Chalabala
We consulted experts in airport operations and immigration law to understand what the process looks like on the ground
or travellers, a visa on arrival can sound like one of the easiest ways into a country — land, head to immigration, get the stamp and start the holiday. But the visa is still subject to approval at the border. If that approval does not come, the trip can change course before you have even left the airport.
What happens next is less familiar. You may be held in an airport’s transit area or detention room, your passport may be kept by authorities, and the airline that brought you in may be tasked with taking you back out. But what does that process actually look like? Who is responsible for you while you wait? Who arranges the flight home? And who is paying for that flight? The answers are less straightforward than most travellers might expect, and can depend on why you were refused, which airport denied your entry and even the rules of the country you are now kind of stranded in.
We spoke to immigration lawyers, aviation experts and airport authorities to trace what happens after the answer at the border is no.
First steps when refused a visa on arrival
Do not panic. The most useful thing you can do right after you have received the refusal is to establish exactly what happened.
Ask for the refusal and its grounds in writing if possible. Find out whether you have been refused admission, withdrawn your application for admission, or formally ordered to leave. Ask the immigration authorities or airline what happens to your passport, baggage and existing ticket. Contact your embassy or consulate if you need assistance. And keep every document you are given.
As Loren Locke, a business immigration attorney at Locke Immigration Law and a former US Department of State consular officer, puts it, “If you’re refused, your most valuable move is information-gathering — the ground of refusal determines everything about whether you can fix it, whether it will follow you into future applications, and whether you need a lawyer.”
What happens on the ground?
Generally, you cannot simply leave the airport. Once immigration has determined that you are inadmissible, you remain under the control of the relevant authorities until arrangements are made for your departure. Your first point of contact will be the immigration authorities at the airport who will explain what happens at each step.
The exact setting will vary depending on the airport and country you are in. Some travellers may remain in an international transit area, while others may be taken to a designated holding or detention room while the logistical decisions are made.
Who takes you back?
This is where the airline enters the picture. Airlines have a strong incentive to check passengers’ documentation before they ever board because countries can impose penalties when carriers bring in passengers who do not meet their entry requirements. As Locke puts it, “the airline is your first border officer.”
Anton Radchenko, an aviation expert, attorney and CEO of AirAdvisor, puts it more bluntly: “If your visa on arrival gets refused, you don’t become the destination country’s problem. Under IATA (International Air Transport Association) guidelines and most national immigration law, the airline that brought you there is legally responsible for flying you home, at its own cost. This obligation doesn’t disappear just because you’re stuck in a terminal. And while you’re waiting, the airline still owes you a basic duty of care: food, water, access to medical attention, regardless of whose decision the refusal was.”
To understand the rights, we also reached out to the International Civil Organization (ICAO), a United Nations agency which helps set standards and recommended practices (SARPs) for safe, secure, orderly, and sustainable aviation. As stated in Chapter 5 of their Annex 9, a passenger found inadmissible must be removed by the aircraft operator to their point of origin or another place where they are admissible.
But ICAO’s rules make an important distinction here.
- For an improperly documented passenger, the aircraft operator is responsible for the cost of custody and care from the point at which the person is found inadmissible and returned to the operator for removal. For example, they may lack proper papers.
- For other categories of inadmissible passengers, including those refused for reasons beyond the airline’s document-checking responsibilities, the state is responsible for custody and care until the passenger is returned to the operator.
Who pays for the flight?
The exact financial outcome therefore depends on the country, airline, circumstances of the refusal and the legal basis on which you were removed.
Sri Lanka’s airport authorities said the respective airline arranges departure on the next available flight, subject to travel-document and nationality checks, while the cost of travel must be borne by the passenger. The passenger is required to coordinate with the airline over ticketing and applicable payments.
Crucially, even if the airline covers your transfer initially, it can recover transportation costs under the ICAO framework. “The airline pays” does not necessarily mean the traveller ultimately escapes the cost.
Where do you stay while waiting for the flight?
If a flight isn’t available immediately, you may be held in the airport’s secure holding areas, transit lounges, or detention/removal facilities managed by border control (such as immigration or the federal police). All major airports have them, and all inadmissible passengers are held there under guard or restriction until the responsible airline puts them on a return flight.
At Sri Lanka’s airport, the room is inside the terminal building and where passengers are provided with three meals and refreshments for each 24-hour period. They can use personal electronic devices, including phones and laptops, and have access to airport Wi-Fi.
These details vary from country to country, but the broader principle is that an inadmissible passenger remains under controlled supervision until removal.
What happens to your passport and luggage?
Your passport may not remain in your hands while the removal process is underway.
In the majority of airports, a travel document remains in the custody of airport security while the passenger is under deportation procedures and is returned when the passenger is boarded on the departing flight. The ground-handling agent can also arrange for checked baggage to be made available to the passenger during the stay in the detention room, where applicable.
How quickly will you be sent home?
There is no universal timetable. The aim is generally to arrange removal as soon as practicable, but the actual departure depends on flight availability, documentation, nationality and the airline’s ability to carry the passenger. Sometimes, that can mean leaving almost as quickly as you arrived. Other times, it can mean spending hours or longer inside the airport waiting for the right flight and paperwork.
Does standard travel insurance cover refusal of visa on arrival?
“Travel insurance almost never covers this, because entry refusal is excluded from most policies,
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