Talk:Key:diplomatic:services:immigrant visas
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Define immigrant vs non-immigrant visas
Apm-wa, how can we clearly define the difference between "immigrant" and "non-immigrant" visas? I'm afraid that it was not clear in the proposal. Is a "permanent resident" visa considered an immigrant visa? If I have a 5 year work visa (VITAP -> KITAP "Kartu Izin Tinggal Tetap" "Permanent Residence Permission Card") in Indonesia, is this an immigrant visa? It appears that "immigrant" vs "non-immigrant" may be a USA-specific terminology, looking at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Travel_visa and https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Work_permit --Jeisenbe (talk) 04:37, 29 February 2020 (UTC)
- The difference is straightforward. An immigrant visa grants the bearer the right to immigrate into a foreign country and there to petition for permanent residence, meaning the bearer does not have to leave the foreign country, ever. A non-immigrant visa grants the bearer the right to arrive at a port of entry and there to be granted permission to enter by an immigration officer for a time certain, usually 90 to 180 days (in Turkmenistan the period is two weeks) for tourists, and some longer period, specified in the visa, for guest workers and students. After that period the visa bearer must depart the foreign country.
- This is not USA-specific. Canada, EU member states, the UK, Russia, many countries distinguish between immigrant and non-immigrant visas. A 5-year work visa is not an immigrant visa because it does not grant the bearer the right to stay in the foreign country permanently, but for only a time certain (5 years in this case).
- Permanent residence is not granted by a visa, but rather by the foreign country's immigration service via issuance of a document identifying the bearer as a "legal permanent resident" (in the United States, this is the famous "Green Card"). An immigrant visa gives the bearer only permission to apply for permanent residence, but does not confer permanent residence in and of itself.
- Most countries allow legal permanent residents to apply for citizenship after a period of time (in the United States, five years). Individuals on non-immigrant visas are in most cases not allowed to petition for permanent residence, though some countries, including the United States, do make exceptions from time to time. Such exceptions are adjudicated case by case.
- See the Canadian distinction between immigrant and non-immigrant visas here. The UK distinction can be seen here.
- It is important to tag consulates correctly. Not all consulates issues visas. Some issue only NIVs. Some issue both. You don't want to go to the wrong consulate! Apm-wa (talk) 19:15, 2 March 2020 (UTC)
- OK, so I don't think that Indonesia has "immigrant visas" by your definition. You can get a 1 year or 5 year visa. If you renew the 5 year visa once or twice, you can then apply for citizenship. There's not a special "immigrant visa" category, probably because like most low and mid-income countries, Indonesia does not recieve many immigrants.
- Could you make a short, clear description for this page and for diplomatic:services:non-immigrant_visas=* which will make it absolutely certain when each tag should be used? --Jeisenbe (talk) 22:32, 2 March 2020 (UTC)
- Such a description already exists in Wikipedia. I suggest you crib from it to add whatever detail you think is necessary. I fly to Riga this week to deliver the keynote address at SOTM Baltics and shortly after that will fly to London to chair the OSMF Board face-to-face meeting, so I would not have time to get to this until April, most likely. It would be faster for you to borrow language from the Wikipedia article (with proper attribution, of course!) and edit this articles yourself. Thanks for your help in supporting these tags! Apm-wa (talk) 02:06, 3 March 2020 (UTC)