United States
Palau passportEdit check
Visa-free
Free movement. No limit under this regime.
Entry and stay only. What this covers
Source & evidence Read the original words
Official wording
Any person in the following categories may enter into, lawfully engage in occupations, and establish residence as a nonimmigrant in the United States and its territories and possessions without regard to paragraphs (14), (20), and (26) of section 212(a) of the Immigration and Nationality Act, 8 U.S.C. 1182(a) (14), (20), and (26): (1) a person who, on the day preceding the effective date of this Compact, is a citizen of Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands, as defined in Title 53 of the Trust Territory Code in force on January 1, 1979, and has become a citizen of Palau; (2) a person who acquires the citizenship of Palau, at birth, on
Aevamo’s reading
Section 212.1 is the DHS regulation that imposes the visa-and-passport requirement on each arriving nonimmigrant alien and then enumerates the classes that do not have to present a visa. The VWP list and the 212(f) proclamations operate as exceptions or overlays on that command; they do not replace it.
Section 141 of the Palau Compact is the grant 8 CFR 212.1(d) never recites — that is the fact the controlling regulation cannot contain, because it was never updated to name Palau. The parentheticals (14), (20), and (26) are historic INA 212(a) paragraph numbers, not footnotes.
Source details
How the documents behind this regime are dated
eCFR Title 8 displayed as of 2026-08-18, last amended 2026-08-11; DHS VWP page last updated 2025-05-02; Proclamation 10998 effective 2026-01-01; Palau Compact Pub. L. 99-658 (1986-11-14).
What this answer covers Limits & assumptions
Work and residence rights are separate from this check. This is the entry rule and the length of stay the instrument grants. It is not a decision about you: the officer at the border decides admission, and we do not evaluate the purpose of your trip, your passport's remaining validity, an onward ticket, funds, insurance or health requirements.
Informational planning, not legal or immigration advice. The source is linked so you can check our reading.