How long is a visa valid for?
Visa validity is the period in which you may travel to a country, from a single trip up to ten years. How long you may stay per entry is a separate limit set on arrival.
Updated
Three periods travellers mix up
Most confusion comes from treating these as one number. They are set by different people at different moments.
| Period | What it controls | Where you find it |
|---|---|---|
| Visa validity | The dates on which you may travel to the country and ask to enter | The valid from and valid until dates on the visa or in your approval |
| Duration of stay per entry | The maximum number of days you may stay on each entry | Printed on the visa, or set by the country's rules for that visa type |
| Permitted stay granted on arrival | The actual date you have to leave after this particular entry | Your entry stamp, or a digital record such as the US Form I-94 |
Two examples worth knowing
US visitor visas. B1/B2 visas are commonly issued for up to ten years for many nationalities, but the visa expiration date is not your permitted stay. Visitors are normally admitted for a maximum of six months, and the officer at the port of entry decides the actual date, which you can check on your Form I-94 record.
Schengen short-stay visas. These cover stays of up to 90 days in any 180-day period across the Schengen area. The validity window can be a single trip or several years, but the 90 in 180 limit still applies within it.
How to check your own dates
Read the visa itself first, then your entry record after each arrival, because that record is what immigration goes by. Your permitted stay can be shorter than the visa suggests.
Terms differ by nationality and change over time, so confirm yours on the official government source for the country you are entering, such as travel.state.gov for the United States. A valid visa is never a promise of entry.
Important: overstaying the date on your entry record can mean fines, removal and a ban on returning, and a visa that is still valid is no defence. Leave by the date the officer gave you.
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Visa validity - FAQ
Yes, until the expiration date printed on it, unless it has been cancelled or revoked. A valid US visa in an expired passport still works: keep it in the old passport and travel with both passports. Overstaying the date on your I-94 record voids the visa automatically, even with years left on it.
Read the expiry date on the visa itself or in your e-visa approval: that is the last day you can use it to travel to the country. It is not how long you may stay, which is set each time you arrive. For the US, check the admit until date on your I-94 record; elsewhere, check your entry stamp or digital entry record.
For visitor visas, about ten years. The US issues B-1/B-2 visitor visas valid for up to ten years to many nationalities, and the UK offers long-term visit visas lasting 2, 5 or 10 years. A long visa still caps each trip: visitors to both countries can usually stay up to six months per visit. Check the official site for your nationality.
Up to 90 days in any 180-day period across the whole Schengen area, as long as your visa is valid on the dates you travel. Days in every Schengen country count toward the same total. A visa valid for several years does not change that limit, and the date on your entry record is the one immigration goes by.