Visa & Passport

Visa | 签证

A visa (from the Latin charta visa, meaning "paper which has been seen") is a conditional authorization granted by a country to a foreigner, allowing them to enter, remain within, or to leave that country. Visas typically include limits on the duration of the foreigner's stay, territory within the country they may enter, the dates they may enter, the number of permitted visits or an individual's right to work in the country in question.

Visas are associated with the request for permission to enter a country and thus are, in some countries, distinct from actual formal permission for an alien to enter and remain in the country. In each instance, a visa is subject to entry permission by an immigration official at the time of actual entry, and can be revoked at any time.

签证（源自拉丁语中的visa意思是“被审查通过的证书”）是一种由一个国家授予一个外国人的有限许可证。该证书允许持证人进入，居留或离开该国。签证一般可以包含以下内容：在该国停留的期限，许可出入的地域范围，入境日期范围，过往准签次数以及正在审核中的工作许可权。

签证主要表达持证者请求获得进入某国的权利。但是对于一些国家而言，Visa有别于正式的外国人进入和居留该国的许可证。不论是否进行这样的区分，签证都服从于当持证人实质进入该国当日移民局所实行的准入许可规定。并且签证可以随时被颁发国撤销。

Passport | 护照

A passport is a travel document, usually issued by a country's government, that certifies the identity and nationality of its holder primarily for the purpose of international travel. Standard passports may contain information such as the holder's name, place and date of birth, photograph, signature, and other identifying information.

Many countries are moving towards including biometric information in a microchip embedded in the passport, making them machine-readable and difficult to counterfeit. As of 2017, there are over 120 jurisdictions issuing these e-Passports. Previously issued passports usually remain valid until each expires.

护照是一项旅行文件，一般由持照人所属国的政府颁发，用于在国际旅行中证明持照人的身份和国籍。标准的护照通常包含以下内容：持照人的姓名，住地，生辰，头像，签名以及其他身份识别信息。

许多国家对护照进行了升级，将持照人的生物信息灌入护照内嵌的电子芯片中。这种新型护照可以被机器识别并且难以伪造。截至2017年，超过120个国家或地区颁发了这种电子护照。手上的旧护照一般均可继续使用，静待寿终正寝。