Documents for international travel issued by national governments
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).
Clockwise, from top left: Dutch ordinary, Nepalese diplomatic, Chinese service, and Polish ordinary passports
Apassport is an officialtravel document issued by a government that certifies a person'sidentity and 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 assistance from their government. In addition to facilitating travel, passports are a key mechanism forborder security andregulating migration; they may also serve asofficial identification for various domestic purposes.
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 andemblem of 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 stamps andtravel 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 embeddedmicrochip to facilitateauthentication and 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.
Eligibility for a passport varies by jurisdiction, althoughcitizenship is a common prerequisite. However, a passport may be issued to individuals who do not have the status or full rights of citizenship, such asAmerican orBritish nationals. Likewise, certain classes of individuals, such asdiplomats and 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 tocitizens residing within their borders.[a] Additionally, othertypes of official documents may serve a similar role to passports but are subject to different eligibility requirements, purposes, or restrictions.
Etymological sources[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 fromfeudalism tocapitalism. Communal obligations to providepoor relief were an important source of the desire for controls on movement.[8]:10
One of the earliest known references to paperwork that served an analogous role to a passport is found in theHebrew Bible.Nehemiah 2:7–9, 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]
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 (傳;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, areceipt for taxes paid. Only people who paid theirzakah (forMuslims) orjizya (fordhimmis) taxes were permitted to travel to different regions of the Caliphate; thus, thebara'a receipt was a "basic passport".[12]
In the12th century, theRepublic of Genoa issued 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 England is 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 Augsburg required the public to hold imperial documents for travel, at the risk of permanent exile.[15]
In 1791,Louis XVI masqueraded as a valet during hisFlight to Varennes as 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
A rapid expansion ofrailway infrastructure and 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 Act was passed in 1914, clearly defining the notions ofcitizenship and creating a booklet form of the passport.
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 alphanumeric 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 containbiometrics to authenticate the identity of travellers. The passport's critical information is stored on a tinyRFID computer chip, much like information stored onsmartcards. Like some smartcards, the passport booklet design calls for an embedded contactless chip that is able to holddigital signature data 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
TheIndonesian Hajj Passport is a special passport that is only used byHajj pilgrims 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 individualcitizens and 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 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-passer are also used for this purpose.[28] Uniquely, the United Kingdom issues emergency passports to citizens of certainCommonwealth states who lose their passports in non-Commonwealth countries where their home state does not maintain a diplomatic or consular mission.
Typically issued toaccredited diplomats, senior consular staff,heads of state orgovernment, 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.
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]
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).
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).
ARepublic of China citizen who does not havehousehold registration (Chinese:戶籍;pinyin:hùjí) in the area administered by the ROC[f] is classified as a National Without Household Registration (NWOHR;Chinese:無戶籍國民) 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 Chinese community 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 passports with this status.[34]
The United Kingdom issues several similar but distinct passports which correspond to the country's several categories of nationality. FullBritish citizens are issued a standardBritish passport. British citizens resident in theCrown Dependencies may hold variants of the British passport which confirm theirIsle of Man,Jersey, orGuernsey identity. 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 Citizen passports 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 Person passports are issued to otherwise stateless people connected to a former Britishprotectorate.British subject passports are issued to otherwise stateless individuals connected toBritish India or to certain categories of Irish citizens (though, in the latter case, they do convey right of abode).
Additionally, individuals connected to aBritish overseas territory are accordedBritish Overseas Territories citizenship and 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 criteria for 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 remain in 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 Purposes for 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 Fund pension scheme may not use BN(O) passports for identity verification.[38]
Similarly, non-citizensin Latvia andin Estonia are 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 passport or 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.
On 1 July 2011, theMinistry of Foreign Affairs of the People's Republic of China launched 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 otherbiometric features of the passport holder isdigitized and 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 Security on 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]
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 Organization 2016 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
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] The Serbian passport is one of the 5 passports with the most improved rating globally since 2006, in terms of the number of countries that its holders may visit without a visa.[61][62][63]
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.§ 1101 asAmerican Samoa andSwains 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 Zone andTrust Territory of the Pacific Islands.[64] Thepassport issued 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
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 grantingbail in 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,Pakistan requires applicants to be interviewed before aPakistani passport will be granted.[73] When applying for a passport or a national ID card, all Pakistanis are required to sign an oath declaringMirza Ghulam Ahmad to be an impostor prophet and allAhmadis to be non-Muslims.[74] In contrast, individuals holdingBritish National (Overseas) status are legally entitled to hold a passport in that capacity.
Countries withconscription ornational service requirements 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 service to 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 Korea andSyria, have similar requirements, e.g.South Korean passport andSyrian passport.[76]
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.
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 Union do not accept passports older than 10 years.
Colours across the world for modern passport booklet coversAnArgentine passport with the name ofMercosur at the top
Passport booklets from almost all countries around the world display thenational coat of arms of 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 Agreement have agreed that their e-passports should contain fingerprint information in the chip.[80]
In 2006, the members of theCA-4 Treaty (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 Nations had 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.
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.
In 1920, an international conference on passports and through tickets held by theLeague of Nations recommended that passports be issued in theFrench language, historically the language of diplomacy, and one other language.[85] Currently, theICAO recommends 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:
National passports of the European Union bear all of theofficial languages of the European Union. Two or three languages are printed at the relevant points, followed by reference numbers which point to the passport page where translations into the remaining languages appear.[citation needed]
TheBarbadian passport and theUnited States passport are tri-lingual: English, French and Spanish. United States passports were English and French since 1976, but began being printed with a Spanish message and labels during the late 1990s, in recognition ofPuerto Rico's Spanish-speaking status. Since 2007, the Data Page, which contains photo, identifying information, and the passport's issuance and expiration dates, and the Personal Data and Emergency Contact page are written in English, French, and Spanish;[87] the cover and instructions pages are printed solely in English.
OnBelgian passports, all three official languages (Dutch, French, German) appear on the cover, in addition to English on the main page. The order of the official languages depends on the official residence of the holder.
The first page of the oldLibyan passport (green cover) was in Arabic only. The current passport has dark-blue cover, is electronically readable, and has Arabic with English translation in the first page (first page from a right-to-left script viewpoint). Similar arrangements are found in the passports of some other Arab countries.
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 citizen passport. 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 ofArab countries, 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 Artsakh dispute, 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 America did not issue new visas to nationals of Iran, North Korea, Libya, Somalia, Syria, or Yemen pursuant torestrictions imposed by theTrump administration,[94] which were subsequently repealed by theBiden administration on 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 citizens of these countries could still enter if they presented a passport from a non-designated country.
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]
^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]
^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 theEU states, Canada, the United States, and the United Kingdom; require each traveller to have their own passport.[27]
^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.
^Service Passports are issued by theDepartment of State to "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]
^George William Lemon (1783).English etymology; or, A derivative dictionary of the English language. p. 397. said thatpassport may signify either a permission to pass through aportus or gate, but noted that an earlier work had contained information that a traveling warrant, a permission or license to pass through the whole dominions of any prince, was originally called apass par tout.
^Lopez, Robert Sebationo; W. Raymond, Irving (2001).Medieval Trade in the Mediterranean World: Illustrative Documents. Columbia University Press. pp. 36–39.ISBN9780231123563.
^abcTorpey, John (2018).The Invention of the Passport.
^"League of Nations 'International' or 'Standard' passport design".Illustrated album of the League of Nations. Geneva: League of Nations Secretariat, Information Section. 1926. p. 63. Archived fromthe original on 2011-07-19. Retrieved2010-06-27.
^Arkelian, A.J. "The Right to a Passport in Canadian Law."The Canadian Yearbook of International Law, Volume XXI, 1983. Republished in November 2012 in Artsforum Magazine athttp://artsforum.ca/ideas/in-depthArchived 2013-12-02 at theWayback Machine
^Arkelian, A.J. "Freedom of Movement of Persons Between States and Entitlement to Passports".Saskatchewan Law Review, Volume 49, No. 1, 1984–85.
^Selya 2004, pp. 329–330 harvnb error: no target: CITEREFSelya2004 (help).
^Cheng 2014, p. 138 harvnb error: no target: CITEREFCheng2014 (help).
^Chen, Yuren 陳郁仁; Tang, Zhenyu 唐鎮宇 (August 16, 2011)."無戶籍國民 返台將免簽" [Nationals without household registration returning to Taiwan will soon be visa-exempt].Apple Daily (in Chinese). Archived fromthe original on February 4, 2020. RetrievedOctober 10, 2019.
^In thePanama Canal Zone only those persons born there prior to January 1, 2000 with at least one parent as an American citizen were recognised as citizens and were both nationals and citizens. Also in the formerTrust Territory of the Pacific Islands the residents were considered nationals and citizens of the Trust Territory and not American nationals.
^"The New e-Passport".Osterreichs Bundesheer (in German and English). Eigentümer und Herausgeber: Bundesministerium für Landesverteidigung und Sport. February 2006. Retrieved15 October 2012.
^Resolutions of 23 June 1981, 30 June 1982, 14 July 1986 and 10 July 1995 concerning the introduction of a passport of uniform pattern, OJEC, 19 September 1981, C 241, p. 1; 16 July 1982, C 179, p. 1; 14 July 1986, C 185, p. 1; 4 August 1995, C 200, p. 1.
Lloyd, Martin (2008) [2003].The Passport: The History of Man's Most Travelled Document (2nd ed.). Canterbury: Queen Anne's Fan.ISBN978-0-9547150-3-8.OCLC220013999.
Salter, Mark B. (2003).Rights of Passage: The Passport in International Relations. Boulder, Co: Lynne Rienner Publishers.ISBN978-1-58826-145-8.OCLC51518371.
1British Overseas Territories.2 These countries span the conventional boundary between Europe and Asia.3 Partially recognized.4Unincorporated territory of the United States.5 Part of the Kingdom of Denmark.6Egypt spans the boundary between Africa and Asia.
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