policies

Three visa policies

By David North

ISLAND nations have three poten tial visa policies no visas re quired, visas issued at the ports-of entry, or visas issued overseas.

Often two or more friendly nations, with similar levels of prosperity, will agree to waive visas for each other’s citizens, on the grounds the migration poses little risk to the nations involved.

Canada and the US, and the nations of Western Europe operate this way; the US and poverty stricken Mexico do not.

Issuing the visa at the port of entry is usually a formality, and the result is about the same as the no visa policy very, very few people are denied entry as a result.

If there is one plane a week arriving from a given direction, what does the immigration inspector do with the suspect visitor from that

plane, particularly if the plane has

already departed?

In extremely serious cases, jail is the only answer.

Small island nations, such as Tuvalu and Kiribati, lacking a network of visa-issuing consulates and embassies, usually have no choice but to issue visas at the air and sea ports of entry.

Demanding that a visa be issued outside the nation before entry is the only way a nation can begin to exert control of aliens wishing entry. The nation has the choice of issuing visas freely, or being careful in their issuance.

Papua-New Guinea (see article)

has decided it is important to make visa decisions overseas.