Passport vs Visa
There shouldn’t be any confusion about the difference between passport and visa as they are two entirely different entities but are interrelated. Passport and visa are two important items that you focus on if you are planning to travel to another country. So, what is a passport and what is a visa? We should first know what they are to know the difference between them. In general, passport and visa are two terms often used in connection with foreign travel. There is a lot of difference between the two terms. One of the main differences between passport and visa is that the passport is a travel document whereas the visa is a kind of permission. This article attempts to clarify the difference between a passport and a visa by way of explaining what each item is and the purpose of it.
What is a Passport?
Passport is a travel document that determines and establishes the personal identification of the traveler. Thus, passport has details pertaining to the citizenship and place of birth. To be more precise, a passport contains the owner’s name, sex, date of birth, place of birth, citizenship, and profession. With this information, anyone can find out the nationality and identity of the owner of the passport. The passports also contain the details of the issuing authority, place of issue, and the validity period.
It is important to note that a national government issues the passport of an individual as a kind of travel document. This document establishes the nationality and the identity of the holder of the document. You would do well to know some of the major types of passport such as ordinary passport, official passport, diplomatic passport, temporary passport, family passport, camouflage passport and, of course, fantasy passport, which is not a legal travel document but is a kind of souvenirs.
What is a Visa?
Visa, on the other hand, is a kind of permission that is granted officially by a government to enter, stay, and transit in a particular country. In other words, visa is an official document in the form of an official permission that has to be granted for a person to enter into a specific country. In fact, visa is issued by a government official of the specific country that you would visit.
It is important to consider visa too as a document, a distinct one in the form of a stamp in the passport itself. Moreover, visa is also of various types such as tourist visa, transit visa, business visa, temporary worker visa, and student visa. This only shows that people from various walks of life need to have various kinds of visa as travelers.
What is the difference between Passport and Visa?
• One of the main differences between passport and visa is that the passport is a travel document whereas the visa is a kind of permission.
• Passport confirms your identification while you are traveling to other countries. Visa shows whether or not you have the permission to enter another country.
• Passport is a separate document. Usually, it is a small booklet. However, visa is a stamp that appears on your passport. This is also one of the main differences between passport and visa.
• There are different types of passport and visa. Some major types of passport are ordinary passport, official passport, diplomatic passport, temporary passport, and family passport. Some types of visa are tourist visa, transit visa, business visa, temporary worker visa, and student visa. According to your need, you have to choose the visa.
• Passport is issued by the government of the country you belong to. If you are an American national, then your passport is issued by the American government. Visa, on the other hand, is issued by the government official of the country you hope to visit. For example, if you are planning to visit India, then, Indian government official issues your visa. This is done through the Indian High Commission or the Indian Embassy in your country.
• Normally, getting a passport is not a complicated process. However, getting a visa can be a complicated process as a visa lets someone stay in a country for some time. Depending on the country you hope to visit, the hardship in getting a visa can be more or less. Normally, visiting visa can be gained easily. However, for some countries such as Japan even getting a visiting visa is a hard job.
Images Courtesy: US passport and South Korea Visa via Wikicommons (Public Domain)
