Emmanuel Ayomide-Praise (Eapgold Travels Limited). A visa is an endorsement that allows you enter or stay in a specific country over a specified period of time and for specific reasons. Countries or regions with the world’s most powerful and most sought-after visas are: The United States of America. Canada. United Kingdom. Australia. Schengen e.g France, Italy, Germany etc. Each country has a specific type or class of visa for a specific purpose e.g. visa for tourism, business, study, work or any other purpose. Knowing the right visa type, class or category helps you to avoid making the mistake of applying for the wrong visa or using the obtained visa for the wrong reasons so in this piece I will be going through the major visa types or categories for some of the most powerful and most sought-after visas from around the world. UNITED STATES. (1)B-1/B-2 Visa: is the standard U S non-immigrant (non-immigrant basically means you are not allowed to use the to live and stay permanently) visitor visa. B1=business visits and B2=tourism, family visits and medical visit. Both types are merged together as one thus enabling it to be used for similar multiple purposes of business, pleasure, family visit, medical treatment etc . B-1/B-2 is the most popular visa type or category in the world and many applicants applying for a USA visa often apply for a B1/B2 visa. (2) F-1/F-2 Visa: for students and spouses/family of a student applying to study in the US. (3) H-1B Visa: professional employment visa. (4) J-1 Visa: exchange programs. (5) K-1 Visa: Marriage-based entry. (6) H-2A Visa and H-2B Visa: seasonal employment-based visa. CANADA. (1) Visitor Visa: covers all types of visits whether it’s visiting family and friends, holiday, business, shopping etc. (2) Study Permit/Spousal Open Work Permit- for international students going to Canada, this visa allows them to study and work minimally. If they have a spouse, their spouse will get a Spousal Open Work Permit which basically means they are allowed to work provided they can find employment. It’s “open” because it’s not tied to a specific employer. (3) Work Permit: Canada has several types of work permit mainly the LMIA-based and the LMIA-exempt types of work permits. One example of the LMIA-exempt work permit is the International Mobility Program (IMP) visa. In Canada, a work permit that is tied to a specific employer is called a closed work permit. UNITED KINGDOM. (1) Standard Visitor Visa- typically allows you to visit for business, tourism, family and friends, shopping, etc. It ranges from 6 months to 10 years length and is usually multiple-entry. (2) Student Visa-allows you to study an academic program usually above 6 months in length. After concluding your program, you may be able to stay and work if you find an employer willing to sponsor you on a work visa. (3) Work Visa-an employer-based visa category especially for skilled workers such as caregivers, nurses, doctors, truck drivers etc. Your employer provides what is known as a Certificate of Sponsorship (COS) enabling you to obtain your work visa. In summary, knowing the type, category or class of your visa helps you to prepare the right documents, put yourself in shape for screening at the border as you answer questions during border entry. It also helps you to use the visa appropriately without violating the conditions of the visa or jeopardise your chances of being re-issued the visa in future.