How long does it take to get a visa?

The Dark Side

It depends on the type of visa and what country you want it from. But just for a short visit, in most cases it would be a week or two.if there are no hitches.

There is also the point that a visa is not always needed. Where countries trust each other and feel safe letting another country's citizens in without vetting them first, often there is no visa requirement for a short visit.

The USA used to require absolutely every visitor to get a visa. I remember going on a family holiday to Florida in 1980 and we had to get one from the US Embassy. But that's not true now.

It's not where you live that determines whether you need a visa or not, it's what citizenship you have. If you are a British citizen and fulfil the various conditions, and most people do (you need to be able answer questions A to G near the bottom of the page here http://www.immihelp.com/visas/i-94w.html with a "No"), you don't need one to visit the US for up to 90 days. Registration online with the ESTA system is required first, and that green form has to be filled out on the flight. ESTA is meant to replace the green form - it asks all the same questions - but all the government departments that use the information haven't got themselves "electronically joined-up" yet. And yes, they do ask every time if you were ever a Nazi! It always amazes the American in the next seat on the flight over when I show them :) The USA is the only country in the "western world" that asks things like this.

Going the other way, a US citizen can stay in the UK for up to six months without a visa and you don't have to register anywhere first. (The USA and Australia are the only two countries in the world that require visa-free visitors to pre-register.) As long as you have a valid passport, just come over.

The moral of the story is... if you want to visit another country, google the web site of their embassy in your own country and you'll find out from there whether you need a visa and how long it might take. If the home page doesn't mention visas, it'll probably mention consular services - click on that as consular services includes visas.

â˜…Spotterâ˜…

Processing times differ from embassy to embassy, country to country.

Currently, many British citizens traveling on a valid, individual machine readable passport, with a return or onward ticket, and who are staying for less than 90 days, qualify for the Visa Waiver Program. There are conditions, so please review the information concerning visa free travel on the American Embassy London Non-immigrant Visas Services Home Page.

Here is the US Embassy website in London. http://www.usembassy.org.uk/rctour.html

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