When you travel abroad to a different country, you will have to get a Passport and Visa, and thus it becomes essential to know about both of them.
Key Takeaways
- A passport is an official government document proving citizenship and identity, while a visa permits entry and stay in a foreign country.
- A passport is required for international travel, while a visa is necessary based on the destination countryโs regulations and the travellerโs purpose of visit.
- Visas have specific expiration dates and conditions, while passports are valid longer and can be used for multiple trips.
Passport vs Visa
A passport is a small booklet that serves as documentation that shows the identity of an individual during travels and whether theyโre legally allowed in a country. A visa is a stamp on a passport that serves as legal authorization, which allows an individual to stay or visit a foreign country.
Comparison Table
| Parameter of Comparison | Passport | Visa |
|---|---|---|
| Nature of the document | A passport is a small-sized booklet | A visa is a stamp placed on your passport |
| Purpose | Functions as an individual certification document. It reveals personal identities during foreign travels. | It is a legal authorization that permits an individual to enter and stay in a foreign country. It confirms your purpose of staying in the new country. |
| Source of issuance | You obtain a passport from your country of origin. You then receive permission to travel out of your country to a foreign land. | A visa is issued by the distant country you intend to visit. You gain legal authorization to enter the new country for stated purposes. |
| Features | Passports feature names, citizenship, date of birth, photo, and physical addresses | Visas feature the reasons for individual authorization to the foreign land and the duration of stay. |
| Approval status | Privately approved | Publicly certified |
What is Passport?
A passport verifies the country of origin and other personal details whenever an individual travels across borders. It also benefits in gaining permission upon returning to the home country.
Some essential information on the passport includes name, photo, gender, date of birth, and physical characteristics.
For government officials and diplomats, passports differ from the ones given to ordinary citizens. Often, every countryโs governorship must ensure that its citizens do not enter other countries without permission and with no good reason.
This is why nations put an account for all their citizens travelling abroad by issuing legal passports.
What is Visa?
Visa states the confirmation that you have legal permission to enter a foreign land. The common types of visas include transit, work, and study visas.
A visaโs approval can be for either a one-time time visit or multiple visits. It all depends on the rules governing the specific country of visit.
Besides, some visas need an individualโs application filing before entering a foreign country. Others require that you file the document as soon as you enter the new state.
Also, most embassies will ask for an interview process and a routine medical checkup before the visa application.
Nations like to put account details for every foreigner entering their lands. They do this for security and transparency and to know why most strangers visit those countries.
It explains why visa approval is a prerequisite to accessing a foreign nation.
Main Differences Between Passport and Visa
- A passport is a private and legal travel document. A visa is a publicly certified document of approval given to a person to inhabit a foreign nation.
- Before entering, a passport indicates to other nations that you are a lawful citizen of your country of origin. Visa involves the stamping of your passport by the country of visit. It can be either before the travel or arriving at the foreign nation.
- The passport features your details such as name, photo, date of birth, citizenship, and physical address. It gives you approval out of your territories. A visa indicates why you can enter a new country for work, study, tourism, or long-term residence. It also shows how long you are accepted to stay in the country.
- When traveling abroad, you receive a passport from your country as an identification document. For a visa, you obtain legal authorization from the country you visit. The approval is by stamping your passport before traveling or entering a foreign country.
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Piyush Yadav has spent the past 25 years working as a physicist in the local community. He is a physicist passionate about making science more accessible to our readers. He holds a BSc in Natural Sciences and Post Graduate Diploma in Environmental Science. You can read more about him on his bio page.
