Specific requirements
The degree of strictness of border controls varies across countries and borders. In some countries, controls may be targeted at the traveller's religion, ethnicity, nationality, or other countries that have been visited. Others may need to be certain the traveller has paid the appropriate fees for their visas and has future travel planned out of the country. Yet others may concentrate on the contents of the traveler's baggage, and imported goods to ensure nothing is being carried that might bring a biosecurity risk into the country.
Border vistasedit
A border vista or boundary vista is a defined cleared space between two areas of foliage located at an international border intended to provide a clear demarcation line between the two areas. Border vistas are most commonly found along undefended international boundary lines, where border security is not as much of a necessity and a built barrier is undesired, and are a treaty requirement for certain borders.
An example of a border vista is a six-metre cleared space around unguarded portions of the Canada–United States border.
Similar clearings along the border line are provided for by many international treaties. For example, the 2006 border management treaty between Russia and China provides for a 15-metre-wide (49 ft) cleared strip along the two nations' border.
Travel documentsedit
Different countries impose varying travel document regulations and requirements as part of their border control policies and these may vary based on the traveller's mode of transport. For instance, whilst America does not subject passengers departing by land or most boats to any border control, it does require that passengers departing by air hold a valid passport (or certain specific passport-replacing documents). Even though travellers might not be required to have a passport to enter a certain country, they will be required to have a valid passport booklet (booklet only, U.S. Passport Card not accepted) to depart the United States in order to satisfy U.S. immigration authorities.
Canada requires any Canadian Permanent Residents entering the country by air to use their Permanent Resident Card or a special document authorising their return. No such requirement is imposed on a permanent resident entering by land or sea. Canadian citizens are prohibited from using a foreign passport to enter the country.
Other countries, including most countries in Western Europe and China, permit (or in China's case require) citizens to utilise national identity cards to clear immigration when travelling between adjacent jurisdictions. As a consequence of awkward border situations created by the fall of the Soviet Union, certain former members of the USSR and their neighbours require few or no travel documents for travellers transiting across international boundaries between two points in a single country. For instance, Russia permits vehicles to transit across the Saatse Boot between the Estonian villages of Lutepää and Sesniki without any border control provided that they do not stop. Similar provisions are made for the issuance of Facilitated Rail Transit Documents by Schengen Area members for travel between Kaliningrad Oblast and the Russian mainland.
Indian Identity Certificateedit
The Indian government issues Identity Certificates to members of the large Tibetan exile community. Identity Certificates are generally issued upon request of the Dalai Lama’s Tibetan government in exile based in Dharamsala in northern India. This document is accepted as per most countries border control policies in lieu of a passport, although it is not a machine readable document. When issued to a Tibetan residing in India, it is invariably endorsed as being valid for return to India and therefore exempts the holder from requiring a visa to clear Indian border controls upon re-entry.
Non-citizen residentsedit
Some countries issue travel documents to permanent residents (i.e. foreign citizens permitted to reside there indefinitely) or other non-citizens, usually for re-entry but also occasionally valid for international travel.
The U.S. Re-entry Permit is an example of such a document. Valid for international travel, it is issued to lawful permanent residents temporarily expatriating overseas. Unlike the ”Green Card” issued to all permanent residents, this document is not mandatory. The U.S. “Green Card”, on its own or in conjunction with a passport, is valid for international travel albeit not to the same extent as the re-entry permit. Both documents can be utilised to clear U.S. border controls regardless of the bearers nationality, thus resulting in America not requiring permanent residents to hold a passport from their home country in order to remain lawfully present or to lawfully enter.
Singapore issues national identity cards to permanent residents in the same manner as it does to citizens, but additionally requires any permanent resident travelling abroad to hold a valid electronic re-entry permit and a passport or other travel document from their home country. Singapore permanent residents who are stateless are issued booklet-form Certificates of Identity in lieu of a passport.
Indonesia issues the Paspor Orang Asing to its stateless permanent residents.
Non-citizens in Latvia and in Estonia are individuals, primarily of Russian or Ukrainian ethnicity, who are not citizens of Latvia or Estonia but whose families have resided in the area since the Soviet era, and thus have the right to a non-citizen passport issued by the Latvian government as well as other specific rights. Approximately two thirds of them are ethnic Russians, followed by ethnic Belarussians, ethnic Ukrainians, ethnic Poles and ethnic Lithuanians. Non-citizens in the two countries are issued special non-citizen passports as opposed to regular passports issued by the Estonian and Latvian authorities to citizens. This form of legal discrimination is often labelled as xenophobic.
Hong Kong and Macau issue permanent resident cards to all permanent residents including those without Chinese citizenship. They also issue the Hong Kong Document of Identity for Visa Purposes and Macau Travel Permit, respectively, to stateless permanent residents and to Chinese citizens temporarily residing in the region holding neither permanent residence of Hong Kong or Macau nor residence status in the mainland.
Similarly, Japanese North Koreans are issued a Japan Re-entry Permit for international travel.
National identity cards and birth certificatesedit
Certain jurisdictions permit the use of national identity cards to clear border controls. For instance, when travelling between India and Nepal or Bhutan, Indian citizens may utilise national voter ID cards, ration cards, or national identity cards. Indian citizens may also obtain identity slips at the Indian consulate in Phuentsholing if they intend to proceed beyond city limits as Phuentsholing, the financial capital of Bhutan, is de facto within India’s visa and customs area. When travelling to India, citizens of Nepal and Bhutan can utilise similar documents. Children may use birth certificates as proof of identity.
In North America, U.S. citizens may travel using passport cards, a form of voluntary identity card issued to U.S. citizens. Children holding Canadian or U.S. citizenship may travel to and from Canada using birth certificates under certain circumstances. In South America, many Mercosur countries reciprocally permit travel using identity cards.
In western Europe, travel using identity cards is relatively common for citizens of the European Economic Area and adjacent territories. This includes travel to and from Turkey for certain citizens of other countries in western Europe. Within the Schengen Area, there are limited border controls in place and national identity cards may be used to clear them.
Chinese Travel Documentedit
The Chinese Government requires certain people to enter the mainland using a Chinese Travel Document. Some cases include:
- When it is "inconvenient", "unnecessary", or not permitted to issue a People's Republic of China passport to Chinese nationals.
- Chinese nationals residing in Mainland China who lost their passport while travelling abroad may apply for this document as an emergency passport for returning to China.
- Chinese nationals who are permanent residents of Hong Kong and Macau intending to enter Mainland China directly from other countries without a Home Return Permit.
- Residents of the Taiwan areal intending to enter Mainland China or Hong Kong directly from other countries, who are Chinese nationals according to Chinese law. Travelling to Hong Kong, however, requires a separate application for a visa-like entry permit.
- Chinese nationals born abroad who acquired Chinese nationality at birth in accordance with the Nationality Law of the People's Republic of China through jus sanguinis. The Chinese Travel Document is issued as a Chinese identification and travel document.
- Chinese nationals born in China who do not have a Hukou in China and who have exited China using an exit permit. This could include a person who holds a non-Chinese passport.
Enhanced Driving Licenceedit
An Enhanced Driving Licence is a document issued by provincial and state authorities in Canada and America that enables its bearer to clear land border controls along the border between the two countries. It is not valid for air travel and does not permit its holder to clear border controls at airports. It also serves as a valid driving licence. Certain provinces and states may issue similar enhanced versions of regional identity cards issued to individuals who do not drive.
Quilantan entryedit
A ‘Quilantan’ or ‘Wave Through’ Entry is a phenomenon in U.S. border control law authorising a form of non-standard but legal entry without any inspection of travel documents. It occurs when the border security personnel present at a border crossing choose to summarily admit some number of persons without performing a standard interview or document examination.
Typically this can occur when an official border crossing is busy and an immigration officer waves a car through without first checking all passengers for their travel documents. If an individual can prove that they were waved into the United States in this manner, then they are considered to have entered with inspection despite not having answered any questions or received a passport entry stamp.
This definition of legal entry does not apply to situations where foreigners entered the United States but have not crossed at a legal, manned border station. Thus it does not provide a path to legal residency for those who have entered into the United States by crossing accidental gaps in the borders around geological formations.
Border areasedit
In certain cases, countries adopt border control policies imposing reduced border controls for frequent travellers intending to remain within a border area. For example, the relaxed border controls maintained by Bhutan for those not proceeding past Phuentsholing and certain other border cities enable travellers to enter without going through any document check whatsoever. The U.S. Border Crossing Card issued to Mexican nationals enables Mexicans to enter border areas without a passport.m Both America and Bhutan maintain interior checkposts to enforce compliance.
Similarly, Schengen states which share an external land border with a non-EU member state are authorised by virtue of the EU Regulation 1931/2006 to conclude or maintain bilateral agreements with neighbouring third countries for the purpose of implementing a local border traffic regime. Such agreements define a border area on either side of the border, and provide for the issuance of local border traffic permits to residents of the border area. Permits may be used to cross the EU external border within the border area, are not stamped on crossing the border and must display the holder's name and photograph, as well as a statement that its holder is not authorised to move outside the border area and that any abuse shall be subject to penalties.
Agricultural restrictionsedit
In certain countries, border control focuses extensively on curtailing and regulating the import of foreign agricultural products. For example, Australian border controls restrict most (if not all) food products, certain wooden products and other similar items. Similar restrictions exist in Canada, America and New Zealand.
Drugsedit
Border controls in many countries in the Greater India region prioritise mitigating trade in narcotics. For instance, Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, and Indonesia impose mandatory death sentences on individuals caught smuggling restricted substances across their borders. For example, Muhammad Ridzuan Ali was executed in Singapore on 19 May 2017 for drug trafficking. India and Malaysia are focusing resources on eliminating drug smuggling from Myanmar and Thailand respectively. The issue stems largely from the high output of dangerous and illegal drugs in the Golden Triangle as well as in regions further west such as Afghanistan.
A similar problem exists east of the Pacific, and has resulted in countries such as Mexico and America tightening border control in response to the northward flow of illegal substances from regions such as Colombia. The Mexican Drug War and similar cartel activity in neighbouring areas has exacerbated the problem.
Visasedit
Most countries impose visa requirements on foreign nationals, and depending on the country's border control strategy these can be liberal or restrictive.
Many countries in the Greater India region have liberalised their visa controls in recent years to encourage transnational business and tourism. For example, India, Myanmar, and Sri Lanka have introduced electronic visas to make border control less of a bureaucratic hurdle for business travellers and tourists. Malaysia has introduced similar eVisa facilities, and has also introduced the eNTRI programme to expedite clearance for Indian citizens and Chinese citizens from the mainland. Thailand regularly issues visas on arrival to many non-exempt visitors at major ports of entry in order to encourage tourism. Indonesia, in recent years, has progressively liberalised its visa regime, no longer requiring visas or on-arrival visas from most nationals, while Singapore has signed visa waiver agreements with many countries in recent years and has introduced electronic visa facilities for Indians, Eastern Europeans, and mainland Chinese. This trend towards visa liberalisation in the Greater India region is part of the broader phenomenon of globalisation and has been linked to heightened economic growth.
Certain countries, predominantly but not exclusively in western Europe and the Americas, issue working holiday visas for younger visitors to supplement their travel funds by working minor jobs. These are especially common in members of the European Union such as Austria, and elsewhere in western Europe such as Switzerland and Ukraine.
Saudi Arabia issues a special category visa for people on religious pilgrimage. Similar policies are in force in other countries with significant religious sites.
Certain jurisdictions impose special visa requirements on journalists in order to curtail the freedom of foreign reporters and news organisations to report on controversial topics. Countries that impose such visas include Cuba, China, North Korea, Saudi Arabia, America and Zimbabwe.
Substitute visasedit
Many countries let individuals clear border controls using foreign visas. For instance, the following countries accept U.S. visas in lieu of their own:
Albania — 90 days;
Antigua and Barbuda — 30 days; USD 100 visa waiver fee applies.
Belize — 30 days; USD 50 visa waiver fee applies.
Bosnia and Herzegovina — 30 days;
Canada — up to 6 months; only for citizens of Brazil, arriving by air with Electronic Travel Authorisation (eTA).
Chile — 90 days; for nationals of China only.
Colombia — 90 days; applicable to certain nationalities only.
Costa Rica — 30 days or less if the visa is about to expire; must hold a multiple entry visa.
Dominican Republic — 90 days;
El Salvador — 90 days; not applicable to all nationalities.
Georgia — 90 days within any 180-day period;
Guatemala — 90 days; not applicable to all nationalities.
Honduras — 90 days; not applicable to all nationalities.
Jamaica — 30 days; not applicable to all nationalities.
Mexico — 180 days;
Montenegro — 30 days;
Nicaragua — 90 days; not applicable to all nationalities.
North Macedonia — 15 days;
Oman — certain nationalities can obtain an electronic Omani visa if holding a valid US visa.
Panama — 30/180 days; must hold a visa valid for at least 2 more entries.
Peru — 180 days; applicable to nationals of China and India only.
Philippines — 7 days for nationals of China from the mainland; 14 days for nationals of India.
Qatar — Non-visa-free nationals can obtain an electronic travel authorization for 30 days if holding a valid US visa.
São Tomé and Príncipe — 15 days;
Serbia — 90 days;
South Korea — 30 days;
Republic of Chinal (Taiwan) — certain nationalities, including Indian citizens, can obtain an online travel authorization if holding a valid U.S. visa.
Turkey — certain nationalities can obtain an electronic Turkish visa if holding a valid US visa.
UAE — Visa on arrival for 14 days; for nationals of India only. (Applicable for Indian citizens holding US Green Card.)
In the Philippines, in addition to U.S. visas, nationals of India and China can use several alternative visas to clear border controls. Nationals of China from the Mainland travelling as tourists and holding a valid visa issued by Australia, Canada, Japan, United States, or a Schengen Area state may enter and stay without a visa for up to 7 days. Nationals of India holding a valid tourist, business or resident visa issued by Australia, Canada, Japan, Singapore, United Kingdom, United States, or a Schengen Area state may enter and stay without a visa for up to 14 days. They may enter from any port of entry.
South Korea lets passengers in transit enter for up to thirty days utilising an Australian, Canadian, U.S., or Schengen visa.
Bermuda, a British territory, has ceased to issue its own visas and instead requires that travellers either clear immigration visa-free in one of the three countries (Canada, the United States, and United Kingdom) to/from which it has direct flights, or hold a visa for one of them.
Electronic Travel Authorisationsedit
An Electronic Travel Authorisation or Electronic Travel Authority is a kind of pre-arrival registration, which is not officially classified as a visa, required for foreign travellers to a country who normally do not require a visa under some circumstances. Different from a proper visa which the traveller normally has no recourse if rejected, if an ETA is rejected the traveller can choose to apply for a visa instead. Many countries require individuals who do not require a visa to enter to hold an Electronic Travel Authorisation instead.
Sri Lankaedit
Travellers to Sri Lanka must get an Electronic Travel Authorisation prior to getting a visa on arrival at the entry port, except for a few countries where the ETA is exempted, and for a few countries where a visa must be got in advance. Citizens of India, Pakistan, and other countries in the northwestern part of Asia receive discounted ETAs.
United Kingdomedit
Citizens of the following countries in the Arabian peninsula can obtain an Electronic Visa Waiver, or EVW, online to enter the United Kingdom:n
Kuwait- Oman
- Qatar
- United Arab Emirates
Australiaedit
Development of the Electronic Travel Authority system commenced in January 1996. It was first implemented in Singapore on a trial basis on 11 September 1996, for holders of Singapore and US passports travelling on Qantas and Singapore Airlines. Implementation of online applications began in June 2001. The current ETA came into effect on 23 March 2013 replacing older ETAs (subclass 976, 977 and 956) while offering a single authorization for both tourist and business purposes.
The ETA allows the holder to visit Australia for unlimited times, up to 3 months per visit, in a 12-month period for tourism or business purposes. There is no visa application charge but a service charge of AU$20 applies for applications lodged online. At the time of travel to, and entry into, Australia, all holders of an ETA must be free from tuberculosis and must not have any criminal convictions for which the sentence or sentences (whether served or not) total 12 months or more.
Holders of the following passports can apply online:
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Hong Kongedit
Indian nationals and Taiwanese nationals from areas controlled by the Republic of Chinal do not require a visa to enter Hong Kong, but must apply for a pre-arrival registration (PAR) prior to arrival. If not successful, Indian travellers may apply for a visa instead. Taiwanese people are eligible only if they were born in Taiwan or entered Hong Kong as an ROC nationals before, otherwise they should instead apply for an entry permit (a de facto visa) to enter Hong Kong using their Republic of China passport. They may alternatively enter Hong Kong using a Mainland Travel Permit for Taiwan Residents issued by Mainland Chinese authorities without any additional permit.
North Americaedit
East of the Pacific, both America and Canada have introduced electronic travel authorisations. Travellers from visa-free countries entering Canada by air, except U.S. nationals (including those with and without full citizenship), must obtain an Electronic Travel Authorisation prior to arrival but not if arriving by land or sea. Travellers under the U.S. Visa Waiver Programme are required to obtain permission through the Electronic System for Travel Authorisation if arriving America by air or cruise but not if entering by land or by ferry, using a passport issued by the Government of Bermuda to a British Overseas Territories Citizen, or if entering as a Canadian citizen.
Travellers from Brazil normally require a visa to enter Canada, but are eligible to apply for an ETA if they have held a Canadian visa within the 10 years prior to applying, or if they currently hold a valid non-immigrant U.S. visa. Such travellers still may not enter Canada by land or sea without a valid Canadian visa.
Exit controlsedit
Whilst most countries implement border controls both at entry and at exit, some jurisdictions do not. For instance, USA and Canada do not implement exit controls at land borders and collect exit data on foreign nationals through airlines and through information sharing with neighbouring countries’ entry border controls. These countries consequently don't issue exit stamps even to travellers who require stamps on entry. Similarly, Australia, Singapore and South Korea have eliminated exit stamps even though they continue to implement brief border control checks upon exit for most foreign nationals.
Exit visasedit
Some countries in Europe maintain controversial exit visa systems in addition to regular border controls. For instance, Uzbekistan requires its own citizens to obtain exit visas prior to leaving for countries other than fellow CIS nations in eastern Europe. Several countries in the Arabian peninsula require exit visas for foreign workers under the Kafala System meaning "sponsorship system"). Russia occasionally requires foreigners who overstay to obtain exit visas since one cannot exit Russia without a valid visa. Czechia has a similar policy. Similarly, a foreign citizen granted a temporary residence permit in Russia needs an exit visa to take a trip abroad (valid for both exit and return). Not all foreign citizens are subject to that requirement. Citizens of Germany, for example, do not require this exit visa.
Certain Asian countries have policies that similarly require certain categories of citizens to seek official authorisation prior to travelling or emigrating. This is usually either as a way to enforce national service obligations or to protect migrant workers from travelling to places where they may be abused by employers. Singapore, for instance, operates an Exit Permit scheme in order to enforce the national service obligations of its male citizens and permanent residents. These restrictions vary according to age and status. South Korea and Taiwan have similar policies. India, on the other hand, requires citizens who have not met certain educational requirements (and thus may be targeted by human traffickers or be coerced into modern slavery) to apply for approval prior to leaving the country and endorses their passports with ”Emigration Check Required”. Nepal similarly requires citizens emigrating to the United States on an H-1B visa to present an exit permit issued by the Ministry of Labour. This document is called a work permit and needs to be presented to immigration to leave the country. In a bid to increase protection for the large amount of Indian, Bangladeshi, Chinese, and Nepali citizens smuggled through Indian airports to the Middle East as underpaid labourers, many Indian airline companies require travellers to obtain an ‘OK to Board’ confirmation sent directly from visa authorities in certain GCC countries directly to the airline and will bar anyone who has not obtained this endorsement from clearing exit immigration.
Nationality and travel historyedit
Many nations implement border controls restricting the entry of people of certain nationalities or who have visited certain countries. For instance Georgia refuses entry to holders of passports issued by the Republic of China. Similarly, since April 2017 nationals of Bangladesh, Pakistan, Sudan, Syria, Yemen, and Iran have been banned from entering the parts of eastern Libya under the control of the Tobruk government. America does not currently issue new visas to nationals of Iran, North Korea, Libya, Somalia, Syria, or Yemen pursuant to restrictions imposed by the Trump administration. In the case of the U.S. policy, restrictions are conditional and can be lifted if the countries affected meet the required security standards specified by the Trump administration, and dual citizens of these countries can still enter if they present a passport from a non-designated country. The majority of Arab countries, as well as Iran and Malaysia, ban Israeli citizens, however exceptional entry to Malaysia is possible with approval from the Ministry of Home Affairs. Certain countries may also restrict entry to those with Israeli stamps or visas in their passports.
In some cases, border control policies target stateless individuals, or individuals holding nationality statuses without right of abode, including individuals with Republic of China (ROC) passports without a national ID, and British Subjects or British Overseas Citizens without indefinite leave to remain in the United Kingdom. ROC nationals without ID numbers do not, for instance, have access to the U.S. Visa Waiver Program, or to visa free access to the Schengen Area or Japan. Other countries, such as India which allows all Chinese nationals to apply for eVisas, don't make such a distinction. Singapore imposes strict controls on stateless individuals and refugees, and reduces length of stay for British nationals without right of abode in the United Kingdom, but does not distinguish between ROC passports with and without national ID numbers.
As a result of tension over the Artsakh dispute, Azerbaijan currently forbids entry to Armenian citizens as well as to individuals with proof of travel to Artsakh.
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