Do you need a visa? Check the official sources.
Visa and entry rules depend on your nationality, your destination, and your dates — and they change. We deliberately don't keep our own visa database, because a wrong answer here could cost you a flight. Instead, here are the authorities who own the rules, plus the one insurance requirement that trips up Schengen travellers.
IATA Travel Centre
Personalised passport, visa and health requirements by nationality and route — the database virtually every airline uses to decide whether to board you.
Open official source →Your government’s official travel advice
Your own foreign ministry publishes entry rules and advisories for citizens. Examples: travel.state.gov (US) and gov.uk foreign travel advice (UK). Find your country’s equivalent.
Open official source → UK version →EU — Applying for a Schengen visa
The official explainer on who needs a short-stay Schengen visa, what it covers, and how to apply. All 29 Schengen countries share the same rules.
Open official source →EU — 90/180-day short-stay calculator
The official tool for checking the 90-days-in-any-180 limit for visa-free and short-stay visits to the Schengen area.
Open official source →Why we don't keep our own visa database
Visa rules are a textbook "your money or your life" topic: get them wrong and you miss a flight, lose a holiday, or get turned away at the border. They also change often and vary by passport. A small site keeping its own copy of the world's entry rules is a liability — it goes stale quietly, and you'd never know which line was last checked. So we don't. We send you straight to the authorities who own the rules, and we're honest that they, not us, are the final word.
The Schengen insurance requirement (the one people miss)
If you're applying for a short-stay Schengen visa, travel medical insurance isn't optional. Under EU Regulation (EC) No 810/2009 — the Visa Code — you must hold cover of at least €30,000 for emergency medical treatment, hospitalisation, and repatriation, valid across all Schengen countries for your entire stay. Apply without it and the visa can be refused. We link the regulation itself rather than restate a number that could change — and our travel insurance checker shows what a compliant policy needs to include (and what common policies quietly exclude).
"Visa-free" still isn't "no paperwork"
Even where you don't need a visa, you may still need a passport with enough validity remaining, an onward or return ticket, proof of funds, or a paid travel authorisation — the EU's upcoming ETIAS, the US ESTA, or the UK ETA, for example. Visa-free means no visa sticker, not no requirements. Check the official source for your route so a missing authorisation doesn't surprise you at the gate.
Visa questions, answered
Do I need a visa for my trip?
It depends entirely on your nationality, your destination, and how long you’re staying — and the rules change. We deliberately don’t keep our own visa database, because a stale or wrong answer here could mean a denied boarding or a refused entry. Check one of the official sources above for your exact passport and destination; the IATA Travel Centre is the same data airlines use to decide whether to let you board.
Does a Schengen visa require travel insurance?
Yes. Under EU Regulation (EC) No 810/2009 (the Visa Code), short-stay Schengen visa applicants must hold travel medical insurance with a minimum of €30,000 cover for emergency medical treatment, hospitalisation, and repatriation, valid across all Schengen countries for the whole stay. We link the law itself rather than restate a figure that can change. Our insurance checker helps you see what a compliant policy needs to include.
Is visa-free the same as no requirements?
No. Many "visa-free" arrangements still require a valid passport with months of validity left, an onward or return ticket, proof of funds, or a paid electronic authorisation (such as the EU’s upcoming ETIAS, the US ESTA, or the UK ETA). Visa-free means no visa sticker — not no paperwork. The official sources spell out what your specific trip needs.
Why don’t you just tell me the rules here?
Because visa and entry rules are genuinely a "your money or your life" topic: getting them wrong costs you a flight, a holiday, or worse. They also change often and vary by passport. The responsible thing for a small site is not to keep a copy that can silently go out of date, but to point you straight at the authorities who own the rules — and to be honest that they, not us, are the final word.
Once you've checked the official rules
The requirement most travellers forget until the last minute is insurance — and for a Schengen visa it's mandatory. See what your destination needs, and what skiing, diving, or pre-existing conditions get excluded, with our travel insurance checker. Planning the rest of the trip? Estimate costs with the budget calculator or, for a long stay, weigh a work-exchange. We link official sources for accuracy and never rank by commission — see our methodology and affiliate disclosure.
Last reviewed . Voygoing does not maintain its own visa-rule database. Entry requirements change and depend on your nationality — always confirm with the official sources linked above, which are the authoritative and final word.