A visa application is a strict bureaucratic process, and having one rejected wastes time and money. It’s certainly worth your while to get things right the first time.

Here are five absolute must-dos when applying for a visa:

1. Get your photos right

A passport photo may seem like a no-brainer, but there are so many ways to get it wrong: lack of focus, bad colour, incorrect size or a poor angle, among others.

Happily, the French government provides a handy guide to ensuring spot-on passport pictures, which you can view here.

2. Get your documents in order

Before you apply for a visa, including in the Schengen Area (where countries don’t have uniform requirements), be sure to check which one is right for you – and then see which documents are required. These may vary per visa, and you could have your application rejected if you’re missing something.

(A great hack is to arrange your documents in the order in which they are listed by the host country. Not only will you not miss anything, it could be the difference between success and failure; Germany, for example, demands a certain document order.)

3. Have a compliant passport

Again, requirements vary slightly from country to country – for example, whether you need to have one or two visa pages blank – so be sure to check what the host country needs.

As a rule, however, do make sure that your passport is current and will not expire while you’re travelling. If your visa pages are filling up, even though your passport is current, consider applying for a fresh document.

4. Find out when you can apply 

While you might plan your trip well in advance, you usually cannot apply for a visa until a few months before you leave. These vary by country and visa type – study visas can often be obtained longer in advance, for example – so watch out for this information.

Of course, you must also apply in good time before you depart. Many visa applications will take a few weeks to process, so be alert for that as well.

5. Find out where you must apply 

Often, host countries will require you to attend an in-person interview at a consulate or visa application centre. But the venue may not be in your city or even your country.

If this is the case, you will need to factor the time and costs of travelling to a visa appointment into your application planning.

We’d wish you good luck with your visa, but if you follow the required steps you won’t need it!