When cleared for visual approach while descending via STAR , am I free to exit STAR and descent to pattern altitude despite the restrictions on the STAR?
Hello, I am not sure what you mean… You may be cleared for visual approach only with the runway in sight (or preceding traffic in sight in the USA I suppose). For sure you may break whatever approach you were flying and proceed visually from the point where you were cleared to do so, ofc according to the local specifications.
Not entireley true, you can be cleared for a visual approach in some places up to 30nm out as long as you can maintain visual reference to the ground/water, that is you wont become IMC at any point along the way.
I cant speak on behalf of all the global regulations, at least where I ATC, you are required to remain on your previous track untill 5nm of the aerodrome, and then join the circuit as instructed.
If you are on a STAR you must continue on that STAR till you get close enough to join the circuit.
It is also the pilots responsability now to make sure they descend and remain inside Controlled Airspace, and dont fly into the ground!!
Generally you will be given an instruction like “Cancel STAR” this means you no longer have to follow the STAR.
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A great example of something that should have been immediately clarified with the controller that issued the instruction, rather than bringing it to the forum
Local regulations vary widely and you won’t get a black and white answer. Especially when you don’t even mentioned the airport this was at/what controller issued the instruction
That sounds like a “Contact Approach” where I come from.
Quick summary of the differences between Visual and Contact approaches for (at least) the US:
A Contact Approach is a pilot-requested IFR maneuver requiring 1 SM visibility & clear of clouds, where the pilot navigates visually to the airport using ground references (roads, landmarks) and assumes terrain/traffic separation responsibility, relying on an underlying instrument procedure.
A Visual Approach (VAP) is an ATC-cleared procedure (or pilot-requested) in better VFR conditions (typically 1000 ft ceiling, 3 SM visibility), where ATC provides separation and the pilot must keep the airport or preceding aircraft in sight**
Key differences are pilot responsibility (Contact: terrain/traffic; Visual: ATC separation) and required conditions (Contact: 1 SM / Clear; Visual: 1000 ft / 3 SM / Clear).
Contact Approach
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Initiation: Must be requested by the pilot.
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Weather: Ground visibility ≥ 1 statute mile, remain clear of clouds, reasonable expectation to continue.
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Navigation: Pilot uses visual ground references (roads, landmarks) to navigate to the airport.
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Responsibility: Pilot is responsible for terrain and traffic separation.
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Fallback: Requires an underlying operational instrument approach procedure (IAP) as a backup.
Visual Approach (VAP)
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Initiation: Can be assigned by ATC or requested by the pilot.
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Weather: Typically 1000 ft ceiling and 3 statute miles visibility, remain clear of clouds.
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Navigation: Pilot flies visually to the airport.
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Responsibility: ATC provides separation (traffic/terrain).
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Requirement: Pilot must have the airport or preceding aircraft in sight.
Key Distinctions
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Pilot vs. ATC Control:
Contact is pilot-driven (pilot sees ground); Visual is ATC-driven (pilot can see airport and/or traffic).
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Weather Threshold:
Contact uses lower weather minima but demands pilot navigation; Visual uses higher VFR minimums
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Purpose:
Contact is for IFR flight in marginal conditions where the airport isn’t clearly visible but ground references exist; Visual is for IFR flight in better VMC conditions where the airport is visible and a normal visual approach may be conducted in better weather.
I suppose that further highlights the differences between US and UK phraseology. In the UK, and perhaps in ICAO generally, “contact approach” is used by ATC to instruct the pilot to change to the Approach frequency.
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So glad Don is part of the BoG and we know he is an actual person, otherwise I would have had high suspicions that it was a bot posting that message
LOL, well, to be honest, I did Google it – I figured it’d be faster than I could type. I did edit the initial result a little, though. 
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Maybe yes, maybe no. Difference between an instruction and a thing. The thing would be “a contact approach”. The instruction, at least in the US, would have a little more meat on the bones, e.g., “Contact Boston Approach on 124.4”.
In the UK also, the frequency is included. My point actually was that in the UK there is no such “thing” as a contact approach. I assume that “contact” in the US is shorthhand for “in visual contact with the ground.”
Yes, indeed.
And, just my perception, but it is rarely, rarely used in the US. I’ve requested them only a few times in my 33 years of instrument flying, and I swear the controllers stop dead in their tracks for a second, then start sweating a tiny, tiny bit as they desperately try to remember what the heck it is and what phraseology they are supposed to use. Kinda fun to listen to, unless you’re the pilot on the other end of the radio, trying to use that lovely surgical scalpel of a tool and your entire surgical team looks and sounds like a deer in the headlights… 
Gotta have fun (as if flying IMC in a light single in a snowstorm wasn’t enough fun…)
In the US, being cleared for a visual approach negates any restrictions of any procedure you were on, unless you’re specifically told to honor one. If a controller intended you to fly any portion of the STAR before doing your own thing, the clearance would be “at ABCDE, cleared visual approach rwy xx”. In other words, the point at which you were cut loose from a previous procedure would be explicitly stated. If it’s not, and you’re just cleared for a visual approach with no other details, you are immediately free to maneuver as you wish and control your speed as you wish.
In the airline world, there are a lot of places where, because of terrain, most companies require you to fly the published lateral and vertical track of an approach procedure at night. You can still accept a visual approach, but company policy mandates you still fly the procedure as published. Naturally this is not a bad practice for private operators as well, but not required; “cleared for the visual” means maneuver however you want.