What is advance passenger information (API)?

What does advance passenger information actually do?

Advance passenger information gives a border authority the passenger list and the document details for a flight while the aircraft is still on the ground. The airline takes the data from the booking and the traveller's passport, formats it to the destination state's specification and transmits it before departure, so that officers can compare the manifest with their own records before anyone reaches a desk. The point is both security and speed: risk is identified in advance, and travellers who raise no flag clear faster on arrival.

In the United States, U.S. Customs and Border Protection lists the Advance Passenger Information System (APIS) among its travel resources [1]. The agency says its officers welcome international travellers into the United States almost a million times each day, and that it screens both foreign visitors and returning U.S. citizens using a variety of techniques [1]. An API file therefore covers a whole flight, not only the passengers who needed a visa to board.

At the airline end, Emirates tells passengers that carrying the proper travel documents is their responsibility and asks them to check the entry requirements for their trip before they travel [9]. The carrier's visa and passport section is presented as guidance drawn from the International Air Transport Association (IATA) and is available in English only [9].

Why does a name or document mismatch stop boarding?

The transmitted file has to describe the document the traveller will actually hand over. If the passport number on the booking belongs to a passport that has since been replaced, or the surname on the ticket is spelled differently from the machine-readable zone, the border authority receives a record that cannot be matched to the person standing at the desk — and the airline is holding a boarding pass for a document that does not exist. That is why carriers ask to see the passport itself rather than a typed version of the name, and why the correction has to happen before transmission rather than after.

Where the booking name and the passport disagree, the fix belongs to the airline's name correction process, not to improvisation at the gate. A passport that is too close to expiry, or a document type the destination does not accept, creates the same failure one step earlier; see passport validity and entry checks.

Document type matters as well as document number. Emirates warns that holders of non-standard passports and travel documents may have different entry requirements [9], which can change what the carrier is able to file for that passenger.

How is API different from a PNR and from a travel authorisation?

API versus the passenger name record. The passenger name record (PNR) is the airline's own working file for a booking: itinerary, contacts, fare, seats, service requests. API is a narrow extract of that file — document and flight data — reformatted the way the destination state requires and sent to that state. A PNR can exist for months before anyone types a passport number into it; API only exists once the document details are attached.

API versus a travel authorisation. A travel authorisation is an application made by the traveller and a decision taken by the destination state — the ESTA that Emirates directs US-bound passengers to apply for is one example [9]. API is neither an application nor a decision: it is the carrier reporting who is on board. A traveller can hold a valid authorisation and still be refused on arrival, and can sit on an API file with no authorisation at all, in which case the airline is the party likely to refuse boarding first.

Neither one is a visa. A visa is a permission to seek admission, while API simply tells the border authority who is arriving. The underlying entry requirements are published country by country: the UK Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office keeps separate travel advice for 226 countries and territories, covering entry requirements alongside safety, security, health and legal differences [7].

Exceptions and limits

• Destination law, not airline policy. Each state decides its own data fields, timing and exemptions. Australia's Department of Home Affairs runs its own immigration services online, including ImmiAccount and Visa Entitlement Verification Online (VEVO) [6]. A rule that applies on a flight to one country does not carry across to another.
• Carrier guidance is a guide. Emirates says the visa and passport information it displays reflects the latest information supplied by IATA, may change at short notice, is intended only as a guide and is subject to change, and that travellers should check with the relevant authorities for their destination countries [9].
• Non-standard travel documents. Emirates notes that holders of non-standard passports and travel documents may face different entry requirements [9].
• Not an admission decision. The file is checked before landing, but the decision is taken at the port of entry, where CBP officers screen arriving travellers [1]. Being listed on an API file is not a right to enter.
• Not the only check. CBP also describes advanced biometric facial comparison technology at ports of entry, which it says streamlines and enhances the traveller experience [1]. That is an in-person check at the border and a different step from the data file sent ahead of the flight.

Frequently asked questions

Is advance passenger information the same thing as a visa?

No. API is the carrier's report of who is on the flight, while a visa is a permission granted in advance by the destination state. Emirates keeps its US travel authorisation guidance separate from its general visa and passport information [9].

Does appearing on an API file mean I will be let in?

No. The data is sent before departure so that officers can prepare, but admission is decided at the border, where CBP officers screen arriving travellers [1].

Why must the name on my ticket match my passport?

Because the document details transmitted have to describe the passport actually presented; a different spelling or a superseded passport number breaks that match. Where the booking and the document disagree, the airline's name correction process is the route to a fix.

Who is responsible for checking that I hold the right documents?

Emirates tells passengers that carrying the proper travel documents is their responsibility and asks them to check entry requirements before travelling [9]. Guidance shown by a carrier is a starting point; the destination state's authorities are the reference [9].

Related pages

Terms: passenger name record, electronic travel authorisation, name correction. Guides: passport validity and entry checks. Browse the full glossary of frequent flyer terms.

Sources

Sources checked on 18 October 2026. It draws on material published by U.S. Customs and Border Protection, the Australian Department of Home Affairs, the UK Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office and Emirates. The API requirements of other destination states and other carriers are not covered here.

1. U.S. Customs and Border Protection, Travel, checked 18 October 2026
2. Australian Government Department of Home Affairs, checked 18 October 2026
3. UK Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office, Foreign travel advice, checked 18 October 2026
4. Emirates, Visa and passport information, checked 18 October 2026