty much your whole life story documented from start to finish. In all cases across the board however, failing to provide 100% of the required documentation in the exact form required will render your application null and void. Needless to say, it can be more than a little difficult to come up with what’s needed if you don’t have it to hand at the time, which is why it pays to speak to an immigration lawyer for advice where necessary.
3 – Incomplete Applications
Regardless of how fair or otherwise you feel it may be, a 99% completed form will by most immigration services be treated in the same way as a blank form…as in not very nicely at all. It really doesn’t matter if all you forgot to do was tick a simple box or add the date of the application to the required box at the end – they will not fill it in for you and nor will they accept it. And just for the record, the same also applies to forms that have been filled out incorrectly. Thought it didn’t matter that your first name and surname were written in the wrong boxes? Wrong…that’s often your application’s death in a heartbeat.
4 – Applying For an Inappropriate Visa
It can be extremely difficult to know exactly which visa it is you need, or more importantly which ones you can qualify for. There are usually dozens, even hundreds of different visas and permits available when it comes to getting into countries – you cannot be expected to know and understand them all. As such, one of the most common mistakes of all is that of applying for wholly the wrong visa or a visa you never had a chance of qualifying for. And it’s worth remembering that with each rejection, your chances of being accepted the next time around take a serious knock.
5 – Going it Alone
Last but not least, a genuinely fatal mistake for those looking to apply for global visas for any reason at all is that of going it alone without the necessary professional assistance. The help of an experienced immigration lawyer may not be offered free of charge, but if it’s important to you that you get into the country you’re applying to, it’s a small price to pay for success.
