Our methodology

The starting point: passport-index

Our base dataset is the open-source passport-index project, published under the MIT licence. It covers visa requirements for all passport combinations — roughly 200 passports × 200 destinations. The dataset's last upstream update was January 2025. That's a solid foundation, but visa policy moves constantly: new eVisa schemes launch, bilateral agreements change, and programmes like the UK ETA or South Korea's K-ETA get restructured. A dataset snapshot from early 2025 is not something you can put in front of a traveller in mid-2026 without checking it.

Our verification layer

For every destination we mark as verified, we have gone entry-by-entry through the dataset and cross-referenced it against the official government source that actually governs the rule — the destination country's immigration ministry, embassy pages, or the relevant supranational regulation (for Schengen countries, that is EU Regulation 2018/1806 and its amendments). We record the authoritative source URL and the date we checked.

When the dataset is wrong, we log the correction and update the displayed value. A few examples of corrections we've made so far:

• UK ETA (effective 25 February 2026). The UK Home Office mandated Electronic Travel Authorisation for all non-visa nationals — including EU and EEA passport holders — from 25 February 2026. The base dataset predates this change. We've corrected all affected EU passport entries for Great Britain to reflect the ETA requirement.
• Turkey visa-free for Chinese passports (effective 2 January 2026). Turkey granted 90-day visa-free entry to Chinese ordinary passport holders by presidential decree, replacing the previous e-visa arrangement. The base dataset still recorded e-visa; we corrected it to visa-free with the Official Gazette as source.
• South Korea: no tourist eVisa programme exists. The base dataset coded several nationalities — including India, China, Vietnam, the Philippines, Indonesia, and others — as eligible for an "eVisa" to South Korea. South Korea has no standalone tourist eVisa; visa.go.kr is an online application portal, but it still constitutes a full embassy/VFS visa. We corrected all affected entries to visa required.

As of June 2026, we have verified 26 of 60 destination countries and recorded 61 individual corrections against the base dataset. We are working through the remaining destinations on a rolling basis.

What "verified" and "dataset-only" mean

Every result on VisaGlance is labelled with one of two statuses:

• Verified. We have checked this entry against the official government source, confirmed or corrected the value, and recorded the source URL and verification date. The date is shown next to the result.
• Dataset-only. We have not yet independently verified this entry. The value is taken directly from the passport-index dataset (last updated January 2025). It may be accurate, but we have not confirmed it, and it will not appear in our search index until it is verified.

This distinction matters for YMYL ("your money or your life") data. Getting an entry requirement wrong has real consequences — a traveller turned back at the border, a missed connection, a costly last-minute visa application. We would rather show you an honest "we haven't checked this yet" than give you false confidence in an unverified figure.

Source hierarchy

When sources conflict, we use this order of precedence:

1. Official government website of the destination country (immigration ministry or equivalent)
2. Official embassy or consulate pages of the destination country abroad
3. Authoritative supranational regulations (e.g. EU Regulation 2018/1806 for Schengen visa policy)
4. Official travel advisories from the passport country's foreign ministry
5. Primary news reports citing official sources, for very recent changes only

We do not treat travel blogs, aggregator sites, or visa agency content as primary sources.

Review cycle

We aim to re-verify each destination at least every 90 days, and sooner when a major policy change is publicly announced. Verified entries show the date of the most recent check so you can judge freshness for yourself.

Independence

Our verification conclusions are not influenced by commercial relationships. When we link to travel services, some links may be affiliate links (see how we make money), but the data values and source attributions are determined solely by what the official sources say. See our editorial standards for the full policy.

Corrections welcome

Spotted something wrong or out of date? Please email info@visaglance.com. Corrections are the single most useful thing you can send us — especially for recent policy changes that we may not yet have picked up. We fix confirmed errors quickly and update the verification date.