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Many countries issue tourist visas as full-page stickers in passports. For example, Canada, USA, Brazil, ... Therefore their visa requirements often state that the applicant is required to have at least one blank page in the passport.

I still have a plenty of space in my passport for stamps, but almost no blank pages as many pages contain only one stamp, so there is not much space for new "sticker visas".

Is it possible to get a visa sticker as a separate document rather than affixed in the passport? I don't have a particular country in mind, this is more a general question. Also, the question is about tourist visas.

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    General answer - No
    – user13044
    Dec 1, 2015 at 11:15
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    The Biometric Residence Permit is a plastic card to be carried in the holder's wallet or such. These are issued only to people on the economic side and not to visitors.
    – Gayot Fow
    Dec 1, 2015 at 11:18
  • Related travel.stackexchange.com/questions/2939/…
    – Kate Gregory
    Dec 1, 2015 at 12:40
  • Some countries passports become invalid when there are no more blank pages in them.
    – DJClayworth
    Dec 1, 2015 at 14:30
  • Placing a visa in your passport is generally considered a security feature to help prevent misuse, especially by countries that don't collect biometrics when issuing visa.
    – Zach Lipton
    Dec 1, 2015 at 20:14

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For regular visitor visas, that's usually not possible, at least not because it would be convenient to you. Most consulates will require a passport with one or more blank pages or reject the application.

There are however a few cases in which you can enter a country with a loose document in lieu of a visa sticker:

  • Residence permits, e.g. when they are issued as plastic cards with a passport photo.

  • When the authorities refuse to put the sticker in the passport to make a point (e.g. I know it was – maybe still is – the case for passports from the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, in a handful of countries that did accept them in practice, without recognising the legitimacy of the country itself.) As an example, article 29 of the Schengen Visa code explicitly mentions this possibility.

  • Special documents like the receipt for a renewal of a residence permit in France (together with the expired residence permit itself).

The only country I know that did routinely offer a loose-leaf visa on request for the convenience of the traveller is Israel (there is a dozen or so countries that refuse entry to people with an Israeli stamp or visa in their passport).

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    The US can place the visa on a separate paper when the traveler does not have a passport, or the passport is issued by North Korea, or the passport has no blank pages. But they do not do it on request.
    – Michael Hampton
    Dec 1, 2015 at 11:51
  • @MichaelHampton So no blank pages is actually enough in this case, might be worth posting that as an answer.
    – Relaxed
    Dec 1, 2015 at 12:16
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    I believe Cuba would also do the stamp on blank paper for US passport holders worried about issues on returning to the States.
    – Kate Gregory
    Dec 1, 2015 at 12:39
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Several countries offer loose-leaf entry Permits (aka e-visas), such as India and Azerbaijan, though you'd still get entry/Exit stamps in the passport

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