Why do consulates take away your passport to issue the visa?
As far as my passport is concerned, a visa is a (very fancy) sticker.
Why is it that consulates actually take away your passport and give it back with the visa on it?
Why not just examine your passport, issue the visa, let you keep the passport, and have you come back so that they can stick the visa onto the passport? Why do they need it in between?
Best Answer
The Schengen Embassies at Doha (Hungarian, Spanish, German, Italian) receptionists/officers answered me for the same query that I can bring my passport later for Visa Sticker Affixing, but it will take three working days apart from Decision Time. If I leave it with them, then they will do it in one go, n no extra days. And no third trip needed, only submission and collection.
Only Hungary one said they will stamp a page on my passport, and if I travel, I need to make sure other countries/people do not do anything on that page, because they will affix sticker only on that page.
Philippines Embassy Doha returned my passport on application submission date, even after my request for otherwise, and called me after three days to come and submit the passport, with Visa fees; and asked me to collect in day after tomorrow. So three trips in total.
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Does the consulate keep your passport?
Your passport will be returned to you by the Embassy approved courier service. To ensure that there are no delays with the delivery, you must register with courier at the time you schedule the appointment for the visa interview.Why would an Embassy be denied a visa?
An application may be denied because the consular officer does not have all of the information required to determine if the applicant is eligible to receive a visa, because the applicant does not qualify for the visa category for which he or she applied, or because the information reviewed indicates the applicant falls ...What will prevent you from getting a visa?
In addition to restrictions on the number of visas issued, certain situations can disqualify your family member from obtaining a visa....These crimes include:- Drug trafficking;
- Prostitution;
- Human trafficking, including sex trafficking;
- Murder;
- Manslaughter;
- Sex crimes;
- Spousal abuse;
- Child abuse; and.
How long can US consulate hold my passport?
If your application is approved, your passport and visa will be returned either: to the CITIC Bank branch you previously selected. Please note that CITIC will hold your passport for only 15 days, after which it will be returned to the Embassy/Consulate. You must collect your passport within 15 days.Visa Status shows as REFUSED? It doesn't means visa is REFUSED!
More answers regarding why do consulates take away your passport to issue the visa?
Answer 2
They do it for multiple reasons:
Avoid fraud. They keep the passport, to ensure the visa is being issued to the same passport.
Often the document verification process takes places at a different location than the document collection process. This may be true if you are submitting your application at a consulate and not at the embassy proper; or you are using a third party service for processing documents. In this case, they need to keep your passport.
In the case for my Schengen visa, the officer that accepted my documents wrote in pencil on the page where the visa will be stamped, and then mentioned this page in the application. I guess another security measure.
The above three from my own personal experience - again, it is all speculation. I suppose there is no harm for the embassy to stamp/affix the visa on the passport at the time of delivery - but from a risk/fraud point this is highly risky as you have risk of loss, duplication, mutilation, etc.
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