visa (from the Latin charta visa, lit. "paper that has been seen") is an indication that a person is authorized to enter the territory for which it was "issued", subject to permission of an immigration official at the time of actual entry. The authorization may be a document, but more commonly it is a stamp endorsed in the applicant's passport. Some countries do not require a visa in some situations, such as a result of reciprocal treaty arrangements. The country issuing the visa typically attaches various conditions to the visa, such as the territory covered by the visa, the time that the visa is valid, the period that the person may stay in the country, whether the visa is valid for more than one visit, etc.
