Wikipedia almost agrees with you, but the "on a passport" part doesn't connect. >A visa (from the Latin charta visa, meaning "paper that has been seen")[1] is

Wikipedia almost agrees with you, but the "on a passport" part doesn't connect. >A visa (from the Latin charta visa, meaning "paper that has been seen")[1] is a conditional authorization granted by a country to a foreigner, allowing them to enter, remain within, or to leave that country. Why does it matter to you if it goes into the passport or not? If I recall correctly my F1 Visa for the US didn't go into my passport either, but was a separate document.