Methodology, data, and API
What this site answers — and what it doesn't
Each page answers one question: whether a holder of an ordinary passport needs a visa for a short tourist or business visit to a destination. It does not cover work, study, residence, journalism, transit, diplomatic or official passports, refugee or stateless travel documents, or entry with a residence permit of a third country. Those are different questions with different answers.
Where the data comes from
The requirement matrix is compiled from the open-source passport-index dataset (MIT license, successor to the widely used ilyankou dataset), which aggregates the visa-policy data published by Passport Index. Our copy was last refreshed from an upstream update of February 2026 (upstream commit 842d43ce50, fetched 2026-08-10).
We add three things on top: per-route context and caveats, curated links to official government portals (only where we've verified them — we would rather show no link than a guessed one), and corrections when a policy verifiably changes ahead of the upstream dataset.
The categories
| No visa required | Enter with a passport alone; where the dataset records a day figure, that's the standard tourist stay. |
|---|---|
| eTA | Not a visa — an online pre-screening (ESTA, eTA, UK ETA, K-ETA, NZeTA…) that is nonetheless mandatory. |
| eVisa | A real visa, applied for and issued online before travel. |
| Visa on arrival | Issued at the border on arrival, usually for a fee. |
| Visa required | Arranged in advance through an embassy, consulate, or visa center. |
| Entry not ordinarily permitted | The destination generally refuses admission on that passport; exceptions require special authorization. |
"Visa-free reach" on passport pages counts destinations enterable with no pre-arranged visa: visa-free + visa on arrival + eTA.
Free JSON API
Every answer on this site is available as JSON, no key required:
GET https://doineedavisa.to/api/answer?passport=united-states&destination=japanResponse: requirement category, allowed stay where known, data-vintage, and the same disclaimer that applies to the pages. CORS is open; please cache responses and link back if you build on it.
Corrections
Spotted a rule that changed? Email corrections@doineedavisa.to with an official source and we'll verify and patch the matrix ahead of the next upstream refresh.
Before you rely on this
This page is general information, not legal advice, and doineedavisa.to is not a government agency. Visa and entry rules change without notice and can differ with your travel purpose, travel history, dual citizenship, residence permits, or documents like diplomatic passports. Confirm the current rules with the destination's embassy, consulate, or official immigration website before booking travel.