What is the difference between a visa and a passport?

wajo

A passport is issued by your own country to be used as proof of identity and citizenship when you are visiting other countries. A visa is a stamp which is put in your passport by the country you are visiting (either upon arrival or beforehand) and specifies the basis on which you are allowed to be in the country (eg as a tourist, to work etc) and how long you are allowed to stay in the country. Feb 14 06, 1:14 AM

bloomsby

A visa is usually, in effect, a permit to enter a country. As the previous post states, a visa specifies conditions, for example, there are such things as 'transit visas' that merely allow overland travel through a country, often by a particular route and in the minimum normal time (allowing for delays caused by unforeseen circumtances). Within Europe it is now very unusual for a country to require a visa from tourists (staying up to three months) who are citizens of other European countries. However, when I first travelled abroad (in the early 1950s) it was still common. I'm told that there was a time (c. 1870-1914) when one could travel in much of Europe without even a passport, though guidebooks strongly recommended them as proof of identity was often needed when exchanging money. Feb 14 06, 7:29 AM