Visa glossary
Plain meanings for the words you’ll meet when you apply.
- Airline check (Timatic)
- Airlines decide whether to let you board using a database called Timatic. You can check the same rules on the IATA Travel Centre website before you fly.
- Arrival card
- A free online form some countries ask you to fill in before you land. It isn’t a visa.
- B1/B2 visa
- The US visitor visa for business (B1) and tourism (B2). Usually issued together.
- Biometrics
- Your fingerprints and photo, taken at a visa centre or border.
- Consulate
- A government office in another country that handles visas and help for citizens. An embassy is the main office in the capital.
- Consular district
- The area a consulate or visa centre serves. Some countries make you apply in the district where you live.
- Cover letter
- A short letter with your visa application: who you are, why you’re travelling, who pays and when you’ll be back.
- DS-160
- The online form for a US visitor visa.
- e-Visa
- A visa you apply for online before you travel.
- EES (Entry/Exit System)
- The EU system that records your fingerprints and photo at the Schengen border instead of stamping your passport.
- ETA / eTA
- An electronic travel authorisation: a quick online approval needed before you fly, lighter than a visa.
- ETIAS
- An EU travel authorisation for travellers who don’t need a Schengen visa. It doesn’t apply to South Africans, who need the Schengen visa itself.
- Genuine visitor
- The UK test: will you leave at the end of your visit, can you pay for it, and is your reason real?
- KAZA Univisa
- A combined visa for Zambia and Zimbabwe. South Africans don’t need it: both countries are visa-free for them.
- Multiple entry
- A visa that lets you leave and come back while it’s valid.
- Onward ticket
- Proof you’re leaving the country: a return flight, or a ticket to another country.
- Overstay
- Staying longer than you’re allowed. It brings fines and can get you banned.
- Proof of funds
- Evidence that you can pay for your trip, usually bank statements.
- Refusal letter
- The letter that tells you why a visa was refused. Read it carefully before you reapply.
- Schengen area
- 29 European countries that share one short-stay visa and have no passport checks between them.
- SADC
- The Southern African Development Community. Being a SADC resident gets South Africans some exemptions, such as Tanzania’s new travel insurance.
- Single entry
- A visa that ends when you leave the country.
- Travel ban
- A US rule that blocks or limits visas for citizens of certain countries.
- Travel medical insurance
- Insurance for medical care and getting you home. Schengen visas need at least €30,000 of cover.
- Visa bond
- A deposit of up to US$20,000 the US can ask some applicants to pay before issuing a visitor visa. Refunded if you follow the rules.
- Visa centre
- A private company (VFS Global, BLS, TLScontact or Capago) that collects applications for an embassy. It doesn’t decide your visa.
- Visa on arrival
- A visa you buy when you land.
- Visa-free
- No visa needed; just your passport.
- Yellow fever certificate
- The “yellow card” proving you’re vaccinated. Valid for life, and needed for some countries and for coming home from risk countries.
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