Is a visa the same as a passport?

Question

are they the same thing? i saw someone ask a question about needing an irish visa to visit Ireland..that is where i plan on going..do i need a visa?

Answer 1

Here is my simple explanation.  Your passport is like an ID Card.  It only serves to identify you, where you came from.  

A visa is like a ticket to get in a certain country.  No ticket, no entry.  Ask from the Irish Embassy or Consul in your country if they require visa's for tourists.

Answer 2

Visa isn't a passport it's like a greencard which allows you to live and work in a country that you weren't born in,and when you aren't born there or your paren'ts aren't citizens from that country you can't just get citizenship....So they have Visa's and Greencards the greencards you get after a couple of years meaning you can permanetly live and work there...

Answer 3

No. A passport is issued by your country of nationality and is valid worldwide as an identity document.  A visa is issued by a country you want to visit and the requirements for visas can differ according to your own nationality.  A visa does not always allow you to work and the USA for years now has what it calls the visa waiver card which you fill in on entry to USA and leave the stub when you leave the USA.  You have to check individually, usually with the immigration service of the country you intend to visit whether you need a visa or not.  Sometimes you dont need a visa as a tourist but you would need one to work there.  For UK citizens www.fco.gov.uk is a good start.  I am sure there is an equivalent site for USA citizens.

Answer 4

Well, do you have your passport?

You cannot have your visa if you don't have the passport.

A passport is a travel document issued by a national government that usually identifies the bearer as a national of the issuing state and requests that the bearer be permitted to enter and pass through other countries.

Passports are connected with the right of legal protection abroad and the right to enter one's country of nationality. Passports usually contain the holder's photograph, signature, date of birth, nationality, and sometimes other means of individual identification. Many countries are in the process of developing biometric properties for their passports in order to further confirm that the person presenting the passport is the legitimate holder.

Visa

Visa (document), a document giving an individual permission to request entrance to a country.