How do I know if I need a visa for a country?
Check the destination government's official immigration site (search "[country] visa requirements") or IATA Timatic via your airline's booking flow. Passport-holder nationality matters, not residence. Many countries now use electronic pre-authorisations (ETA, ESTA, ETIAS) that are not stamped visas but are still mandatory.
Visa rules are jurisdictional and change often — never trust a summary older than a year. Official government sites are authoritative; commercial visa services markup public applications. Airlines run IATA Timatic checks at check-in and will deny boarding if you lack the required document. Watch for pre-authorisation regimes: US ESTA, UK ETA, Canada eTA, EU ETIAS (rolling out 2026) — all cheap but must be applied for before travel, not on arrival.
Related reading
Last verified 2026-07-29.