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SteO153 t1_j58zsh8 wrote

Reply to comment by RedSonGamble in TIL Japan is considered the world's most powerful passport, with visa-free access to 193 countries. Singapore and South Korea are close behind with 192 countries. Syria, Iraq, and Afghanistan are the least powerful, all with visa-free access to 30 or less countries. by grandlewis

Visa policy is based on trust, I trust you, so your citizens can enter my country without the need of a visa. Then more countries you can visit without visa (or just visa on arrival, which is nothing more than a fee to enter, no background check as per normal visa), higher is the level of trust in your country.

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RedSonGamble t1_j596j9r wrote

Ooooooo. So a visa is just like hey we checked this person out and they’re ok to enter?

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SteO153 t1_j597fi2 wrote

Yes, the visa is the authorisation you get to enter a country. It is also what (charta) visa literally means in Latin "a paper document that has been checked". In Italian the term is visto which means seen/checked. There also is the exit visa, which has the opposite scope, the foreign country controls that you don't have anything pending (eg a fine) before leaving the country. But exit visa are rarely required.

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pimp_juice2272 t1_j598ulx wrote

Correct. Some countries have a relationship like "we trust that you've checked your citizens enough that we don't have to do it as well" therefore, you don't need a visa to visit that country if you have a passport.

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