Wikipedia

Passport

(Redirected fromDiplomatic passport)
This article is about passports issued by national governments. For travel documents in general (including laissez-passers, identity cards, certificates of identity, and travel documents for animals), seetravel document.For other uses of the term "passport", seePassport (disambiguation).

Apassportis an officialtravel documentissued by a government that certifies a person'sidentityand nationality for international travel.[1]A passport allows its bearer to enter and temporarily reside in a foreign country, access local aid and protection, and obtainconsular assistancefrom their government. In addition to facilitating travel, passports are a key mechanism forborder securityandregulating migration;they may also serve asofficial identificationfor various domestic purposes.

Clockwise, from top left: Dutch ordinary, Nepalese diplomatic, Chinese service, and Polish ordinary passports

State-issued travel documents have existed in some form since antiquity; the modern passport was universally adopted and standardized in 1920.[2]The passport takes the form of a booklet bearing the official name andemblemof the issuing government and containing the biographical information of the individual, including their full name, photograph, place and date of birth, and signature. A passport does not create any rights in the country being visited nor impose any obligation on the issuing country; rather, it provides certification to foreign government officials of the holder's identity and right to travel, with pages available for insertingentry and exit stampsandtravel visas—endorsements that allow the individual to enter and temporarily reside in a country for a period of time and under certain conditions.

Since 1998, many countries have transitioned tobiometric passports,which contain an embeddedmicrochipto facilitateauthenticationand safeguard againstcounterfeiting.[3]As of July 2024, over 150 jurisdictions issue such "e-passports";[4]previously issued non-biometric passports usually remain valid until expiration.

Passport control atDubai International Airport

Eligibility for a passport varies by jurisdiction, althoughcitizenshipis a common prerequisite. However, a passport may be issued to individuals who do not have the status or full rights of citizenship, such asAmericanorBritish nationals.Likewise, certain classes of individuals, such asdiplomatsand government officials, may be issued special passports that provide certain rights and privileges, such asimmunity from arrest or prosecution.[3]

While passports are typically issued by national governments, certain subnational entities are authorised to issue passports tocitizensresiding within their borders.[a]Additionally, othertypes of official documentsmay serve a similar role to passports but are subject to different eligibility requirements, purposes, or restrictions.

History

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Etymology and origin

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Etymologicalsources[example needed]show that the term "passport" may derive from a document required by some medieval Italian states in order for an individual to pass through the physical harbor (Italianpassa porto,"to pass the harbor" ) or gate (Italianpassa porte,"to pass the gates" ) of a walled city or jurisdiction.[5][6]Such documents were issued by local authorities to foreign travellers—as opposed to local citizens, as is the modern practice—and generally contained a list of towns and cities the document holder was permitted to enter or pass through. On the whole, documents were not required for travel to seaports, which were consideredopen trading points,but documents were required to pass harbor controls and travel inland from seaports.[7]The transition from private to state control over movement was an essential aspect of the transition fromfeudalismtocapitalism.Communal obligations to providepoor reliefwere an important source of the desire for controls on movement.[8]:10

Antecedents

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One of the earliest known references to paperwork that served an analogous role to a passport is found in theHebrew Bible.Nehemiah2:7–9, dating from approximately 450 BC, states thatNehemiah,an official serving KingArtaxerxes I of Persia,asked permission to travel toJudea;the king granted leave and gave him a letter "to the governors beyond the river" requesting safe passage for him as he traveled through their lands.[9]

The ancient Indian political textArthashastra(third century BCE) mentions passes issued at the rate of onemashaper pass to enter and exit the country, and describes the duties of theMudrādhyakṣa(lit. 'Superintendent of Seals') who must issue sealed passes before a person could enter or leave the countryside.[10]

Passports were an important part of the Chinese bureaucracy as early as theWestern Han(202 BC – 9 AD), if not in theQin dynasty.They required such details as age, height, and bodily features.[11]These passports (Truyền;zhuan) determined a person's ability to move throughout imperial counties and through points of control. Even children needed passports, but those of one year or less who were in their mother's care may not have needed them.[11]

In the medievalIslamic Caliphate,a form of passport was thebara'a,areceiptfor taxes paid. Only people who paid theirzakah(forMuslims) orjizya(fordhimmis) taxes were permitted to travel to different regions of the Caliphate; thus, thebara'areceipt was a "basic passport".[12]

In the12th century,theRepublic of Genoaissued a document calledBulletta,which was issued to the nationals of the Republic who were traveling to the ports of the emporiums and the ports of the Genoese colonies overseas, as well as to foreigners who entered them.

KingHenry V of Englandis credited with having invented what some consider the first British passport in the modern sense, as a means of helping his subjects prove who they were in foreign lands. The earliest reference to these documents is found in a1414 Act of Parliament.[13][14]In 1540, granting travel documents in England became a role of thePrivy Council of England,and it was around this time that the term "passport" was used. In 1794, issuing British passports became the job of the Office of theSecretary of State.[13]In theHoly Roman Empire,the 1548 ImperialDiet of Augsburgrequired the public to hold imperial documents for travel, at the risk of permanent exile.[15]

In 1791,Louis XVImasqueraded as a valet during hisFlight to Varennesas passports for the nobility typically included a number of persons listed by their function but without further description.[8]:31–32

A Pass-Card Treaty of October 18, 1850 among German states standardized information including issuing state, name, status, residence, and description of bearer. Tramping journeymen and jobseekers of all kinds were not to receive pass-cards.[8]:92–93

Modern development

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A rapid expansion ofrailway infrastructureand wealth in Europe beginning in the mid-nineteenth century led to large increases in the volume of international travel and a consequent unique dilution of the passport system for approximately thirty years prior toWorld War I.The speed of trains, as well as the number of passengers that crossed multiple borders, made enforcement of passport laws difficult. The general reaction was the relaxation of passport requirements.[16]In the later part of the nineteenth century and up to World War I, passports were not required, on the whole, for travel within Europe, and crossing a border was a relatively straightforward procedure. Consequently, comparatively few people held passports.

During World War I, European governments introduced border passport requirements for security reasons, and to control the emigration of people with useful skills. These controls remained in place after the war, becoming a standard, though controversial, procedure. British tourists of the 1920s complained, especially about attached photographs and physical descriptions, which they considered led to a "nasty dehumanisation".[17]TheBritish Nationality and Status of Aliens Actwas passed in 1914, clearly defining the notions ofcitizenshipand creating a booklet form of the passport.

In 1920, theLeague of Nationsheld a conference on passports, theParis Conference on Passports & Customs Formalities and Through Tickets.[18]Passport guidelines and a general booklet design resulted from the conference,[19]which was followed up by conferences in 1926 and 1927.[20]TheLeague of NationsissuedNansen passportstostatelessrefugeesfrom 1922 to 1938.[21]

While the United Nations held a travel conference in 1963, no passport guidelines resulted from it. Passport standardization came about in 1980, under the auspices of theICAO.ICAO standards include those formachine-readable passports.[22]Such passports have an area where some of the information otherwise written in textual form is written as strings of Alpha numeric characters, printed in a manner suitable foroptical character recognition.This enables border controllers and other law enforcement agents to process these passports more quickly, without having to input the information manually into a computer. ICAO publishes Doc 9303Machine Readable Travel Documents,the technical standard for machine-readable passports.[23]A more recent standard is forbiometric passports.These containbiometricsto authenticate the identity of travellers. The passport's critical information is stored on a tinyRFIDcomputer chip, much like information stored onsmartcards.Like some smartcards, the passport booklet design calls for an embedded contactless chip that is able to holddigital signaturedata to ensure the integrity of the passport and the biometric data.

Historically, legal authority to issue passports is founded on the exercise of each country's executive discretion. Certain legal tenets follow, namely: first, passports are issued in the name of the state; second, no person has a legal right to be issued a passport; third, each country's government, in exercising its executive discretion, has complete and unfettered discretion to refuse to issue or to revoke a passport; and fourth, that the latter discretion is not subject to judicial review. However, legal scholars including A.J. Arkelian have argued that evolutions in both the constitutional law of democratic countries and the international law applicable to all countries now render those historical tenets both obsolete and unlawful.[24][25]

  • Arabic papyrus with an exit permit, dated January 24, 722 AD, pointing to the regulation of travel activities. From Hermopolis Magna, Egypt
  • FirstJapanese passport,issued in 1866
  • Italian passport, issued in 1872
  • Chinese passport from theQing dynasty,24th Year of the Guangxu Reign, 1898
  • AnOttomanpassport (passavant) issued to aRussiansubject dated July 24, 1900
  • World War IISpanish official passport issued in late 1944 and used during the last six months of the war by an official being sent toBerlin

Types

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TheIndonesianHajj Passport is a special passport that is only used byHajjpilgrims and can only be used toperform the Hajj.

Governments around the world issue a variety of passports for different purposes. The most common variety are ordinary passports issued to individualcitizensand othernationals.In the past, certain countries issued collective passports[b]or family passports.[c]Today, passports are typically issued to individual travellers rather than groups. Aside from ordinary passports issued to citizens by national governments, there are a variety of other types of passports by governments in specific circumstances.

While individuals are typically only permitted to hold one passport, certain governments permit citizens to hold more than one ordinary passport.[d]Individuals may also simultaneously hold an ordinary passport and an official or diplomatic passport.

Emergency passport

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British and Indian Emergency Passport

Emergency passports (also called temporary passports) are issued to persons with urgent need to travel who do not have passports, e.g. someone abroad whose passport has been lost or stolen who needs to travel home within a few days, someone whose passport expires abroad, or someone who urgently needs to travel abroad who does not have a passport with sufficient validity. These passports are intended for very short durations, e.g. to allow immediate one-way travel back to the home country.Laissez-passerare also used for this purpose.[28]Uniquely, the United Kingdom issues emergency passports to citizens of certainCommonwealth stateswho lose their passports in non-Commonwealth countries where their home state does not maintain a diplomatic or consular mission.

Diplomatic and official passports

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Left to right: ordinary (dark blue), official (white), and diplomatic (maroon) passports of India.
Left to right: diplomatic, service, and public affairs passport from the People's Republic of China.
Left to right: United Nations Service (blue) and Diplomatic (red)laissez-passers

Pursuant to theVienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations,Vienna Convention on Consular Relations,and theimmunity afforded to officials of a foreign stateundercustomary international law,diplomats and other individuals travelling on government business are entitled to reduced scrutiny atborder checkpointswhen travelling overseas. Consequently, such individuals are typically issued special passports indicating their status. These passports come in three distinct varieties:

Diplomatic passports

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Typically issued toaccredited diplomats,senior consular staff,heads of stateorgovernment,and to senior foreign ministry employees. Individuals holding diplomatic passports are usually entitled to certain degrees of immunity from border control inspections, depending on their home countries and their countries of entry.

Service/official passports

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Issued to senior government officials travelling on state business who are not eligible for diplomatic passports. Holders of official passports are typically entitled to similar immunity from border control inspections. In theUnited States of America,official and service passports are two distinct categories of passport, with official passports being issued to senior government officials while service passports are issued to government contractors.[e]

Public affairs passports

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Issued to Chinese citizens holding senior positions in state-owned companies. While public affairs passports do not usually entitle their bearers to exemption from searches at border checkpoints, they are subject to more liberal visa policies in several countries primarily in Africa and Asia (see:Visa requirements for Chinese citizens).

Passports without right of abode

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Main articles:National without household registrationandBritish nationality law
SampleROCpassport issued toNWOHRs.Note the absence of a national ID number.

Unlike most countries, the United Kingdom and the Republic of China issue various categories of passports to individuals without the right of abode in their territory. In the United Kingdom's case, these passports are typically issued to individuals connected with a former British colony while, in the ROC's case, these passports are the result of the legal distinction between ROC nationals with and without residence in the area it administers.[f]In both cases, holders of such passports are able to obtain residence on an equal footing with foreigners by applying forindefinite leave to remain(UK) or aresident certificate(ROC).

Republic of China (Taiwan)

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ARepublic of China citizenwho does not havehousehold registration(Chinese:Hộ tịch;pinyin:hùjí) in the area administered by the ROC[f]is classified as a National Without Household Registration (NWOHR;Chinese:Vô hộ tịch quốc dân) and is subject to immigration controls when clearing ROC border controls, does not have automatic residence rights, and cannot vote inTaiwanese elections.However, they are exempt fromconscription.Most individuals with this status are children born overseas to ROC citizens who do hold household registration. Additionally, because the ROC observes the principle ofjus sanguinis,members of theoverseas Chinesecommunity are also regarded as citizens.[32]During theCold War,both the ROC and PRC governments actively sought the support of overseas Chinese communities in their attempts to secure the position as the legitimate sole government of China. The ROC also encouraged overseas Chinese businessmen to settle in Taiwan to facilitate economic development and regulations concerning evidence of ROC nationality by descent were particularly lax during the period, allowing many overseas Chinese the right to settle in Taiwan.[33]About 60,000 NWOHRs currently holdTaiwanese passportswith this status.[34]

United Kingdom

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The United Kingdom issues several similar but distinct passports which correspond to the country's several categories of nationality. FullBritish citizensare issued a standardBritish passport.British citizens resident in theCrown Dependenciesmay hold variants of the British passport which confirm theirIsle of Man,Jersey,orGuernseyidentity. Many of the other categories of nationality do not grant bearers right of abode in the United Kingdom itself.

British National (Overseas)passports are issued to individuals connected to Hong Kong prior to its return to China.British Overseas Citizenpassports are primarily issued to individuals who did not acquire the citizenship of the colony they were connected to when it obtained independence (or their stateless descendants). British Overseas Citizen passports are also issued to certain categories of Malaysian nationals in Penang and Malacca, and individuals connected to Cyprus as a result of the legislation granting independence to those former British colonies.British Protected Personpassports are issued to otherwise stateless people connected to a former Britishprotectorate.British subjectpassports are issued to otherwise stateless individuals connected toBritish Indiaor to certain categories of Irish citizens (though, in the latter case, they do convey right of abode).

Additionally, individuals connected to aBritish overseas territoryare accordedBritish Overseas Territories citizenshipand may hold passports issued by the governments of their respective territory. All overseas territory citizens are also now eligible for full British citizenship. Each territory maintainsits own criteriafor determining whom it grants right of abode. Consequently, individuals holding BOTC passports are not necessarily entitled to enter or reside in the territory that issued their passport. Most countries distinguish between BOTC and other classes of British nationality for border control purposes. For instance, only Bermudian passport holders with an endorsement stating that they possess right of abode or belonger status in Bermuda are entitled to enter America without an electronic travel authorisation.[35]

Border control policies in many jurisdictions distinguish between holders of passports with and without right of abode, including NWOHRs and holders of the various British passports that do not confer right of abode upon the bearer. Certain jurisdictions may additionally distinguish between holders of such British passports with and withoutindefinite leave to remainin the United Kingdom. NWOHRs do not, for instance, have access to theVisa Waiver Program,or to visa free access to the Schengen Area or Japan. Other countries, such as India which allows all Chinese nationals to apply foreVisas,do not make such a distinction. Notably, while Singapore does permit visa free entry to all categories of British passport holders, it reduces length of stay for British nationals without right of abode in the United Kingdom, but does not distinguish between ROC passport holders with and without household registration.

Until 31 January 2021, holders of British National (Overseas) passports were able to use their UK passports for immigration clearance in Hong Kong[36]and to seek consular protection fromoverseas Chinese diplomatic missions.This was a unique arrangement as it involved a passport issued by one state conferring right of abode (or, more preciselyright to land) in and consular protection from another state. Since that date, the Chinese and Hong Kong governments have prohibited the use of BN(O) passports as travel documents or proof of identity and it; much like British Overseas Citizen, British Protected Person, or ROC NWOHR passports; is not associated with right of abode in any territory. BN(O)s who do not possess Chinese (or any other) nationality are required to use aDocument of Identity for Visa Purposesfor travel.[36]This restriction disproportionally affects ease of travel forpermanent residents of Indian, Pakistani, and Nepali ethnicity,[37]who were not granted Chinese nationality in 1997. As an additional consequence, Hongkongers seeking early pre-retirement withdrawals from theMandatory Provident Fundpension scheme may not use BN(O) passports for identity verification.[38]

Latvia and Estonia

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Similarly, non-citizensin Latviaandin Estoniaare individuals, primarily of Russian or Ukrainian ethnicity, who are not citizens of Latvia or Estonia, but who have settled during theSoviet occupation,and thus have the right to a special non-citizen passport issued by the government as well as some other specific rights. Approximately two thirds of them areethnic Russians,followed by ethnic Belarusians, ethnic Ukrainians, ethnic Poles and ethnic Lithuanians.[39][40]According to theUN Special Rapporteur,the citizenship and naturalization laws in Latvia "are seen by the Russian community as discriminatory practices".[41]PerRussian visa policy,holders of theEstonian alien's passportor the Latvian non-citizen passport are entitled to visa free entry to Russia, in contrast to Estonian and Latvian citizens who must obtain an electronic visa.

Regional and subnational passports

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China

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ThePeople's Republic of China(PRC) authorises itsSpecial Administrative RegionsofHong KongandMacauto issue passports to their permanent residents withChinese nationalityunder the "one country, two systems"arrangement. Visa policies imposed by foreign authorities on Hong Kong and Macau permanent residents holding such passports are different from those holding ordinary passports of the People's Republic of China. AHong Kong Special Administrative Region passport(HKSAR passport) andMacau Special Administrative Region passport(MSAR passport) gain visa-free access to many more countries than ordinaryPRC passports.[42]

On 1 July 2011, theMinistry of Foreign Affairs of the People's Republic of Chinalaunched a trial issuance of e-passports for individuals conducting public affairs work overseas on behalf of the Chinese government.[43][44]The face, fingerprints, and otherbiometricfeatures of the passport holder isdigitizedand stored in pre-installed contactlesssmart chip,[45][46]along with "the passport owner's name, sex and personal photo as well as the passport's term of validity and [the] digital certificate of the chip".[47]Ordinary biometric passports were introduced by theMinistry of Public Securityon 15 May 2012.[48]As of January 2015, all new passports issued by China are biometric e-passports, and non-biometric passports are no longer issued.[47]

In 2012, over 38 million Chinese citizens held ordinary passports, comprising only 2.86 percent of the total population at the time.[49]In 2014, China issued 16 million passports, ranking first in the world, surpassing the United States (14 million) and India (10 million).[50]The number of ordinary passports in circulation rose to 120 million by October 2016, which was approximately 8.7 percent of the population.[51]As of April 2017 to date, China had issued over 100 million biometric ordinary passports.[52]

Kingdom of Denmark

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The three constituent countries of theDanish Realmhave a common nationality.Denmark properis a member of theEuropean Union,butGreenlandandFaroe Islandsare not. Danish citizens residing in Greenland or Faroe Islands can choose between holding aDanish EU passportand a Greenlandic or Faroese non-EU Danish passport.[citation needed]

As of 21 September 2022, Danish citizens had visa-free or visa on arrival access to 188 countries and territories, thus ranking the Danish passport fifth in the world (tied with the passports ofAustria,the Netherlands,andSweden) according to theHenley Passport Index.[53]According to theWorld Tourism Organization2016 report, the Danish passport is first in the world (tied with Finland, Germany, Italy, Luxembourg, Singapore, and the United Kingdom) in terms of travel freedom, with the mobility index of 160 (out of 215 with no visa weighted by 1, visa on arrival weighted by 0.7, eVisa by 0.5 and traditional visa weighted by 0).[54]

Serbian Coordination Directorate Passports in Kosovo

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Main articles:Coordination Directorate for Kosovo and MetohijaandSerbian passport § Kosovo Residents

Under Serbian law, people born or otherwise legally settled in Kosovo[g]are considered Serbian nationals and as such they are entitled to a Serbian passport.[55]However, these passports are not issued directly by theSerbian Ministry of Internal Affairsbut by the SerbianCoordination Directorate for Kosovo and Metohijainstead.[56]These particular passports do not allow the holder to enter theSchengen Areawithout a visa.[57][58]

As of August 2023, Serbian citizens had visa-free or visa on arrival access to 138 countries and territories, ranking the Serbian passport 38th overall in terms of travel freedom according to theHenley Passport Index.[59][60]Serbian passport is one of the 5 passports with the most improved rating globally since 2006 in terms of number of countries that its holders may visit without a visa.[61][62][63]

American Samoa

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Main article:United States nationality law § Nationals

Although all U.S. citizens are also U.S. nationals, the reverse is not true. As specified in8 U.S.C.§ 1408,a person whose only connection to the United States is through birth in an outlying possession (which is defined in8 U.S.C.§ 1101asAmerican SamoaandSwains Island,the latter of which is administered as part of American Samoa), or through descent from a person so born, acquires U.S. nationality but not the citizenship. This was formerly the case in a few other current or formerU.S. overseas possessions,i.e. thePanama Canal ZoneandTrust Territory of the Pacific Islands.[64]Thepassportissued to non-citizen nationals contains the endorsement code 9 which states: "THE BEARER IS A UNITED STATES NATIONAL AND NOT A UNITED STATES CITIZEN." on the annotations page.[65]Non-citizen nationals may reside and work in the United States without restrictions, and may apply for citizenship under the same rules as resident aliens. Like resident aliens, they arenot presently allowed by any U.S. state to vote in federal or state elections.

Passports issued by entities without sovereign territory

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Main article:Travel document § Indigenous passports

Several entities without a sovereign territory issue documents described as passports, most notablyIroquois League,[66][67]theAboriginal Provisional Governmentin Australia and theSovereign Military Order of Malta.[68]Such documents are not necessarily accepted for entry into a country.

Details and specifications

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More than 5 million British passports are printed each year—one every 2.5 seconds—at this secret location in the North of England[69]

Criteria for issuance

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Each country sets its own conditions for the issue of passports.[70]Under the law of most countries, passports are government property, and may be limited or revoked at any time, usually on specified grounds, and possibly subject to judicial review.[71]In many countries, surrender of one's passport is a condition of grantingbailin lieu of imprisonment for a pending criminal trial due to the risk of the person leaving the country.[72]When passport holders apply for a new passport (commonly, due to expiration of the previous passport, insufficient validity for entry to some countries or lack of blank pages), they may be required to surrender the old passport for invalidation. In some circumstances an expired passport is not required to be surrendered or invalidated (for example, if it contains an unexpired visa).

Requirements for passport applicants vary significantly from country to country, with some states imposing stricter measures than others. For example,Pakistanrequires applicants to be interviewed before aPakistani passportwill be granted.[73]When applying for a passport or a national ID card, all Pakistanis are required to sign an oath declaringMirza Ghulam Ahmadto be an impostor prophet and allAhmadisto be non-Muslims.[74]In contrast, individuals holdingBritish National (Overseas)status are legally entitled to hold a passport in that capacity.

Countries withconscriptionornational servicerequirements may impose restrictions on passport applicants who have not yet completed their military obligations. For example, inFinland,male citizens aged 18–30 years must prove that they have completed, or are exempt from,their obligatory military serviceto be granted anunrestricted passport;otherwise a passport is issued valid only until the end of their 28th year, to ensure that they return to carry out military service.[75]Other countries with obligatory military service, such asSouth KoreaandSyria,have similar requirements, e.g.South Korean passportandSyrian passport.[76]

Validity

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Main article:Passport validity

Passports have a limited validity, usually between 5 and 10 years. Many countries require passports to be valid for a minimum of six months beyond the planned date of departure, as well as having at least two to four blank pages.[77]It is recommended that a passport be valid for at least six months from the departure date as many airlines deny boarding to passengers whose passport has a shorter expiry date, even if the destination country does not have such a requirement for incoming visitors.

There is an increasing trend for adult passports to be valid for ten years, such as aUnited Kingdom passport,United States Passport,New Zealand Passport(after 30 November 2015)[78]orAustralian passport.

Some countries issue passports that valid for longer than 10 years, which ICAO does not recommend due to the security concerns and even some countries including all member states of theEuropean Uniondo not accept passports older than 10 years.

Cover designs

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Main articles:Andean passport,CARICOM passport,Central America-4 passport,ECOWAS passport,andPassports of the European Union
Colours across the world for modern passport booklet covers
AnArgentine passportwith the name ofMercosurat the top

Passport booklets from almost all countries around the world display thenational coat of armsof the issuing country on the front cover. The United Nations keeps a record of national coats of arms, but displaying a coat of arms is not an internationally recognised requirement for a passport.

There are several groups of countries that have, by mutual agreement, adopted common designs for their passports:

  • The European Union. The design and layout of passports of the member states of the European Union are a result of consensus and recommendation, rather than of directive.[79]Passports are issued by member states and may consist of either the usual passport booklet or the newer passport card format. The covers of ordinary passport booklets are burgundy-red (except for Croatia which has a blue cover), with "European Union" written in the national language or languages. Below that are the name of the country, the national coat of arms, the word or words for "passport", and, at the bottom, the symbol for a biometric passport. The data page can be at the front or at the back of a passport booklet and there are significant design differences throughout to indicate which member state is the issuer. Member states that participate in theSchengen Agreementhave agreed that their e-passports should contain fingerprint information in the chip.[80]
  • In 2006, the members of theCA-4Treaty (Guatemala,El Salvador,Honduras,andNicaragua) adopted a common-design passport, called theCentral American passport,following a design already in use by Nicaragua and El Salvador since the mid-1990s. It features a navy-blue cover with the words "América Central" and a map of Central America, and with the territory of the issuing country highlighted in gold (in place of the individual nations' coats of arms). At the bottom of the cover are the name of the issuing country and the passport type.
  • The members of theAndean Community of Nations(Bolivia,Colombia,Ecuador,andPeru) began to issue commonly designed passports in 2005. Specifications for the common passport format were outlined in an Andean Council of Foreign Ministers meeting in 2002.[81]Previously issued national passports will be valid until their expiry dates. Andean passports are bordeaux (burgundy-red), with words in gold. Centred above the national seal of the issuing country is the name of the regional body in Spanish (Comunidad Andina). Below the seal is the official name of the member country. At the bottom of the cover is the Spanish word "pasaporte" along with the English "passport". Venezuela had issued Andean passports, but has subsequently left the Andean Community, so they will no longer issue Andean passports.
  • TheUnion of South American Nationshad signaled an intention to establish a common passport design, but it is doubtful that this will happen since the group effectively broke up in 2019.
  • Twelve member states of theCaribbean Community(CARICOM) began issuing passports with acommon designsince early 2009.[82][83]It features the CARICOM symbol along with the national coat of arms and name of the member state, rendered in a CARICOM official language (English,French,Dutch). The member states which use the common design areAntigua and Barbuda,Barbados,Belize,Dominica,Grenada,Guyana,Jamaica,Saint Kitts and Nevis,Saint Lucia,Saint Vincent and the Grenadines,Suriname,andTrinidad and Tobago.There was a movement by theOrganisation of Eastern Caribbean States(OECS) to issue a common designed passport, but the implementation of the CARICOM passport made that redundant, and it was abandoned.[84]

Request page

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Passport message found inside theUnited States passport

Passports sometimes contain a message, usually near the front, requesting that the passport's bearer be allowed to pass freely, and further requesting that, in the event of need, the bearer be granted assistance. The message is sometimes made in the name of the government or the head of state, and may be written in more than one language, depending on the language policies of the issuing authority.

Languages

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In 1920, an international conference on passports and through tickets held by theLeague of Nationsrecommended that passports be issued in theFrench language,historically the language of diplomacy, and one other language.[85]Currently, theICAOrecommends that passports be issued in English, French, and Spanish; or in the national language of the issuing country and in either English, French, or Spanish.[86]Many European countries use their national language, along with English and French.

Some additional language combinations are:

Limitations on use

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Singaporean Passport, the world's strongest passport as of 2025
Further information:Visa (document),Non-visa travel restrictions,andBorder control

A passport is merely an identity document that is widely recognised for international travel purposes, and the possession of a passport does not in itself entitle a traveller to enter any country other than the country that issued it, and sometimes not even then, as with holders of theBritish Overseas citizenpassport. Many countries normally require visitors to obtain a visa. Each country has different requirements or conditions for the grant of visas, such as for the visitor not being likely to become a public charge for financial, health, family, or other reasons, and the holder not having been convicted of a crime or considered likely to commit one.[88][89]Where a country does not recognise another, or is in dispute with it, entry may be prohibited to holders of passports of the other party to the dispute, and sometimes to others who have, for example, visited the other country; examples are listed below. A country that issues a passport may also restrict its validity or use in specified circumstances, such as use for travel to certain countries for political, security, or health reasons.

Many nations implement border controls restricting the entry of people of certain nationalities or who have visited certain countries. For instance, Georgia refuses entry to holders of passports issued by the Republic of China.[90]Similarly, since April 2017, nationals of Bangladesh, Pakistan, Sudan, Syria, Yemen, and Iran have been banned from entering the parts of eastern Libya under the control of theTobruk government.[90][91][92]The Pakistani passports explicitly mention that these passports are valid in all countries except Israel. The majority ofArabcountries, as well as Iran and Malaysia, ban Israeli citizens;[90]however, exceptional entry to Malaysia is possible with approval from theMinistry of Home Affairs.[93]Certain countries may also restrict entry to those with Israeli stamps or visas in their passports. As a result of tension over the formerRepublic of Artsakhdispute, Azerbaijan currently forbids entry to Armenian citizens as well as to individuals with proof of travel to Artsakh.

Text on a Pakistani passport saying that the passport is not valid for Israel.

Between September 2017 and January 2021, theUnited States of Americadid not issue new visas to nationals of Iran, North Korea, Libya, Somalia, Syria, or Yemen pursuant torestrictionsimposed by theTrump administration,[94]which were subsequently repealed by theBiden administrationon 20 January 2021.[95]While in force, the restrictions were conditional and could be lifted if the countries affected meet the required security standards specified by the Trump administration, anddual citizensof these countries could still enter if they presented a passport from a non-designated country.

Value

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One method by which to rank the value of a passport is to calculate its mobility score (MS). The mobility score of a passport is the number of countries that allow the holder of that passport to enter for general tourism visa-free, visa-on-arrival, eTA, or eVisa issued within 3 days. As of 2023, the strongest passport in the world is the Singaporean passport. [96]

However, another way to determine passport mobility score is the number of countries it allows holders to live and work in. For example, by this measure, the Irish passport would be most powerful because it allows the holder to live in all European Union/European Economic Area countries, as well as Switzerland and the United Kingdom, as the Irish passport is the only European Union passport now that still allows its users the right to live/work in the United Kingdom.[citation needed]

Passport issuance volumes

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Example passport issuances
Nationality Number of issuances
in year 		Latest
year 		Number of issuances
per capita
United States[97] 24,021,257 2023 73‰
France[98] 5,400,000 2022 80‰
Australia[99] 1,745,340 2019–2020 68‰
Ireland[100] 1,080,000 2022 210‰
Hong Kong[101] 71,827 2019 10‰
United Kingdom[102] 4,008,870 2020 61‰
Canada[103] 5,100,000 2014–2015 134‰
China[104] 30,080,000 2018 21‰
Finland[105] 774,544 2015 141‰[106]
Sweden[107] 1,478,583 2013 154‰

See also

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Notes

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  1. ^The local governments of most inhabitedBritish Overseas Territoriesissue passports toBritish Overseas Territories citizensresident holdingbelonger statusin the territory concerned, while the ChineseSpecial Administrative Regionsof Hong Kong and Macau issue passports to Chinese citizens holding permanent residence in the region concerned. Additionally, the British territories ofGibraltar,Jersey,Guernsey,and theIsle of Manare permitted to issue passports identifying their bearers as fullBritish citizens.
  2. ^These were issued to defined groups for travel together to particular destinations, such as a group of school children on a school trip. As of 2021, collective passports are still issued by the United Kingdom for field-trips to certain countries within theSchengen Area.[26]
  3. ^Family passports were typically issued to one passport holder, who may travel alone or with other family members included in the passport. A family member not listed as the passport holder could not use the passport for travel without the passport holder. These passports are essentially obsolete as most countries; including all theEUstates, Canada, the United States, and the United Kingdom; require each traveller to have their own passport.[27]
  4. ^This may apply, for example, to people who travel a lot on business, and may need to have, say, a passport to travel on while another is awaiting a visa for another country. The UK for example may issue a second passport if the applicant can show a need and supporting documentation, such as a letter from an employer.
  5. ^Service Passports are issued by theDepartment of Stateto "certain non-personal services contractors who travel abroad in support of and pursuant to a contract with the U.S. government", to demonstrate the passport holder is travelling "to conduct work in support of the U.S. government while simultaneously indicating that the traveler has a more attenuated relationship with the U.S. government that does not justify a diplomatic or official passport."[29][30][31]
  6. ^abThe area under the definition consists of:
  7. ^Kosovo is the subject of a territorial dispute between theRepublic of Kosovoand theRepublic of Serbia.The Republic of Kosovounilaterally declared independenceon 17 February 2008.Serbia continues to claimit as part of itsown sovereign territory.The two governmentsbegan to normalise relationsin 2013, as part of the2013 Brussels Agreement.Kosovo is currently recognised as an independent state by 104 out of the 193United Nations member states.In total,114UN member states have recognised Kosovo at some point, of which10later withdrew their recognition.

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Further reading

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edit
Wikivoyage has an article forPassports.
Wikisourcehas the text of the 1905New International Encyclopediaarticle "Passport".
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Passport&oldid=1276107579#Diplomatic_and_official_passports"