Visa requirements for Moldovan citizens

A Moldovan biometric passport

Visa requirements for Moldovan citizens are administrative entry restrictions imposed on citizens of Moldova by the authorities of other states. As of 13 April 2021, Moldovan citizens had visa-free or visa on arrival access to 121 countries and territories, ranking the Moldovan passport 46th in terms of travel freedom according to the Henley Passport Index.^[1]

On 28 April 2014 Moldovan citizens were granted visa-free entry to 26 Schengen Area countries as well as Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus and Romania, countries that are applying the Schengen policy and also Monaco, San Marino, Andorra and Vatican City, countries that have no immigration control.^[2] Visa waiver applies only to holders of biometric passports.^[3]

Visa requirements map[]

Visa requirements for Moldovan citizens

  Moldova

  Visa free

  Visa issued upon arrival

  Electronic authorisation or eVisa

  Visa available both on arrival or online

  Visa required prior to arrival

Visa requirements[]

Country	Visa requirement	Allowed stay	Notes (excluding departure fees)
Afghanistan	Visa required[4]
Albania	Visa not required[5]	90 days	90 days within any 6 month period
Algeria	Visa required[6]
Andorra	Visa not required[7]
Angola	Visa required[8]
Antigua and Barbuda	Visa not required[9]	1 month
Argentina	Visa required[10]
Armenia	Visa not required[11]
Australia	Visa required[12]		May apply online (Online Visitor e600 visa).[13]
Austria	Visa not required[14]	90 days	90 days within any 180 day period in the Schengen Area[Note 1][15][16]
Azerbaijan	Visa not required[17]	90 days	If staying more than 10 days passengers visiting relatives must register with local police. If staying in a hotel, this will be arranged by the hotel. Azerbaijan bans the entry of people who are of Armenian descent.
Bahamas	Visa not required[18]	3 months
Bahrain	Visa required[19]
Bangladesh	Visa on arrival[20]	30 days
Barbados	Visa not required[21]	28 days
Belarus	Visa not required[22]
Belgium	Visa not required[23]	90 days	90 days within any 180 day period in the Schengen Area[Note 1][15][16]
Belize	Visa required[24]
Benin	eVisa / Visa on arrival[25][26]	30 days / 8 days	Must have an international vaccination certificate.
Bhutan	Visa required[27]
Bolivia	Visa on arrival[28]	90 days
Bosnia and Herzegovina	Visa not required[29]	90 days	90 days within any 6 month period
Botswana	Visa required[30]
Brazil	Visa required[31]		Visa waiver treaty signed but not yet ratified[32]
Brunei	Visa required[33]
Bulgaria	Visa not required[34]	90 days	90 days within any 180 day period[Note 1][15][16]
Burkina Faso	Visa required[35]
Burundi	Visa required[36]
Cambodia	eVisa / Visa on arrival[37]	30 days
Cameroon	Visa required[38]
Canada	Visa required[39]
Cape Verde	Visa on arrival[40]
Central African Republic	Visa required[41]
Chad	Visa required[42]
Chile	Visa not required[43][44]
China	Visa required[45]		Visa not required for 30 days for travelling as part of an accredited tour group.
Colombia	Visa not required[46][47]
Comoros	Visa on arrival[48]
Republic of the Congo	Visa required[49]
Democratic Republic of the Congo	Visa required[50]
Costa Rica	Visa required[51]
Côte d'Ivoire	eVisa[52]	3 months	eVisa holders must arrive via Port Bouet Airport.
Croatia	Visa not required[53]	90 days	90 days within any 180 day period[Note 1][15][16]
Cuba	Tourist Card required[54]	30 days
Cyprus	Visa not required[Note 1][55]	90 days	90 days within any 180 day period[15][16]
Czech Republic	Visa not required[56]	90 days	90 days within any 180 day period in the Schengen Area[Note 1][15][16]
Denmark	Visa not required[57]	90 days	90 days within any 180 day period in the Schengen Area[Note 1][15][16]
Djibouti	eVisa[58]	31 days
Dominica	Visa not required[59]	21 days
Dominican Republic	Visa required[60]
Ecuador	Visa not required[61]	90 days
Egypt	eVisa[62][63]		eVisa cancelled during Covid19 pandemic
El Salvador	Visa required[64]
Equatorial Guinea	Visa required[65]
Eritrea	Visa required[66]
Estonia	Visa not required[67]	90 days	90 days within any 180 day period in the Schengen Area[Note 1][15][16]
Eswatini	Visa required[68]
Ethiopia	eVisa[69]	up to 90 days	eVisa holders must arrive via Addis Ababa Bole International Airport
Fiji	Visa not required[70]	4 months
Finland	Visa not required[71]	90 days	90 days within any 180 day period in the Schengen Area[Note 1][15][16]
France	Visa not required[72]	90 days	90 days within any 180 day period in the Schengen Area[Note 1][15][16]
Gabon	eVisa[73]		eVisa holders must arrive via Libreville International Airport.
Gambia	Visa required[74][75]		In addition to a visa, an entry clearance must be obtained from the Gambian Immigration prior to travel.[76]
Georgia	Visa not required[77]	365 days[78]
Germany	Visa not required[79]	90 days	90 days within any 180 day period in the Schengen Area[Note 1][15][16]
Ghana	Visa required[80]
Greece	Visa not required[81]	90 days	90 days within any 180 day period in the Schengen Area[Note 1][15][16]
Grenada	Visa on arrival[82]	3 months
Guatemala	Visa required[83]
Guinea	eVisa[84]	90 days
Guinea-Bissau	eVisa / Visa on arrival[85]	90 days
Guyana	Visa required[86]
Haiti	Visa not required[87]	3 months
Honduras	Visa required[88]
Hungary	Visa not required[89]	90 days	90 days within any 180 day period in the Schengen Area[Note 1][15][16]
Iceland	Visa not required[90]	90 days	90 days within any 180 day period in the Schengen Area[Note 1][15][16]
India	e-Visa[91]	60 days
Indonesia	Visa not required[92][93]	30 days
Iran	Visa on arrival[94]	30 days[95]
Iraq	Visa required[96]
Ireland	Visa required[97]
Israel	Visa not required[98]	90 days	Biometric passports only.
Italy	Visa not required[99]	90 days	90 days within any 180 day period in the Schengen Area[Note 1][15][16]
Jamaica	Visa on arrival[100]
Japan	Visa required[101]
Jordan	Visa required[102]
Kazakhstan	Visa not required[103]	90 days
Kenya	eVisa / Visa on arrival[104]	3 months	Can also be entered on an East Africa Tourist Visa issued by Rwanda or Uganda.[105]
Kiribati	Visa required[106]
North Korea	Visa required[107]
South Korea	Visa required[108]
Kuwait	Visa required[109]
Kyrgyzstan	Visa not required[110]
Laos	eVisa / Visa on arrival[111][112]	30 days	Visa on arrival is available at Luangphabang, Pakse, Savannakhet and Vientiane international airports, the 4 Thai-Lao Friendship Bridges,[Note 2] 13 border crossings,[Note 3] and Tanalaeng train station in Vientiane.[113] Visa on arrival facilities will be gradually phased out starting in January 2020.[114] eVisa may be used to enter Laos through Wattay International Airport and the First Thai–Lao Friendship Bridge The Lalai, Lantui, Meuang mom, Pakxan, and Phoudou border crossings are open only to visa holders. Visa on arrival is extendable up to 60 days.
Latvia	Visa not required[115]	90 days	90 days within any 180 day period in the Schengen Area[Note 1][15][16]
Lebanon	Free visa on arrival[116]	1 month	Extendable for 2 additional months Granted free of charge at Beirut International Airport or any other port of entry if there is no Israeli visa or seal, holding a telephone number, an address in Lebanon, and a non refundable return or circle trip ticket.
Lesotho	eVisa[117][118]
Liberia	Visa required[119]
Libya	Visa required[120]
Liechtenstein	Visa not required[121]	90 days	90 days within any 180 day period in the Schengen Area[Note 1][15][16]
Lithuania	Visa not required[122]	90 days	90 days within any 180 day period in the Schengen Area[Note 1][15][16]
Luxembourg	Visa not required[123]	90 days	90 days within any 180 day period in the Schengen Area[Note 1][15][16]
Madagascar	eVisa / Visa on arrival[124]	90 days
Malawi	eVisa / Visa on arrival[125][126]	90 days
Malaysia	Visa not required[127]	30 days
Maldives	Free visa on arrival[128]	30 days
Mali	Visa required[129]
Malta	Visa not required[130]	90 days	90 days within any 180 day period in the Schengen Area[Note 1][15][16]
Marshall Islands	Visa required[131]
Mauritania	Visa on arrival[132]		Available at Nouakchott–Oumtounsy International Airport.
Mauritius	Visa on arrival[133]	60 days
Mexico	Visa required[134]
Micronesia	Visa not required[135]	30 days
Monaco	Visa not required[136]
Mongolia	Visa required[137]
Montenegro	Visa not required[138][139]	90 days	90 days within any 180 day period
Morocco	Visa required[140]
Mozambique	Visa on arrival[141]	30 days
Myanmar	Visa required[142]
Namibia	Visa not required[143]	3 months
Nauru	Visa required[144]
Nepal	Visa on arrival[145]	90 days
Netherlands	Visa not required[146]	90 days	90 days within any 180 day period in the Schengen Area[Note 1][15][16]
New Zealand	Visa required[147]		Diplomatic, service and standard passports with the former USSR symbol issued in Moldova are unacceptable, and visas will not be endorsed in them.[148] Holders of an Australian Permanent Resident Visa or Resident Return Visa may be granted a New Zealand Resident Visa on arrival permitting indefinite stay (pursuant to the Trans-Tasman Travel Arrangement), subject to meeting character requirements and obtaining an Electronic Travel Authority prior to departure.[149]
Nicaragua	Visa on arrival[150]	90 days
Niger	Visa required[151]
Nigeria	Visa required[152]
North Macedonia	Visa not required[153][154]	90 days
Norway	Visa not required[155]	90 days	90 days within any 180 day period in the Schengen Area[Note 1][15][16]
Oman	eVisa[156]	30 days
Pakistan	Online Visa[157]
Palau	Free visa on arrival[158]	30 days
Panama	Visa not required[159]	180 days
Papua New Guinea	Visa required[160]
Paraguay	Visa required[161]
Peru	Visa not required[162]	183 days
Philippines	Visa required[163]
Poland	Visa not required[164]	90 days	90 days within any 180 day period in the Schengen Area[Note 1][15][16]
Portugal	Visa not required[165]	90 days	90 days within any 180 day period in the Schengen Area[Note 1][15][16]
Qatar	Visa not required[166]	30 days
Romania	Visa not required[167]	90 days	90 days within any 180 day period[Note 1][15][16]
Russia	Visa not required[168]	90 days	90 days within any 180 day period
Rwanda	eVisa / Visa on arrival[169]	30 days
Saint Kitts and Nevis	Visa not required[170]	90 days
Saint Lucia	Visa required[171]
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines	Visa not required[172]	1 month
Samoa	Visa not required[173]	60 days
San Marino	Visa not required[174]
São Tomé and Príncipe	eVisa[175]
Saudi Arabia	Visa required[176]
Senegal	Visa required[177]
Serbia	Visa not required[178]	90 days	90 days within any 6 month period
Seychelles	Free Visitor's Permit on arrival[179]	3 months
Sierra Leone	Visa required[180]
Singapore	eVisa[181]
Slovakia	Visa not required[180]	90 days	90 days within any 180 day period in the Schengen Area[Note 1][15][16]
Slovenia	Visa not required[182]	90 days	90 days within any 180 day period in the Schengen Area[Note 1][15][16]
Solomon Islands	Visa required[183]		Visa on arrival if having pre-arranged visa
Somalia	Visa on arrival[184]	30 days	Available at Bosaso Airport, Galcaio Airport and Mogadishu Airport.
South Africa	Visa required[185]
South Sudan	Electronic Visa[186]		Obtainable online[187] Printed visa authorization must be presented at the time of travel[187]
Spain	Visa not required[188]	90 days	90 days within any 180 day period in the Schengen Area[Note 1][15][16]
Sri Lanka	eVisa / Visa on arrival[189]	30 days
Sudan	Visa required[190]
Suriname	eVisa[191]
Sweden	Visa not required[182]	90 days	90 days within any 180 day period in the Schengen Area[Note 1][15][16]
Switzerland	Visa not required[192]	90 days	90 days within any 180 day period in the Schengen Area[Note 1][15][16]
Syria	Visa required		According to the Law No. 2 of 2014 all visitors require visas prior to arrival.[193][194][195] According to the IATA database, visa may be obtained on arrival and is valid for 15 days.[196]
Tajikistan	Visa not required[197]
Tanzania	eVisa / Visa on arrival[198][199]	3 months
Thailand	Visa required[200]
Timor-Leste	Visa on arrival[201]	30 days
Tonga	Visa required[202]
Togo	Visa on arrival[203]	7 days
Trinidad and Tobago	Visa required[204]
Tunisia	Visa not required[205][206]	3 months
Turkey	Visa not required[207]	90 days	ID card valid[208] 90 days within any 180 day period[209]
Turkmenistan	Visa required[210]
Tuvalu	Visa on arrival[211]	1 month
Uganda	eVisa / Visa on arrival[212]	3 months	May apply online.[213] Can also be entered on an East Africa Tourist Visa issued by Kenya or Rwanda.[105]
Ukraine	Visa not required[214]	90 days	90 days within any 180-day period
United Arab Emirates	Visa required[215]
United Kingdom	Visa required[216]
United States	Visa required[217]
Uruguay	Visa required[218]
Uzbekistan	Visa not required[219]
Vanuatu	Visa required[220]
Vatican City	Visa not required[221]
Venezuela	Visa required[222]
Vietnam	eVisa[223]	30 days
Yemen	Visa required[224]
Zambia	eVisa / Visa on arrival[225]	90 days
Zimbabwe	eVisa / Visa on arrival[226]	3 months

Territories and disputed areas[]

Visa requirements for Moldovan citizens for visits to various territories, disputed areas, partially recognized countries and restricted zones:

Europe
Visitor to	Visa requirement	Notes (excluding departure fees)
Abkhazia	Visa not required[227]
Mount Athos	Special permit required	Special permit required (4 days: 25 euro for Orthodox visitors, 35 euro for non-Orthodox visitors, 18 euro for students). There is a visitors' quota: maximum 100 Orthodox and 10 non-Orthodox per day and women are not allowed.[228][229]
Republic of Crimea	Visa not required	De facto visa policy of Russia is applied.[230]
Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus	Visa not required	3 months[231][232]
UN Buffer Zone in Cyprus	Access Permit required[233]	Access Permit is required for travelling inside the zone, except Civil Use Areas.
Faroe Islands	Visa not required[234]
Gibraltar	Visa required[235]
Guernsey	Visa required[236]
Isle of Man	Visa required[237]
Jan Mayen	Permit required	Permit issued by the local police required for staying for less than 24 hours[238] and permit issued by the Norwegian police for staying for more than 24 hours.[239]
Jersey	Visa required[240]
Kosovo	Visa required[241]
Nagorno-Karabakh Republic	Visa not required[242][243]
Russia	Special authorization required	Several closed cities and regions in Russia require special authorization.[244]
South Ossetia	Visa not required	Multiple entry visa to Russia and three-day prior notification are required to enter South Ossetia.[245][246]
Africa
Visitor to	Visa requirement	Notes (excluding departure fees)
British Indian Ocean Territory	Special permit required	Special permit required.[247]
Eritrea outside Asmara	Travel permit required	To travel in the rest of the country, a Travel Permit for Foreigners is required (20 Eritrean nakfa).[248]
Mayotte	Visa not required[249]	90 days within 180 days
Réunion	Visa not required[249]	90 days within 180 days
Ascension Island	eVisa[250][251]	3 months within any year period
Saint Helena	eVisa[252][253]
Tristan da Cunha	Permission required	Permission to land required for 15/30 pounds sterling (yacht/ship passenger) for Tristan da Cunha Island or 20 pounds sterling for Gough Island, Inaccessible Island or Nightingale Islands.[254]
Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic		Undefined visa regime in the Western Sahara controlled territory.
Somaliland	Visa on arrival	30 days for 30 US dollars, payable on arrival.[255][256]
Sudan	Travel permit required	All foreigners traveling more than 25 kilometers outside of Khartoum must obtain a travel permit.
Darfur	Travel permit required	Separate travel permit is required.[257]
Asia
Visitor to	Visa requirement	Notes (excluding departure fees)
Hong Kong	Visa required[258]
India PAP/RAP	PAP/RAP required	Protected Area Permit (PAP) required for whole states of Nagaland and Sikkim and parts of states Manipur, Arunachal Pradesh, Uttaranchal, Jammu and Kashmir, Rajasthan, Himachal Pradesh. Restricted Area Permit (RAP) required for all of Andaman and Nicobar Islands and parts of Sikkim. Some of these requirements are occasionally lifted for a year.[259][260][261][262][263][264]
Kazakhstan	Special permission required	Special permission required for the town of Baikonur and surrounding areas in Kyzylorda Oblast, and the town of Gvardeyskiy near Almaty.[265]
Kish Island	Visa not required	Visitors to Kish Island do not require a visa.[266]
Macao	Visa not required[267]	90 days
Maldives	Permission required	With the exception of the capital Malé, tourists are generally prohibited from visiting non-resort islands without the express permission of the Government of Maldives.[268]
North Korea outside Pyongyang	Special permit required	People are not allowed to leave the capital city, tourists can only leave the capital with a governmental tourist guide (no independent moving)
Palestine	Visa not required[269]	Arrival by sea to Gaza Strip not allowed.[270]
Taiwan	Visa required[271]
Gorno-Badakhshan Autonomous Province	OIVR permit required	OIVR permit required (15+5 Tajikistani Somoni) and another special permit (free of charge) is required for Lake Sarez.[272][273][274]
Tibet Autonomous Region	TTP required	Tibet Travel Permit required (10 US Dollars).[275][276][277]
Turkmenistan	Special permit required	A special permit, issued prior to arrival by Ministry of Foreign Affairs, is required if visiting the following places: Atamurat, Cheleken, Dashoguz, Serakhs and Serhetabat.[278]
Korean Demilitarized Zone	Restricted zone.
UNDOF Zone and Ghajar	Restricted zone.
Yemen	Special permission required	Special permission needed for travel outside Sana’a or Aden.[279]
Caribbean and North Atlantic
Visitor to	Visa requirement	Notes (excluding departure fees)f
Anguilla	Visa required[280]
Aruba	Visa not required[281][282]	30 days
Bermuda	Visa required[283]
Bonaire, St. Eustatius and Saba	Visa not required[284][285]	90 days
British Virgin Islands	Visa required[286]
Cayman Islands	Visa required[287]
Curacao	Visa not required[288]	90 days
French Guiana	Visa not required[249]	90 days within 180 days
French West Indies	Visa not required[249]	French West Indies refers to Martinique, Guadeloupe, Saint Martin and Saint Barthélemy.
Greenland	Visa not required[234]
Montserrat	Electronic visa[289]
Puerto Rico	Visa required[290]
Saint Pierre and Miquelon	Visa not required[249]	90 days within 180 days
Sint Maarten	Visa not required[291][292]	90 days
Turks and Caicos Islands	Visa required[293]
U.S. Virgin Islands	Visa required[294]
Oceania
Visitor to	Visa requirement	Notes (excluding departure fees)
American Samoa	Entry permit required[295]
Ashmore and Cartier Islands	Special authorisation required	Special authorisation required.[296]
Cook Islands	Visa not required[297]	31 days
Lau Province	Special permission required	Special permission required.[298]
French Polynesia	Visa not required[249]	90 days within 180 days
Guam	Visa required[299]
New Caledonia	Visa required[300]
Niue	Visa on arrival[301]	30 days
Northern Mariana Islands	Visa required[302]
Pitcairn Islands	Visa not required	14 days visa free and landing fee 35 USD or tax of 5 USD if not going ashore.[303][304][305]
Tokelau	Entry permit required[306]
United States Minor Outlying Islands	Special permits required	Special permits required for Baker Island, Howland Island, Jarvis Island, Johnston Atoll, Kingman Reef, Midway Atoll, Palmyra Atoll and Wake Island.[307][308][309][310][311][312][313]
Wallis and Futuna	Visa required[314]
South Atlantic
Visitor to	Visa requirement	Notes (excluding departure fees)
Falkland Islands	Visa required[315]
South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands	Permit required	Pre-arrival permit from the Commissioner required (72 hours/1 month for 110/160 pounds sterling).[316][317]
Antarctica		Special permits required for  British Antarctic Territory,  French Southern and Antarctic Lands,  Argentine Antarctica, Australian Antarctic Territory, Chilean Antarctic Territory, Heard Island and McDonald Islands, Peter I Island, Queen Maud Land, Ross Dependency.[318][319][320][321][322][323][324][325][326][327][328][329]

• Visas for Cambodia, Myanmar, Rwanda, São Tomé and Príncipe, Senegal, Sri Lanka and Turkey are obtainable online.^{[330][331][332][333][334][335][336][337]}

Non-visa restrictions[]

Moldovan passports are recognized by all countries of the world. However, in some rare cases, Moldovan citizens may be refused entry.

Blank passport pages[]

Many countries require a minimum number of blank pages to be available in the passport being presented, typically one or two pages.^[338] Endorsement pages, which often appear after the visa pages, are not counted as being available.

Vaccination[]

An International Certificate of Vaccination or Prophylaxis is required to prove that someone has been vaccinated against yellow fever

Many African countries, including Benin, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Republic of the Congo, Côte d'Ivoire, Gabon, Guinea-Bissau, Kenya, Liberia, Niger, Rwanda, Sierra Leone and Togo, require all incoming passengers older than nine months to one year^[339] to have a current International Certificate of Vaccination or Prophylaxis, as does the South American territory of French Guiana.^[340]

Some other countries require vaccination only if the passenger is coming from an infected area or has visited one recently or has transited for 12 hours in those countries: Algeria, Botswana, Cabo Verde, Chad, Djibouti, Egypt, Ethiopia, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Lesotho, Libya, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Madagascar, Malawi, Mauritania, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, Nigeria, Papua New Guinea, Seychelles, Somalia, South Africa, Sudan, Swaziland, Tunisia, Uganda, United Republic of Tanzania, Zambia and Zimbabwe.^[341][342]

An increasing number of countries have been imposing additional COVID-19 related health restrictions such as quarantine measures and testing requirements. Many countries increasingly consider the vaccination status of travellers with regard to quarantine requirements or when deciding to allow them entry at all.^[343] This is justified by research that shows that the efficacy of the Pfizer vaccine lasts for six months or so.^[344]

Passport validity length[]

In the absence of specific bilateral agreements, countries requiring passports to be valid for at least 6 more months on arrival include Afghanistan, Algeria, Anguilla, Bahrain,^[345] Bhutan, Botswana, British Virgin Islands, Brunei, Cambodia, Cameroon, Cape Verde, Cayman Islands, Central African Republic, Chad, Comoros, Costa Rica, Côte d'Ivoire, Curaçao, Ecuador, Egypt, El Salvador, Equatorial Guinea, Fiji, Gabon, Guinea Bissau, Guyana, Haiti, India, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Israel,^[346] Jordan, Kenya, Kiribati, Kuwait, Laos, Madagascar, Malaysia, Marshall Islands, Mongolia, Myanmar, Namibia, Nepal, Nicaragua, Nigeria, Oman, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Peru.^[347] Philippines,^[348] Qatar, Rwanda, Samoa, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, Solomon Islands, Somalia, Sri Lanka, Sudan, Suriname, Tanzania, Thailand, Timor-Leste, Tokelau, Tonga, Turkey, Tuvalu, Uganda, United Arab Emirates, Vanuatu, Venezuela, and Vietnam.^[349]

Countries requiring passports valid for at least 4 months on arrival include Micronesia and Zambia.

Countries requiring passports with a validity of at least 3 months beyond the date of intended departure include Azerbaijan, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, Nauru, Moldova and New Zealand. Similarly, the EEA countries of Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, all European Union countries (except the Republic of Ireland) together with Switzerland also require 3 months validity beyond the date of the bearer's intended departure unless the bearer is an EEA or Swiss national.

Countries requiring passports valid for at least 3 months on arrival include Albania, Honduras, North Macedonia, Panama, and Senegal.

Bermuda requires passports to be valid for at least 45 days upon entry.

Countries that require a passport validity of at least one month beyond the date of intended departure include Eritrea, Hong Kong, Lebanon, Macau, the Maldives^[350] and South Africa.

Other countries, such as Japan,^[351] Ireland and the United Kingdom,^[352] require a passport valid throughout the period of the intended stay.

A very few countries, such as Paraguay, just require a passport valid on arrival.

Some countries have bilateral agreements with other countries to shorten the period of passport validity required for each other's citizens^[353][354] or even accept passports that have already expired (but not been cancelled).^[355]

Criminal record[]

Some countries, including Australia, Canada, Fiji, New Zealand and the United States,^[356] routinely deny entry to non-citizens who have a criminal record while others impose restrictions depending on the type of conviction and the length of the sentence.

Persona non grata[]

The government of a country can declare a diplomat persona non grata, banning their entry into that country. In non-diplomatic use, the authorities of a country may also declare a foreigner persona non grata permanently or temporarily, usually because of unlawful activity.^[357]

Israeli stamps[]

Israeli border control Entry Permit (issued as a stand-alone document rather than a stamp affixed in a passport)

Kuwait,^[358] Lebanon,^[359] Libya,^[360] Syria,^[361] and Yemen^[362] do not allow entry to people with passport stamps from Israel or whose passports have either a used or an unused Israeli visa, or where there is evidence of previous travel to Israel such as entry or exit stamps from neighbouring border posts in transit countries such as Jordan and Egypt.

To circumvent this Arab League boycott of Israel, the Israeli immigration services have now mostly ceased to stamp foreign nationals' passports on either entry to or exit from Israel (unless the entry is for some work-related purposes). Since 15 January 2013, Israel no longer stamps foreign passports at Ben Gurion Airport. Passports are still (as of 22 June 2017) stamped at Erez when passing into and out of Gaza.^{[citation needed]}

Iran refuses admission to holders of passports containing an Israeli visa or stamp that is less than 12 months old.

Armenian ethnicity[]

Entry Permit to Nagorno-Karabakh issued in Yerevan as a stand-alone document rather than a visa affixed in a passport

Due to a state of war existing between Armenia and Azerbaijan,^{[363][364][365]} Armenian citizens and other foreign nationals of Armenian descent are likely to encounter difficulties when attempting to enter the Republic of Azerbaijan.^{[366][367][368]}

Azerbaijan bans visits by foreign citizens to the separatist region of Nagorno-Karabakh^[368] (the de facto independent Republic of Artsakh), its surrounding territories, and the Azerbaijani exclaves of Karki, Yuxarı Əskipara, Barxudarlı, and Sofulu which are de jure part of Azerbaijan but under the control of Armenia, without the prior consent of the government of Azerbaijan. Foreign citizens who enter these territories will be permanently banned from entering the Republic of Azerbaijan^[369] and will be included in their "list of personae non gratae".^[370] As of 2 September 2019, the list mentioned 852 people.

Biometrics[]

A fingerprint scanner at Dulles International Airport collects biometric data on visitors, which can be used for confirming identities.

Several countries mandate that all travellers, or all foreign travellers, be fingerprinted on arrival and will refuse admission to or even arrest travellers who refuse to comply. In some countries, such as the United States, this may apply even to transit passengers who merely wish to quickly change planes rather than go landside.^[371]

Fingerprinting countries include Afghanistan,^[372][373] Argentina,^[374] Brunei, Cambodia,^[375] China,^[376] Ethiopia,^[377] Ghana, Guinea,^[378] India, Japan,^[379][380] Kenya (both fingerprints and a photo are taken),^[381] Malaysia upon entry and departure ^[382], Mongolia, Paraguay, Saudi Arabia,^[383] Singapore, South Korea,^[384] Taiwan, Thailand,^[385] Uganda,^[386] the United Arab Emirates and the United States.

Many countries also require a photo be taken of people entering the country. The United States, which does not fully implement exit control formalities at its land frontiers (although long mandated by domestic legislation),^{[387][388][389]} intends to implement facial recognition for passengers departing from international airports to identify people who overstay their visa.^[390]

Together with fingerprint and face recognition, iris scanning is one of three biometric identification technologies internationally standardised since 2006 by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) for use in e-passports^[391] and the United Arab Emirates conducts iris scanning on visitors who need to apply for a visa.^[392][393] The United States Department of Homeland Security has announced plans to greatly increase the biometric data it collects at US borders.^[394] In 2018, Singapore began trials of iris scanning at three land and maritime immigration checkpoints.^[395][396]

Fingerprinting[]

Several countries including Argentina, Cambodia, Japan, Malaysia, Saudi Arabia, South Korea and the United States demand all passengers to be fingerprinted on arrival.^{[397][398][399][400][401][402][403]}

See also[]

• Visa policy of Moldova
• Moldovan passport

References and Notes[]

References

Notes