This page explains exactly where every piece of data on VisaRadar comes from, how it's kept up to date, and — most importantly — what it doesn't cover. We'd rather be explicit about the limitations than give a false sense of absolute precision.
Data source
Entry requirements (visa, electronic authorization, etc.) come from the open-data project passport-index-dataset, published under the MIT license. It's a community-maintained dataset that compiles, for every passport-destination combination, the type of entry requirement (visa-free, visa on arrival, electronic travel authorization, e-visa, or consular visa) and, where applicable, the number of days of permitted stay.
Update frequency
An automated process checks the source dataset every week (every Monday), compares changes against our database, and generates a proposed update. That proposal goes through human review before it's published — we don't push changes to production without someone checking them first.
How data is cross-checked against official sources
We want to be especially clear here: we do not currently verify every single data point against each country's official government source before publishing it. The source dataset is maintained by a community of contributors who do track known regulatory changes, but there is no government-by-government verification on our end with every weekly update.
This is an area we're actively working on: we're adding, destination by destination, direct links to the relevant official immigration source along with other hand-verified data (real fees, electronic authorization systems, mandatory medical insurance, and so on). When a page has that additional verification, it will be shown on the page itself with its own specific date.
What sources we use for legal claims
A rule we apply across the whole site: no claim about a legal obligation(a mandatory insurance, an official fee, a regulatory deadline) is ever sourced from a commercial website that sells that same product or service — for example, we don't cite an insurance company as the source for a travel insurance being mandatory. For that kind of claim we only use cited official regulations (EU regulations on EUR-Lex, official gazettes) or the country's primary government source (ministry of foreign affairs, immigration portal, embassy). Commercial sites are only used, where relevant, for practical, non-regulatory information (e.g. real-world application experiences), never to back up a legal obligation.
Known limitations of the data
The requirement we show is the general case for an ordinary passport. It does not cover, among others:
- Dual nationality or special passports (diplomatic, service, refugee, or stateless).
- Criminal records or other individual grounds for inadmissibility.
- Minors traveling alone or with a single parent (some countries require additional documentation).
- Goods, pets, or luggage subject to their own customs rules.
- Regulatory changes that have been announced but aren't yet in force, or that are very recent (there can be a lag of days between a real-world change and it being reflected in the source dataset).
Always verify with the official source
For all of the above, VisaRadar is a starting point for planning a trip, not the final word. Before booking flights or starting any paperwork, always confirm the requirement with the embassy, consulate, or official immigration portal of the country you're traveling to. See also our disclaimer.
Spotted incorrect data?
Let us know via our contact page, including the passport-destination pair and, if you can, a link to the official source confirming it. We review every report.
Last updated: 2026-08-12