If you’ve ever gone through the stress and struggle of visa application, you’ll understand how frustrating it can be to be denied.
The truth is that there are so many factors responsible for visa approval and denial. For instance, if you have a weak passport, chances are you’ll be denied easily.
Here’s how it works. A passport that offers visa-free access to so many countries in the world is considered strong. So, the more the number of countries drop, the weaker the passport.
At the moment, Japan’s passport is the strongest in the world, with visa-free access to 191 countries, Afghanistan, on the other hand, is the weakest, with visa-free access to only 28 countries.
As a South African, a valid South Africa passport will give you visa-free or visa on arrival access to atleast 104 countries.
So, to improve the strength of your visa, it’s important to build a great travel history. Try these 3 tips to improve your travel history.
1. Start by visiting visa-free countries or those that offer visa on arrival
A good place to start building your travel history will be to visit near-by countries with visa-free access or visa on arrival. Your goal should be to visit as many countries as possible, not just 2 or 3 of those and then go straight to apply to difficult countries.
You could even revisit some of the countries you’ve visited in the past just to get more stamps on your passport.
Another option to explore is to join group tours. However, ensure you do your research to be sure the tour is organized by a reputable company that has visa processing inclusive in their package.
2. Apply to countries with easy visa application
Once you’ve visited a number of visa-free countries, you can proceed to apply to countries with a fairly easy visa application process like, Botswana, Morocco, India, a few countries in Europe, etc.
3. Take advantage of the visa you get to visit more countries
Every visa you get gives you an opportunity to visit a few neighboring countries. For instance, a visa to one European country can give you access to a couple more European countries. So, don’t be scared to take advantage of such opportunities as long as you have the means to.
