How we verify immigration information

Source order

1. Issuing immigration department or official application portal.
2. Legislation, regulations, ministerial guidance or another government publication.
3. Other primary public authorities responsible for the rule.
4. Secondary material only for explanation or context when a primary source does not answer the point.

Important figures should link to the specific official page that supports them, not merely a government homepage. A source link is evidence to inspect, not a guarantee that our summary is error-free.

What our dates mean

Last reviewed

The page narrative was editorially reviewed on that date.

Last checked

The named dataset or figure block was checked against its cited sources on that date.

Automated source check

A machine check found a source available or matched a configured value. It never changes an editorial review date and must not be read as a human verification.

Deployment and build dates are not content-review dates. When no valid review date exists, we omit the claim rather than substituting today’s date.

Exact rules, estimates and interpretation

• Official requirement: attributed directly to the responsible authority.
• Typical or indicative range: useful for planning, but not a guaranteed service standard.
• Estimate: a stated assumption or calculation made by Visa Atlas.
• Historical figure: retained to explain a recorded change, not presented as the current rule.
• Editorial explanation: our plain-language interpretation, which remains subordinate to the source.

Maintenance and corrections

Fast-moving processing times and financial requirements are monitored more frequently than stable background explanations. If a record exceeds its maintenance window, the public page should warn readers to confirm the figure rather than implying it is current.

Found a mismatch? Send the page, disputed wording and official source through our corrections process. Read the separate editorial standards and review labels.