The Guardian
BriefingNine EU countries delay full EES biometric border checks
France, Greece, Portugal, Italy and others keep flexibility after the 6 September deadline, citing airport congestion while EES rolls out.
2026-09-14Open article
Passport Atlas
Travel, immigration and PR handbooks
Pick a destination by travel, immigration or PR. Each handbook says who it is for, how popular passports enter, and links through to visa explainers, policy playbooks and paperwork tools.
By purpose
Travel · 12
Thailand
TH · #59 · Travel
Thailand is one of the most-searched travel handbooks here: visa exemption has lengthened, while long stays run through Elite, LTR and DTV rather than a classic skilled-migration grid.
Japan
JP · #144 · Travel / Immigration
Japan splits tourism, work and PR: a temporary visitor cannot switch to work in-country, but Highly Skilled Professional points can cut PR from ten years to one–three.
South Korea
KR · #60 · Travel / Immigration
Korea uses K-ETA for visa-free visitors and points plus D-class visas for people who stay. F-5 PR and nationality are a separate bar.
United Arab Emirates
AE · #88 · Travel / Permanent residence
The UAE uses visa-free or on-arrival entry for visits, and Golden Visas plus remote-work permits for long stays. Citizenship is largely closed.
Singapore
SG · #32 · Travel / Immigration / Permanent residence
Singapore splits tourism, work passes and PR. An Employment Pass or S Pass does not guarantee PR, and PR is not citizenship.
France
FR · #101 · Travel / Immigration
France layers Schengen tourism, the VLS-TS long-stay visa and the Talent Passport. PR and nationality follow years and assimilation — not a passport-for-investment product.
Italy
IT · #106 · Travel
Italy is searched more for travel than immigration: decreto flussi work quotas are tight, while elective residence and the digital-nomad visa serve a smaller long-stay set.
Spain
ES · #99 · Travel / Permanent residence
Spain is a southern Schengen gateway and a frequent search for digital-nomad visas and faster Latin-American naturalisation. Golden-visa routes have tightened.
Australia
AU · #163 · Travel / Immigration / Permanent residence
Australia is a travel, skilled-migration and PR hotspot here: ETA / eVisitor for short stays, 189 / 190 / 491 for invitations, then PR and citizenship as separate steps.
New Zealand
NZ · #157 · Travel / Immigration / Permanent residence
New Zealand uses NZeTA for visa-free visitors, a skills-shortage list and Accredited Employer work visas for jobs, then a resident visa and a permanent travel condition as two steps.
United Kingdom
GB · #131 · Travel / Immigration
Post-Brexit Britain uses ETA for visa-free visitors, a points-based work route for jobs, and ILR for settlement. A six-month visit cannot be switched to work.
United States
US · #162 · Travel / Immigration
The United States splits ESTA visa-waiver travel, non-immigrant B / H / L / F status and immigrant green cards. Overstaying a visit can poison later immigrant filings.
Immigration · 12
Canada
CA · #161 · Immigration / Permanent residence
Canada is the textbook points destination in this atlas: temporary and permanent residence are separate filings, and Express Entry CRS cut-offs move every year.
Australia
AU · #163 · Travel / Immigration / Permanent residence
Australia is a travel, skilled-migration and PR hotspot here: ETA / eVisitor for short stays, 189 / 190 / 491 for invitations, then PR and citizenship as separate steps.
Germany
DE · #96 · Immigration / Permanent residence
Germany is the EU Blue Card and Opportunity Card hub: Schengen for short stays, Blue Card or §18 residence for work, and settlement faster than the usual EU five years.
United Kingdom
GB · #131 · Travel / Immigration
Post-Brexit Britain uses ETA for visa-free visitors, a points-based work route for jobs, and ILR for settlement. A six-month visit cannot be switched to work.
United States
US · #162 · Travel / Immigration
The United States splits ESTA visa-waiver travel, non-immigrant B / H / L / F status and immigrant green cards. Overstaying a visit can poison later immigrant filings.
New Zealand
NZ · #157 · Travel / Immigration / Permanent residence
New Zealand uses NZeTA for visa-free visitors, a skills-shortage list and Accredited Employer work visas for jobs, then a resident visa and a permanent travel condition as two steps.
Singapore
SG · #32 · Travel / Immigration / Permanent residence
Singapore splits tourism, work passes and PR. An Employment Pass or S Pass does not guarantee PR, and PR is not citizenship.
Netherlands
NL · #113 · Immigration / Permanent residence
The Netherlands uses the highly skilled migrant scheme and the 30% ruling for salary-qualified hires, and DAFT as a US founder exception. Short stays remain Schengen.
Ireland
IE · #140 · Immigration / Permanent residence
Ireland is EU but not Schengen: an Irish visitor visa is not a UK ETA. Work is Critical Skills; settlement is Stamp 4.
Japan
JP · #144 · Travel / Immigration
Japan splits tourism, work and PR: a temporary visitor cannot switch to work in-country, but Highly Skilled Professional points can cut PR from ten years to one–three.
South Korea
KR · #60 · Travel / Immigration
Korea uses K-ETA for visa-free visitors and points plus D-class visas for people who stay. F-5 PR and nationality are a separate bar.
France
FR · #101 · Travel / Immigration
France layers Schengen tourism, the VLS-TS long-stay visa and the Talent Passport. PR and nationality follow years and assimilation — not a passport-for-investment product.
Permanent residence · 12
Portugal
PT · #116 · Permanent residence
Portugal is one of the most-searched EU PR/citizenship destinations in Chinese: D7, D8 and the tightened golden visa are three different residences.
Spain
ES · #99 · Travel / Permanent residence
Spain is a southern Schengen gateway and a frequent search for digital-nomad visas and faster Latin-American naturalisation. Golden-visa routes have tightened.
Canada
CA · #161 · Immigration / Permanent residence
Canada is the textbook points destination in this atlas: temporary and permanent residence are separate filings, and Express Entry CRS cut-offs move every year.
Australia
AU · #163 · Travel / Immigration / Permanent residence
Australia is a travel, skilled-migration and PR hotspot here: ETA / eVisitor for short stays, 189 / 190 / 491 for invitations, then PR and citizenship as separate steps.
New Zealand
NZ · #157 · Travel / Immigration / Permanent residence
New Zealand uses NZeTA for visa-free visitors, a skills-shortage list and Accredited Employer work visas for jobs, then a resident visa and a permanent travel condition as two steps.
Germany
DE · #96 · Immigration / Permanent residence
Germany is the EU Blue Card and Opportunity Card hub: Schengen for short stays, Blue Card or §18 residence for work, and settlement faster than the usual EU five years.
Singapore
SG · #32 · Travel / Immigration / Permanent residence
Singapore splits tourism, work passes and PR. An Employment Pass or S Pass does not guarantee PR, and PR is not citizenship.
United Arab Emirates
AE · #88 · Travel / Permanent residence
The UAE uses visa-free or on-arrival entry for visits, and Golden Visas plus remote-work permits for long stays. Citizenship is largely closed.
Hong Kong
HK · #39 · Travel / Permanent residence
Hong Kong is a separate immigration system: short visa-free stays, the Top Talent Pass, Quality Migrant admission and seven-year ordinary residence are different tracks.
Brazil
BR · #72 · Travel / Permanent residence
Brazil is visa-free or eVisa for many passports, with a fast Mercosur residence track. Chinese passports must check whether eVisa has been reinstated.
Ireland
IE · #140 · Immigration / Permanent residence
Ireland is EU but not Schengen: an Irish visitor visa is not a UK ETA. Work is Critical Skills; settlement is Stamp 4.
Netherlands
NL · #113 · Immigration / Permanent residence
The Netherlands uses the highly skilled migrant scheme and the 30% ruling for salary-qualified hires, and DAFT as a US founder exception. Short stays remain Schengen.
Popular destination handbooks
Japan
JP · #144 · Travel / Immigration
Japan splits tourism, work and PR: a temporary visitor cannot switch to work in-country, but Highly Skilled Professional points can cut PR from ten years to one–three.
South Korea
KR · #60 · Travel / Immigration
Korea uses K-ETA for visa-free visitors and points plus D-class visas for people who stay. F-5 PR and nationality are a separate bar.
Singapore
SG · #32 · Travel / Immigration / Permanent residence
Singapore splits tourism, work passes and PR. An Employment Pass or S Pass does not guarantee PR, and PR is not citizenship.
Hong Kong
HK · #39 · Travel / Permanent residence
Hong Kong is a separate immigration system: short visa-free stays, the Top Talent Pass, Quality Migrant admission and seven-year ordinary residence are different tracks.
Taiwan
TW · #145 · Travel / Immigration
Taiwan uses visitor visas or visa-free entry for trips, and work permits, the Employment Gold Card and an ARC to stay. Mainland Chinese residents use a different document set.
China
CN · #136 · Travel
China has widened transit without visa and some unilateral visa-free lists, but work, residence and the Chinese green card remain a strict, separate system.
Thailand
TH · #59 · Travel
Thailand is one of the most-searched travel handbooks here: visa exemption has lengthened, while long stays run through Elite, LTR and DTV rather than a classic skilled-migration grid.
Malaysia
MY · #31 · Travel / Permanent residence
Malaysia is easy to visit. Long stays sit on products such as MM2H and DE Rantau — it is not a points-based skilled-migration state.
United Arab Emirates
AE · #88 · Travel / Permanent residence
The UAE uses visa-free or on-arrival entry for visits, and Golden Visas plus remote-work permits for long stays. Citizenship is largely closed.
United States
US · #162 · Travel / Immigration
The United States splits ESTA visa-waiver travel, non-immigrant B / H / L / F status and immigrant green cards. Overstaying a visit can poison later immigrant filings.
Canada
CA · #161 · Immigration / Permanent residence
Canada is the textbook points destination in this atlas: temporary and permanent residence are separate filings, and Express Entry CRS cut-offs move every year.
United Kingdom
GB · #131 · Travel / Immigration
Post-Brexit Britain uses ETA for visa-free visitors, a points-based work route for jobs, and ILR for settlement. A six-month visit cannot be switched to work.
Germany
DE · #96 · Immigration / Permanent residence
Germany is the EU Blue Card and Opportunity Card hub: Schengen for short stays, Blue Card or §18 residence for work, and settlement faster than the usual EU five years.
France
FR · #101 · Travel / Immigration
France layers Schengen tourism, the VLS-TS long-stay visa and the Talent Passport. PR and nationality follow years and assimilation — not a passport-for-investment product.
Spain
ES · #99 · Travel / Permanent residence
Spain is a southern Schengen gateway and a frequent search for digital-nomad visas and faster Latin-American naturalisation. Golden-visa routes have tightened.
Portugal
PT · #116 · Permanent residence
Portugal is one of the most-searched EU PR/citizenship destinations in Chinese: D7, D8 and the tightened golden visa are three different residences.
Netherlands
NL · #113 · Immigration / Permanent residence
The Netherlands uses the highly skilled migrant scheme and the 30% ruling for salary-qualified hires, and DAFT as a US founder exception. Short stays remain Schengen.
Italy
IT · #106 · Travel
Italy is searched more for travel than immigration: decreto flussi work quotas are tight, while elective residence and the digital-nomad visa serve a smaller long-stay set.
Australia
AU · #163 · Travel / Immigration / Permanent residence
Australia is a travel, skilled-migration and PR hotspot here: ETA / eVisitor for short stays, 189 / 190 / 491 for invitations, then PR and citizenship as separate steps.
New Zealand
NZ · #157 · Travel / Immigration / Permanent residence
New Zealand uses NZeTA for visa-free visitors, a skills-shortage list and Accredited Employer work visas for jobs, then a resident visa and a permanent travel condition as two steps.
Switzerland
CH · #92 · Travel / Immigration
Switzerland is Schengen but not EU: 90/180 for short stays, cantonal-quota B permits to live, and C settlement whose years depend on nationality.
Ireland
IE · #140 · Immigration / Permanent residence
Ireland is EU but not Schengen: an Irish visitor visa is not a UK ETA. Work is Critical Skills; settlement is Stamp 4.
Brazil
BR · #72 · Travel / Permanent residence
Brazil is visa-free or eVisa for many passports, with a fast Mercosur residence track. Chinese passports must check whether eVisa has been reinstated.
Policy pulse
Visas, borders and immigration law
Live feeds
Briefing · 4
Euronews
BriefingEU prepares tighter migration rules after Ceuta arrivals
Commission options include faster returns and, in extreme surges, a temporary pause on asylum processing.
2026-09-14Open article
Biometric Update
BriefingEU lets nine Schengen countries delay full EES biometric checks
France, Germany, Italy and others retain flexibility after the September deadline as kiosks and ferry ports keep failing under load.
2026-09-14Open article
European Commission
BriefingFifth Schengen cycle (2026–27) puts visa strategy and screening first
The EU Visa Strategy (Jan 2026) and the new external-border screening procedure from June 2026 shape this cycle.
2026-03-01Open article
Handbooks summarise public sources so you can cross-check the visa matrix and policy playbooks. They are not legal advice. Quotas, stay lengths and visa-free lists move — confirm with the destination government and its missions before you travel or file.