The immigration officer looked at our passports and said, “Follow me.”
We went over to the door where a guard stood, gun in hand and large dog by his side. When our 2-year-old son tried to pat the dog everyone started laughing. It turned out that our 2-year-old had a work visa allowing him to enter the country, but my husband and I had re-entry visas that had expired. After 3 years of living there, we still couldn’t get our head around all the regulations and complexity that had led to this situation. We had actually filled in every form correctly and done all we needed to do!
Most countries in the world have immigration laws that are increasingly complex and frequently change. Some governments intentionally try to discourage foreigners from coming to live there long term, and many want to ensure their country benefits financially from the foreigners who do come.
Think about your own country and the reasons why immigration is limited. Other countries often feel the same way about you going to live there.
The best way to know what the current regulations are for visas, is to go overseas long term with an established mission agency who can help you work it all out. They are dealing with this all the time.
Some countries will give you a visa as a missionary, but often you need to show your religious qualifications to obtain a missionary visa. Other countries will only give you a visa if you have a local sponsor or employer.
If you plan to work overseas you need to make sure you have qualifications that are recognised by that country’s government to do the sort of work you are interested in. Many jobs are not open to foreigners because there are enough qualified locals already doing the work. You may instead need postgraduate qualifications so that you can contribute to society by teaching in your area of expertise at a higher level.
If you plan to open a business, you need to research what sort of capital and employment regulations you need to follow in setting up that business. Some business visas require you to bring a certain amount of money into the country and employ a minimum number of local people.
Next steps
Talk to a mission agency about the country and type of ministry you are interested in. Find out what qualifications are needed to obtain the right visa.
Consider changing some of your plans or working towards upgrading your qualifications if you need to.
