Re-posting it again because it was marked as a duplicate even though it wasn't.  Just got a Russian Transit visa. The visa pages in my passport are numbered 7-33, with only page 7 having stamps in it.  I sent a yellow post-it note to the visa application centre asking that the visa be put on page 8 ("please put the visa on page 8"). Still, the consulate put it on page 22.  I know most countries put visas on the first empty page, but what about Russian embassies specifically? The reason why it annoys me is because I truly want my passport to be neat and orderly, to make it easier to find stuff. Although it's the first time so far, I'd still like to know for future applications.  Could it even have been that my post-it note had the opposite effect? Would be good to know so I don't make that mistake again.
55758
I'm running low on blank passport pages which are sometimes needed for full page visas such as those issued by Armenia, India, and Vietnam.  When I crossed the border into Turkey the other day I got my visa-on-arrival and stamp, but instead of putting it on a partly used page, which I have many, the guy at customs and immigration put them on a previously blank page. Now I have one fewer!  What can I do to prevent or at least reduce the chances of this happening?  It's worth remembering that there's likely to be a language barrier and it's always best to be ultra-nice to these border officials.  Has anybody heard of any trick such as sticking bit of paper in your passport, either blank, or looking a bit like visas? I have noticed that nobody ever stamps a page that has a remnant of something once stapled in there in Japan. There is a kind of stub that had its major part torn off along a perforation. Might I be able to emulate this somehow or would that even be worse making the blank pages invalid for full page visas due to having holes from staples? I know some things can get very picky when it comes to customs and immigration.
16191
Over the course of time here on TSE, I have observed individuals whose pattern of visa applications is best described as ''...     serial refusals - Two or more consecutive visa refusals issued by the same regime to the same person. Commonly for the same, or nearly the same, reasons. In some visa regimes Serial refusals can have a cumulative effect wherein the applicant's credibility is increasingly eroded, especially when the application pattern suggests a secondary agenda.   A common thread appears to be the need to visit the destination country (especially Schengen, the USA, or the UK) with a special sense of urgency. Also common in these cases are the following types of questions...   Should I just reapply once again? What are my chances? What can I do to improve my odds in the future? Can I somehow address the previous refusals to avoid them being a burden on all future applications? How can I break the pattern?      NB: This question is intended as a canonical about serial refusals. I have never been personally denied a visa.
60422
My girlfriend is Russian. Last night we tried to fly her to the US on a valid tourist visa. She was stopped at DME and told she would be required to have $2700 USD to get back home immediately even though she had a return ticket. She said this was an "unwritten" rule because of the nonsense i keep seeing on CNN , Anybody else know anything? She is literally trapped and scared to death.
1005
I got my US B1 visa last month on my Indian passport. Someone in my family wrote a phone number on one of the blank page of my passport. As my passport is damaged now, can I travel with my current passport to US or I should apply for new passport? Also, will B1 visa be valid on old damaged passport if I get new passport?
63972
Last year, I traveled to the UK for a conference. Upon entry, my passport was stamped confirming my entry via immigration. Upon my exit, surprisingly (and something I'm been wondering about ever since) I went through no immigration. The direction to board flight led me straight to flight check-in, then we boarded the flight. Below is my entry stamp. Stamped within my Visa stamp, really?  I went to the Netherlands this year, got stamped, in and out. Entering ZA, I got stamped. Even leaving and returning to my home country (Ghana), I got both stamped. I find the stamping a standard procedure/protocol. Yet, with the UK, I left the country without being stamped. I don't know if that was part of the plan or I missed something or what?:  Does the UK have a policy of not stamping when people leave the country? Was that a mistake on my part? Obviously, my stay period has expired, and on paper, I'm &quot;not supposed&quot; to be in the country, but without the UK exit stamp, might that affect my visit or travel visa application to UK one day in the future? Because if stamping is mandatory, and I don't have one, then I will be hot if asked, &quot;How did you leave the country without the stamp?&quot; In this case, those who could have determined if I overstayed or not, was the Airline  More info  My visa was for a stay up to 29/30 days or so. But I stayed only for 7 days Flight used throughout was Emirates and passed through Dubai on transit Origin was South Africa. Destination Airport was Heathrow  For comparison, below is my Netherlands stamps, both in an out.  My Readings/Researches I came , and one of the answers pointed out, its &quot;No real reason now for UK exit stamp.&quot; Really? I see a strong reason to, otherwise, stamping me in is of no real reason then. One commentator also added: &quot;A loophole which no doubt has been exploited by some foreigners.&quot; No idea how someone will exploit that! And considering , it can lead to some questions.
117759
I applied for B2 Tourist visa at Israel embassy in New Delhi last week. But my visa application got rejected and stamped a black stamp on my passport.   What does black stamp mean? After how much time should I reapply for tourist visa?
113331
I read  as well as  but it doesn't tell of what damages can be done. I have seen several sites on which people share/show the visa without the numbers and sometimes without name as well.   The only reason which many people perceive is identity theft but am unable to see how is that possible. I have to use public facilities such as printing, scanning etc. where it is easy for the operator to make copies without my consent. Also as shared, both these details are widely circulated when you stay in a hotel or anywhere else (when abroad) where identity information is needed.   Also particular to visas, as I'm given to understand, for short-stay visas (less than 3 months) which most tourist visas operate under, the window of doing anything nefarious activities (such as terrorism) would be extremely small. If I were a terrorist and I needed those bits to make work, then I would probably go for somebody who has a long-term stay as those credentials would look valid and I could jump from place to place under the radar under a fraudulent identity. Also as a terrorist, I would take quite a long view as any such attack takes years of planning, as shown in the investigation of various terrorist attacks in India as well as the U.S. Also, although I don't know (am speculating here) don't most airports might/should be checking on status quo of a passport to ensure issues such as showing 2 entries of a passport without exit (in some database where this information is collected and collated.)   Am I missing something in the logic here ?
10623
I am a U.S. citizen living in Russia with a multi-entry student visa. I noticed that on my migration card it lists the Russian Federation as well as the Republic of Belarus. Do I need to get another visa if I want to visit Belarus, or is what I already have sufficient?
34538
A friend of mine has a visa appointment at German embassy booked at 14th of June. Mine is 20th of June, as there were no earlier dates available. Now, my friend wants to cancel her appointment.    Does anyone know how soon the time she cancelled appears as available if I want to re-schedule mine?    I am aware that it takes 1-2 days to delete my information from embassy's database, which means I have to wait to be able to book an appointment. I can cancel my appointment first, then ask my friend cancel hers. I am afraid I might miss her date, so I need to know whether it appears immediately after she cancels or there is another procedure as well.
8704
I just submitted my UK Standard Visitor visa application and I inadvertently answered the question Did your travel outside your country of residence? with "NO", which should be "YES" as I have plenty of foreign travels as seen in my passport.  At this moment I can't edit my application anymore. I emailed them about this.
62892
I am planning to visit Moscow this winter as a solo tourist. I am a Hungarian citizen. I booked airplane tickets myself. I was informed that I will need an invitation letter, and I think I will go this way: (), but now the tourist visa application online form asks:    the options are: None, Travel company. I think I will need to select travel company because the description says:     In the case of a tourist visa select "Travel company" from the list and give the name and address of the travel company. In the case of   business visa select "Organization" from the list and enter in the   "Name of organization" name of the host organization, enter the   address of the organization and TIN in the appropriate fields. In   the case of private visa select “Individual” from the list and enter   the name, birth date and home address of the host. In the case of   transit, select "None" from the list.  Reference number: printed on   the bottom line of approval of a foreign tourist "Референс №». It is   necessary to introduce whole number with leading zeros.       Confirmation number: printed on the top line of confirmation of a   foreign tourist. The number can contain only numbers or numbers with   letters. You should only enter the numbers.   However I do not have a travel company.   What do I do?   Select "None" from the drop down so that I don't have to fill in travel company(this seems to be against the description that says select travel company for tourist visa) Select Travel company and the Invitation letter company will be my travel company and they will provide appropriate details? as in () Apply at some additional travel company, because there is no other way?  Some other option?   I didn't expect the visa application to be this complicated. I hope I get there.
660
When certain nationalities of people want to travel in the Schengen zone, they are required to apply for a Schengen visa. This is a straight-forward process for most, but when an applicant has had problems with removals or refusals they may be reluctant to apply because they want to avoid the complexities of serial visa refusals. This reluctance may lead some into wondering how their history can be expunged, and this line of thought inevitably leads to the idea of getting their passport replaced with a new one.  This sounds like a great formula for people who have had prior refusals or removals.  In essence they can become 'reincarnated' as a first-time traveller and hence avoid the unpleasantness of revealing their prior interactions with the Schengen authorities.  The relevant parts of the application form are shown here...    Nothing asks about a prior removal or refusal, and the applicant is left with simple denials for 3 questions in order to present themselves as a first-time traveller.  Assuming the person is happy to set aside the moral issues associated with denying their history, are there any holes to this strategy?  This question is scoped to Schengen visa applications so that it will not be unmanageably broad, but answers from other regimes (particularly the affluent Commonwealth and the USA) are acceptable as long as the main points are relatively consistent with Schengen.
89202
I'm planning on taking the trans-Siberian / trans-Mongolian from Moscow to Beijing via Ulaan Bataar next year and I'd like some advice on how best to organise the visa situation.   I'm a British citizen, my partner is Swedish. We'll need visas for Russia, China and Mongolia. Seeing as you can only book the train tickets like 3 months in advance and you need to get all the visas together in that time as well, the process seems likely to be a bit complicated. Especially if you end up getting declined for a visa.  What is the best process or method for obtaining the visas (in which country order) and is there any kind of trustworthy service that will do it for me? If I go through a service, what happens if one of my visas is declined?
8847
I was just wondering if you have two passports (a Chinese one and an Australian one), and you booked your airline ticket with the Chinese one, will you have to show both of your passports or just one?  The thing is, on my Chinese passport, it has my birth name, but then when I became an Australian citizen, I legally removed my Chinese name and replaced it with my English name. So I don't know whether I should just show the passport officials the one that I booked the airline ticket with.
11196
There are many times when I'd like to jot a short note in my passport. For example, the business purpose of an entry into a country -- or for countries with automatic passport control and when I don't get a stamp, I'd like to notate my entry and departure.   Can one write in one's own passport? I wouldn't of course write over any stamps, but I might write near them. Or could I use a back page as entry and departure dates?  Yes, I could use a separate piece of paper or a computer file, but having them all in my passport would be handy -- especially when a border officer asks where I've been and why.   And if the laws vary by country, can you note this in your answer? Would it matter if my notations were in ink or pencil? These aren't doodles but business-like annotations and lists.
36742
I was held at the Polish borders when I attempted to enter by train. They took my fingerprints and sent me back with a written document. I respected the decision and returned immediately.   The document is in Polish concerning the decision taken, and I don't understand it. I am from Cameroon. My limited understanding from what was explained in English at the time was that the asylum status I requested was denied me. I only realised later that I asked the wrong authorities (border guards instead of immigration officers).  This was exactly one year and three months ago now. Do I still have access to any Schengen country?
75512
In  Joel Spolsky mentioned something along the lines that some sites (for example, ) suffer a little from questions that don't always get useful answers - even when someone has good intentions. So, for example, someone asks a question about getting a visa. It's tough and a rare visa, but nobody who has been online that day sees it AND knows the answer, so it gets no response. However, Joe from Kansas sees it, remembers his cousin got a visa just like that, he thinks. He writes an answer that his cousin got a visa for that country, despite it being not quite the same, he thinks it'll be useful. It's not necessarily useful, but now the question is 'answered', and vanishes into the ether. Obviously, the OP isn't going to accept the answer, as it's not really right. We do have a few of these on Travel Answers, as well as many, many GOOD answers, to be clear - but what can be done about it?  Vote them down? This will make it still 'unanswered with no answers &gt; 0' if we're lucky Delete the answer? Odds are someone else coming along might see it and find it useful in a very similar situation Change to a comment? Some of these are quite detailed (especially visa criteria and laws) that most of us wouldn't know to change it or not.  Any suggestions or solutions that other sites have found?