Seeing the world is a fascinating experience, you get to learn a new culture through their food, history, and hospitality. Everyone wants to travel after staying put for so long during the pandemic. Prior to getting that perfect vacation plan locked in place, it’s a good idea to understand the difference between a visa and a passport. So you don’t end up running into trouble with the customs of a foreign country.
Purposes of visa and passports
Passports serve as a form of identification domestically and internationally. Traveling without your passport internationally is essentially traveling without any travel documentation, which could put you in more trouble than getting a passport in the first place. Passport also differs from identification cards and driver’s licenses when traveling internationally. Without your passport, you are likely to be denied by the airline when checking in and by the customs officer when trying to exit the country.
Visas, on the other hand, is an entry permit granted by the country you want to visit. Without a passport, you are actually not allowed to apply for a visa. So think of visas as additional travel documents to a passport. Depending on the purpose of your travel, there are many different types of visas. For example, students would need a student visa to study abroad, business travelers will require a work visa, and leisure vacations would require a tourist visa.
The physical differences between the two
Passports are pocket-sized booklets made by the issuing country, and it contains the traveler’s personal information on the very front page. This information will tell immigration officers the name of the traveler, their passport number, date of birth, nationality, gender, place of birth, and issuing and expiration dates. The blank pages in the passports contain and are used for customs’ entry and exit stamps, visas, and possibly notes written by the immigration officers.
Visas are a single sheet of paper documents in the size of a passport or smaller. Most of the visas are glued onto a blank sheet in your passport by the time you receive them, in case of an undocumented transfer of the visa. On there, it will contain the traveler’s name, passport number, date of birth, gender, country of issuance, length of stay, visa type, and visa number.
Passports are issued by the country of your citizenship.
Visas are issued by the destination country’s consulate or embassy’s immigration office.
Travel destination
Always check if you need a visa in the country you’re visiting before making any travel plans because visas sometimes could take a very long time to get. If you were to make plans and set dates before attaining your visa, you might run into cancellation troubles with your flight and hotels. Some countries offer visa-free destinations, for example, the United States offers over 100 visa-free countries. So if you’re an American citizen and you’re planning to travel to Canada, France, or Hong Kong, you don’t need to apply for a visa to travel. So be sure to check and see if the destination country requires a visa for your country’s passport holders.
Returning home
You are always required to have your passport upon returning to your home country. As mentioned before, your passport serves as an international identification for you. So by presenting your passport to your customs and immigration officers, you are able to prove to them that you rightfully belong to your country. Without it, you might be denied entry to your home country and would take a much longer process to prove who you are in order to return home.
If in the case you have damaged or lost your passport while traveling, please visit your country’s consulate or embassy in the country you are visiting to report a damaged, lost, or stolen passport immediately. If your passport is lost or stolen, your country’s consulate and embassy would help you with the local police department to check if your passport has been turned in. Depending on the length of your stay, your consulate or embassy would issue temporary paper works or a temporary passport for you to travel with. (Tip to note, if you don’t have your passport on you while abroad, then you probably don’t have your visa on you. Therefore, you have no paperwork to prove why you’re in this foreign country, and this could lead to more serious issues).
If you’re a permanent resident of the country you are traveling to, you would need to travel with your permanent resident card and your passport. Permanent residents don’t need to attain a separate visa when returning to their resided country. (Tip to note, permanent resident cards are only meant to be used for returning to your resided country, and not as a visa to travel to other countries, for it does not hold the same purpose as a passport of your resided country).
Limitation
Depending on your destination country’s law, you may or may not need to get a visa ahead of time. If your country isn’t listed for visa requirements, then you’re free to travel with just your passport. Some destination countries even offer visas upon arrival at the airport, so be sure to check before departing.
You need a visa for every country that requires you to get one. There is no one-for-all visa that includes every country in the world. If you’re traveling to multiple countries, be sure to attain your visas for all the countries that require you to have one. At the end of your stay, be sure to exit the country within the visa’s permitted duration to stay.
Frequent travelers
For passport holders, you are good as long as you have a valid passport that is in good condition. If you don’t need a visa for your visiting country, then you’re free to travel as many times as you want.
For travelers that need visas, as long as you get the appropriate visa for your travel, you’re all good to go. Be sure you get the corresponding visa for the purpose of your travel (for example, travel for leisure would apply for a tourist visa, and travel for business would apply for a work visa, for that they have different duration lengths).
Expiration dates
Keep a close eye on your expiration date before traveling. Your passport is no long valid if it’s past its expiration date. You would need to reapply for a new passport before you’re good to travel again. You can locate your expiration date on the front page of your passport, generally on the same page as your personal information.
Visas have expiration dates as well, so be sure to check before traveling. Some countries offer both long-term visas (ranging from 14 days to 6 months, to a few years) and short-term visas (one-time visas if you have not used the visa to travel yet), so if you have a long-term visa or a visa that hasn’t been used yet, be sure to keep tabs on when it will expire.
Denial of entry
Your passport or visa is invalid if the physical condition of it is bad or it is expired. You will also be denied entry to your destination country if you lack sufficient documentation such as visas, or additional paper works required upon receiving your visa. For example, if you attained a work visa in a new country, the immigration officer could ask you to show your visa and your letter of acceptance from your work. Having improper documents could also lead to denial of entry. For example, entering the country with a tourist visa on a business trip.
How to apply
Passports can be applied online or in person depending on the regulations of your country. Contact your local passport office to learn how you can acquire your first passport. It generally consists of submitting an application, taking a passport photo, and paying a processing fee. We recommend getting the application done ahead of time and opting for an online passport photo program to save time. AiPassportphotos offers a user-friendly online passport photo service that ensures 100% passport photo compliance. Cost-effective and easy to use for anyone and any age. AiPassportPhotos is good for anyone that needs to renew their passport photos as well.
Depending on the destination country’s consulate and embassy, visas can be applied for online or in person. Contacting their consulate or embassy would give your better directions on what you need to do in detail. Generally, you would need a visa application, a visa photo, and a processing fee. For travelers that frequently need visas, AiPassportPhotos is a good go-to web page. It offers instant and fast visa photos without taking a step outside of your house. All you have to do is upload a self portrait and AI detection will automatically insert the backdrop you need for the visit you need for your destination country. With high compliance and a low rejection rate, AiPassportPhotos will make taking your visa photos as easy as it can be.
FAQ at a glance
Do I need to travel with both my passport and visa?
Yes. If the country you’re traveling to requires that you need a visa, then you have to travel with both documents.
Do I still need a visa if I have my passport?
Yes and no. This question depends on what citizenship you hold. For example, the United States has over 100 visa-free countries. So as long as the country you’re planning to visit doesn’t require you to have a visa, then you’re all set with just your passport.
Do I get a visa and passport with just one application?
No. Passports are applied for with your country’s passport office, while visas are applied for through the destination country’s consulate or embassy.
Do I need to keep my passport on me when I am abroad at all times?
Yes. As we mentioned your passport serves as your identification, and your visa shows why you are lawfully in this foreign country.
Who will be checking my visa?
Immigration officers at your destination country will be checking your visas, while airlines and border patrol officers will check your passport.
What is a visa on arrival?
The destination country you are traveling to requires you to have a visa, but you don’t need to go through the trouble of getting your visa ahead of time. You have the choice to receive your visa on arrival. You can apply for your visa after you’ve landed in the country and before entering through customs at the airport. Once your visa is approved on the spot and the immigration officer approves of your visit, you are free to travel the country.
Does having a visa guarantee my entry into the destination country?
No. Having a visa does not guarantee your entry. As we’ve mentioned above, the validity of your passport and visa also influences whether you are able to enter the country. Other complications such as prior visa overstayed, or lack of supplemental documentation could also jeopardize whether or not you’re permitted to enter the country.
Am I able to travel if I’ve already applied for my visa?
If you don’t have the physical copy of your visa in your passport, then you’re not allowed to travel even if you’ve already gone through the application process. Applying for a visa does not guarantee that you will get the visa. So in order to travel, you must have both a physical copy of your valid passport and visa in order to travel.
Conclusion
Traveling around the world is a fantastic way to immerse ourselves in cultures that are completely different from us. You may be traveling for leisure to see the great wonders of the world, you may be experiencing studying abroad for the first time, or you may be traveling for a new job across the globe, whatever your reason may be it is important to get your travel documents sorted out prior to your departure. So remember to double-check the validity of your passport and visa (if needed), so you can have a delightful experience abroad.
Dolores Xiao