§ Immigration

Work visa

also called employment visa

A visa that authorizes you to enter a country for the purpose of working there.

Work permitStartup visaTalent visaWork visa
Solid lines are terms people actually mix up with Work visa. The rest sit in the same subject, working for a local employer. Work permit · Startup visa · Talent visa

Right, in plain English

A visa that lets you enter a country for the purpose of working there. In many countries it is only half the story: a separate work permit is what actually authorises the job, and one without the other gets you nowhere. The visa opens the border; the permit unlocks the employment.

Someone arrives on a work visa ready to start a job, then finds they cannot legally clock in until the accompanying work permit is also issued. For weeks they are in the country, allowed to be there for work, but not yet allowed to actually do the work or get paid for it.

Why it matters

A work visa gets you across the border for work, but in many countries a separate work permit is what actually authorizes the employment, and one without the other is useless. Nomads arrive on a work visa and cannot legally start until the permit is also issued.

Not to be confused with

The difference is the whole point, so here is each one in a line.

Working for a local employer · 4 terms

These are the visas and papers for taking a job with a local company, as opposed to earning from abroad.
A work visa gets you in to work, a work permit is the permission to take paid local employment, and a talent visa or startup visa are routes for in-demand skills or founding a business.
In the Philippines the AEP is the labour department's work permit, the ACR I-Card is the biometric foreigner ID that goes with it, and the annual report is the yearly in-person check-in that ID carries.

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