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I am citizen of India planning to apply for a visa to a Hong Kong/South Korea from country Saudi Arabia (being its resident).

After receiving the visa (after checking the nationality and permissibility of my travel to Hong Kong/South Korea) from Saudi Arabia, can I travel from India (home country) to Hong Kong/South Korea?

MohamedSanaulla
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  • I have updated my question accordingly. I was looking for a general answer and hence I used X, Y and Z. – MohamedSanaulla Jul 09 '17 at 10:15
  • As a general rule, you can apply as resident in the country you live and travel from there, but there are so many cases of countries that have different rules, that the general rule is not to be trusted. – Willeke Jul 09 '17 at 10:34
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    @Willeke as a general rule, it's not necessary to travel from any particular place (see for example https://travel.stackexchange.com/questions/38603/does-my-boarding-port-to-the-schengen-area-need-to-be-in-the-country-in-which-i). If there are any exceptions to this rule, they are probably very limited in number and scope. I can imagine that they exist for countries with tense relations like India and Pakistan or Israel and its neighbors, but otherwise such restrictions make no sense. – phoog Jul 09 '17 at 10:53

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In general, the point of departure is irrelevant. You're supposed to apply in the consulate in whose jurisdiction you reside, although some countries are stricter than others about this.

In any event, there's no requirement to travel directly from the country of residence to the country issuing the visa. How could there be? This would mean, for example, that someone who lives in Ethiopia, who has Schengen visa issued there by the French authorities, who wants to travel London to Paris, would have to do so by way of Addis Ababa.

phoog
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  • That's not entirely true. Some countries like the USA and UK have do not require the applicant to be a resident of the country he is applying from. –  Jul 09 '17 at 13:18
  • @greatone as far as I'm aware countries that don't require it nonetheless recommend it, or at least note that the consulate responsible for the applicant's place of residence will be in a better position to judge the application. That's what I meant when I said "some countries are stricter than others about this." – phoog Jul 09 '17 at 13:48
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    Indeed. Many tours and cruises, and much of international air travel, would be impossible if visas were limited to arrival from the country where they were issued. – Patricia Shanahan Jul 09 '17 at 14:25