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{{short description|Documents for international travel issued by national governments}}
{{about|passports issued by national governments|travel documents in general (including laissez-passers, identity cards, certificates of identity, and travel documents for animals)|travel document|other uses of the term "passport"|Passport (disambiguation)}}
{{Use British English|date=November 2021}}

<!--The image in use here is a compromise following discussion on the article talk page.  Please do not replace it without discussing the matter there and gaining a new consensus first. -->[[File:Passports-assorted.jpg|thumb|upright=1.2|Clockwise, from top left: Dutch ordinary, Nepalese diplomatic, Chinese service, and Polish ordinary passports]]

A '''passport''' is a formal [[travel document]] issued by a government that certifies a person's [[Identity (social science)|identity]] and nationality for international travel.<ref>{{cite web|title=Definition of Passport|url=https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/passport|access-date=2024-05-18|website=www.merriam-webster.com|language=en}}</ref> A passport allows its bearer to enter and temporarily reside in a foreign country, access local aid and protection, and obtain [[consular assistance]] from their government. In addition to facilitating travel, passports are a key mechanism for [[Border control|border security]] and [[Immigration|regulating migration]]; they may also serve as [[identity document]]s 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.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2017-05-16 |title=A History of the Passport |url=https://www.nationalgeographic.com/history/article/a-history-of-the-passport |access-date=2024-07-01 |website=History |language=en}}</ref> The passport takes the form of a booklet bearing the name and [[National emblem|emblem]] 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 inserting [[Passport stamp|entry and exit stamps]] and [[Travel visa|travel 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 to [[biometric passport]]s, which contain an embedded [[microchip]] to facilitate [[Machine-readable medium|authentication]] and safeguard against [[counterfeit|counterfeiting]].<ref name="law companion">{{cite book|editor1=Cane, P|url=http://www.oxfordreference.com/view/10.1093/acref/9780199290543.001.0001/acref-9780199290543-e-1616|title=The New Oxford Companion to Law|editor2=Conaghan, J|publisher=Oxford University Press|year=2008|isbn=9780199290543|location=London|author-link=Passport|name-list-style=amp}}</ref> As of July 2024, over 150 jurisdictions issue such "e-passports";<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.thalesgroup.com/en/markets/digital-identity-and-security/government/passport/electronic-passport-trends|title=The electronic passport in 2021 and beyond|website=Thales Group}}</ref> previously issued non-biometric passports usually remain valid until expiration.[[File:Aeroport de dubai terminal 3 egate (echecking of passport).jpg|thumb|Passport control at [[Dubai International Airport]]]]
Eligibility for a passport varies by jurisdiction, although [[citizenship]] is a common prerequisite. However, a passport may be issued to individuals who do not have the status or full rights of citizenship, such as [[American nationality law|American]] or [[British nationals]]. Likewise, certain classes of individuals, such as [[diplomat|diplomats]] and government officials, may be issued special passports that provide certain rights and privileges, such as [[Diplomatic immunity|immunity from arrest or prosecution]].<ref name="law companion" />  

While passports are typically issued by national governments, certain subnational entities are authorised to issue passports to [[Citizenship|citizens]] residing within their borders.{{efn|The local governments of most inhabited [[British Overseas Territories]] issue passports to [[British Overseas Territories citizen]]s resident holding [[belonger status]] in the territory concerned, while the Chinese [[Special Administrative Region]]s of Hong Kong and Macau issue passports to Chinese citizens holding permanent residence in the region concerned. Additionally, the British territories of [[British passport (Gibraltar)|Gibraltar]], [[Jersey-variant British passport|Jersey]], [[British passport (Guernsey)|Guernsey]], and the [[British passport (Isle of Man)|Isle of Man]] are permitted to issue passports identifying their bearers as full [[British citizen]]s.}} Additionally, other types of [[travel document]]s may serve a similar role to passports but are subject to different eligibility requirements, purposes, or restrictions. 

{{TOC limit|2}}

==History==

=== Etymology and origin ===
[[Etymology|Etymological]] sources{{Such as?|date=August 2024}} 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 (Italian ''passa porto'', "to pass the harbor") or gate (Italian ''passa porte'', "to pass the gates") of a walled city or jurisdiction.<ref>{{cite book |author=George William Lemon |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=RHwCAAAAQAAJ |title=English etymology; or, A derivative dictionary of the English language |year=1783 |page=[https://books.google.com/books?id=RHwCAAAAQAAJ&pg=PT397 397]}} said that ''passport'' may signify either a permission to pass through a ''portus'' 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 a ''pass par tout''.</ref><ref>{{cite book |author=James Donald |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=agA_AAAAcAAJ |title=Chamber's etymological dictionary of the English language |publisher=W. and R. Chambers |year=1867 |pages=[https://books.google.com/books?id=agA_AAAAcAAJ&pg=PA366 366] |quote=passport, pass'pōrt, ''n.'' orig. permission ''to pass'' out of ''port'' or through the gates; a written warrant granting permission to travel.}}</ref> 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 considered [[Free trade zone|open trading points]], but documents were required to pass harbor controls and travel inland from seaports.<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Lopez |first1=Robert Sebationo |title=Medieval Trade in the Mediterranean World: Illustrative Documents |last2=W. Raymond |first2=Irving |publisher=Columbia University Press |year=2001 |isbn=9780231123563 |pages=36–39}}</ref> The transition from private to state control over movement was an essential aspect of the transition from [[feudalism]] to [[capitalism]]. Communal obligations to provide [[poor relief]] were an important source of the desire for controls on movement.<ref name=":1" /><sup>:10</sup>

=== Antecedents ===
One of the earliest known references to paperwork that served an analogous role to a passport is found in the [[Hebrew Bible]]. [[Book of Nehemiah|Nehemiah]] 2:7–9, dating from approximately 450&nbsp;BC, states that [[Nehemiah]], an official serving King [[Artaxerxes I of Persia]], asked permission to travel to [[Judea]]; 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.<ref>{{multiref2|{{bibleverse|Nehemiah|2:7–9|NIV}}|{{cite journal |last1=Coskun |first1=Cumhur|date= 28 December 2017 |title=Cultural Identity and Passport Designs  |url=https://un-pub.eu/ojs/index.php/pntsbs/article/view/2868 |journal=New Trends and Issues Proceedings on Humanities and Social Sciences |volume= 4|issue= 11|pages= 139–146 |doi=10.18844/prosoc.v4i11.2868 |access-date= 24 March 2023|doi-access=free }}|{{cite periodical |last1= Davis|first1= John M.|date= July 1998|title= Passport Fraud: Protecting U.S. Passport Integrity|url=https://heinonline.org/HOL/LandingPage?handle=hein.journals/fbileb67&div=50&id=&page=|journal= FBI Law Enforcement Bulletin|volume= 67|issue= 7|pages= 9–13|id={{NCJ|175115}}|access-date=24 March 2023}}|{{cite journal |last1=Meyer |first1=Karl E.| date= 2009|title= The Curious Life of the Lowly Passport|url=http://www.jstor.org/stable/40210108|journal=World Policy Journal |volume=26 |issue=1 |pages=71–77  |doi=10.1162/wopj.2009.26.1.71 |jstor=40210108 |access-date=24 March 2023|url-access=subscription}}}}</ref>

The ancient Indian political text [[Arthashastra]] (third century BCE) mentions passes issued at the rate of one ''[[Masha (unit)|masha]]'' per pass to enter and exit the country, and describes the duties of the {{IAST|''Mudrādhyakṣa''}} ({{literally|Superintendent of Seals}}) who must issue sealed passes before a person could enter or leave the countryside.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=K85NA7Rg67wC&q=kautilya+city+superintendent&pg=PA63|title=The First Great Political Realist: Kautilya and His Arthashastra|last=Boesche|first=Roger|date=2003|publisher=Lexington Books|isbn=9780739106075|pages=62 A superintendent must issue sealed passes before one could ''enter or leave the countryside''(A.2.34.2,181) a practice that might constitute the first passbooks and passports in world history|language=en}}</ref>

Passports were an important part of the Chinese bureaucracy as early as the [[Western Han]] (202 BC – 9 AD), if not in the [[Qin dynasty]]. They required such details as age, height, and bodily features.<ref name=":0">{{Cite book |editor-last1=Nylan |editor-first1=Michael |editor-last2=Loewe |editor-first2=Michael |title=China's early empires: a re-appraisal |date=2010 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=9780521852975 |location=Cambridge |pages=297, 317–318 |oclc=428776512 | ol=OL24864515M | editor-link1= Michael Nylan  | editor-link2= Michael Loewe | lccn=2011378715 }}</ref> These passports ({{Lang-zh|t=傳|hp=zhuan|labels=no}}) 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.<ref name=":0" />

In the medieval [[Caliphate|Islamic Caliphate]], a form of passport was the ''bara'a'', a [[receipt]] for taxes paid. Only people who paid their ''[[zakat|zakah]]'' (for [[Muslim]]s) or ''[[jizya]]'' (for [[dhimmi]]s) taxes were permitted to travel to different regions of the Caliphate; thus, the ''bara'a'' receipt was a "basic passport".<ref>{{Cite book|title=The Jews of Medieval Islam: Community, Society, and Identity|first=Daniel|last= Frank| publisher =[[Brill Publishers]]|year=1995|isbn=90-04-10404-6|page=6}}</ref>

In the [[12th century]], the [[Republic of Genoa]] issued a document called ''Bulletta'', 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.

King [[Henry 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 a [[Safe Conducts Act 1414|1414 Act of Parliament]].<ref name="brief history">[https://www.theguardian.com/travel/2006/nov/17/travelnews A brief history of the passport] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191009193215/https://www.theguardian.com/travel/2006/nov/17/travelnews |date=2019-10-09 }} – The Guardian</ref><ref>{{cite news |url= https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/politics/7634744.stm |title=Analysis: The first ID cards |access-date=2008-09-27 | publisher =BBC |date= 2008-09-25 | first=Dominic | last=Casciani}}</ref> In 1540, granting travel documents in England became a role of the [[Privy 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 the [[Secretary of State (United Kingdom)|Secretary of State]].<ref name="brief history"/> In the [[Holy Roman Empire]], the 1548 Imperial [[Diet of Augsburg]] required the public to hold imperial documents for travel, at the risk of permanent exile.<ref>[[John Torpey]], Le contrôle des passeports et la liberté de circulation. Le cas de l'Allemagne au XIXe siècle, Genèses, 1998, n° 1, pp. 53–76</ref>

In 1791, [[Louis XVI]] masqueraded as a valet during his [[Flight to Varennes]] as passports for the nobility typically included a number of persons listed by their function but without further description.<ref name=":1" /><sup>:31–32</sup>

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.<ref name=":1">{{Cite book|last=Torpey|first=John|title=The Invention of the Passport|year=2018}}</ref><sup>:92–93</sup>

Before World War I, in most situations only adult males could receive a passport; their family members were written in their passport if they traveled with them. Even if a married woman had her own passport, she could not use it without her husband present.<ref name="bixby">{{cite book |last1=Bixby |first1=Patrick |title=License to Travel: A Cultural History of the Passport |date=2023 |publisher=University of California Press |isbn=978-0-520-39789-7}}</ref><sup>:93–94</sup>

=== Modern development ===
A rapid expansion of [[Rail transport|railway 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 to [[World 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.<ref name="PASSCanada">{{cite web | title= History of Passports |work= Government of Canada|date= 10 April 2014|url= https://www.canada.ca/en/immigration-refugees-citizenship/services/canadians/celebrate-being-canadian/teachers-corner/history-passports.html | access-date=April 7, 2018}}</ref> 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".<ref>{{Cite book |last=Marrus |first=Michael Robert |title=The unwanted : European refugees in the twentieth century |date=1985 |publisher=Oxford University Press |others=Mazal Holocaust Collection |isbn=0-19-503615-8 |location=New York |pages=95 |oclc=12344863}}</ref> The [[History of British nationality law#British Nationality and Status of Aliens Act 1914|British Nationality and Status of Aliens Act]] was passed in 1914, clearly defining the notions of [[citizenship]] and creating a booklet form of the passport. It also made a photographs in a passport mandatory.<ref name="bixby"/><sup>:93</sup>

In 1920, the [[League of Nations]] held a conference on passports, the [[Paris Conference on Passports & Customs Formalities and Through Tickets]].<ref>{{cite web | url= http://www.indiana.edu/~league/1920.htm | title= League of Nations Photo Archive – Timeline – 1920 | publisher= Indiana University | access-date= July 13, 2013 | archive-date= April 2, 2020 | archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20200402162934/http://www.indiana.edu/~league/1920.htm | url-status= dead }}</ref> Passport guidelines and a general booklet design resulted from the conference,<ref>{{Cite book | publisher = League of Nations Secretariat, Information Section | url = https://bl-libg-doghill.ads.iu.edu/league-web/book/p63.html | chapter = League of Nations 'International' or 'Standard' passport design |title =Illustrated album of the League of Nations|date=1926 | place = Geneva | page=63| access-date = 2010-06-27 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20110719215005/https://bl-libg-doghill.ads.iu.edu/league-web/book/p63.html | archive-date = 2011-07-19 | url-status = dead }}</ref> which was followed up by conferences in 1926 and 1927.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.indiana.edu/~league/conferencedata.htm|title=International Conferences – League of Nations Archives|year=2002|publisher=Center for the Study of Global Change|access-date=2009-08-05}}</ref> The [[League of Nations]] issued [[Nansen passport]]s to [[Stateless person|stateless]] [[refugees]] from 1922 to 1938.<ref>{{cite web|last=Giaimo|first=Cara|date=2017-02-07|title=The Little-Known Passport That Protected 450,000 Refugees|url=http://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/nansen-passport-refugees|access-date=2022-01-30|website=Atlas Obscura|language=en}}</ref>

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 the [[International Civil Aviation Organization|ICAO]]. ICAO standards include those for [[machine-readable passport]]s.<ref name="ICAO MRTD">{{cite web |title=Welcome to the ICAO Machine Readable Travel Documents Programme |url=http://www.icao.int/Security/mrtd/Pages/default.aspx |publisher=ICAO |access-date=2012-09-06}}</ref> 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 for [[optical 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 9303 ''Machine Readable Travel Documents'', the technical standard for machine-readable passports.<ref name="ICAO 2006">{{cite book |publisher=ICAO |title=Machine Readable Travel Documents, Doc 9303 |year=2006 |edition=Sixth |url=http://www.icao.int/Security/mrtd/Pages/Document9303.aspx |access-date=2013-08-09}}</ref> A more recent standard is for [[biometric passport]]s. These contain [[biometrics]] to authenticate the identity of travellers. The passport's critical information is stored on a small [[RFID]] computer chip, much like information stored on [[smartcard]]s. Like some smartcards, the passport booklet design calls for an embedded contactless chip that is able to hold [[digital 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.<ref>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 at http://artsforum.ca/ideas/in-depth {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131202033527/http://artsforum.ca/ideas/in-depth |date=2013-12-02 }}</ref><ref>Arkelian, A.J. "Freedom of Movement of Persons Between States and Entitlement to Passports".  ''Saskatchewan Law Review'', Volume 49, No. 1, 1984–85.</ref>

<gallery>
File:Arabic papyrus with an exit permit, dated January 24, 722 CE, pointing to the regulation of travel activities. From Hermopolis Magna, Egypt.jpg|Arabic papyrus with an exit permit, dated January 24, 722 AD, pointing to the regulation of travel activities. From Hermopolis Magna, Egypt
File:First Japanese passport 1866.jpg|First [[Japanese passport]], issued in 1866
File:Italian passport 1872.jpg|Italian passport, issued in 1872
File:QingPassport.jpg|Chinese passport from the [[Qing dynasty]], 24th Year of the Guangxu Reign, 1898
File:Ottoman-russian-empire-passport.jpg|An [[Ottoman Empire|Ottoman]] passport (passavant) issued to a [[Russian Empire|Russian]] subject dated July 24, 1900
File:WW2 Spanish official passport.jpg|[[World War II]] Spanish official passport issued in late 1944 and used during the last six months of the war by an official being sent to [[Berlin]]
</gallery>

==Types==
[[File:Indonesian Hajj Passport.png|thumb|upright|The [[Indonesia]]n Hajj Passport is a special passport that is only used by [[Hajj]] pilgrims and can only be used to [[Masjid al-Haram|perform the Hajj]].]]
Governments around the world issue a variety of passports for different purposes. The most common variety are ordinary passports issued to individual [[Citizenship|citizens]] and other [[Nationality|nationals]]. In the past, certain countries issued collective passports{{efn|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 the [[Schengen Area]].<ref>{{cite web|title=Collective (group) passports|url=https://www.gov.uk/collective-group-passports/overview|website=GOV.UK|publisher=[[Government Digital Service]]|access-date=13 November 2021}}</ref>}} or family passports.{{efn|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 the [[European Union|EU]] states, Canada, the United States, and the United Kingdom; require each traveller to have their own passport.<ref>{{cite web|title=Passports for children|url=http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/passport/child/index.asp|website=Canada.CA|publisher=Government of Canada|access-date=6 December 2015}}</ref>}} 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.{{efn|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.}} Individuals may also simultaneously hold an ordinary passport and an official or diplomatic passport.

=== Emergency passport ===
{{multiple image
| image1            = 2019-Present British emergency Passport.png
| image2            = Indian Emergency Certificate 2020.jpg
| footer            = British and Indian Emergency Passport
| total_width       = 220
| image3            = 
}}

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.<ref>{{cite web|title=Guidance ECB08: What are acceptable travel documents for entry clearance|url=https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/what-are-acceptable-travel-documents-for-entry-clearance-ecb08/ecb08-what-are-acceptable-travel-documents-for-entry-clearance|access-date=19 March 2015}}</ref> Uniquely, the United Kingdom issues emergency passports to citizens of certain [[Commonwealth of Nations|Commonwealth states]] who lose their passports in non-Commonwealth countries where their home state does not maintain a diplomatic or consular mission.

===Diplomatic and official passports===
{{multiple image
| image1            = Indian Passport (e-Passport, 2024).svg
| image2            = Indian Official Passport.svg
| footer            = Left to right: ordinary (dark blue), official (white), and diplomatic (maroon) passports of India.
| total_width       = 250
| image3            = Indian Diplomatic Passport.svg
| alt1              = The front cover of an ordinary Indian passport, coloured navy blue
| alt2              = The front cover of an offician Indian passport coloured white.
| alt3              = The front cover of a diplomatic Indian passport coloured maroon.
}}
{{multiple image
|image1=PRC passport (Diplomatic).png|Diplomatic e-passport
|image2=PRC passport (Service).png|Service e-passport
|image3=PRC passport (for Public Affairs).png|Public Affairs e-passport
|footer=Left to right: diplomatic, service, and public affairs passport from the People's Republic of China.
|total_width=250
}}
{{multiple image
| image1            = UN-laissez-passer.jpg
| image2            = UN-laissez-passer red.jpg
| footer            = Left to right: United Nations Service (blue) and Diplomatic (red) [[United Nations laissez-passer|laissez-passers]]
| total_width       = 250
}}
Pursuant to the [[Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations]], [[Vienna Convention on Consular Relations]], and the [[diplomatic immunity|immunity afforded to officials of a foreign state]] under [[customary international law]], diplomats and other individuals travelling on government business are entitled to reduced scrutiny at [[border checkpoint]]s when travelling overseas. Consequently, such individuals are typically issued special passports indicating their status. These passports come in three distinct varieties:

==== Diplomatic passports ====
: Typically issued to [[diplomatic accreditation|accredited diplomats]], senior consular staff, [[head of state|heads of state]] or [[head of government|government]], 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 ====
: 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 the [[United States passport|United 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.{{efn|Service Passports are issued by the [[United States Department of State|Department 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."<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2016/09/30/2016-23568/passports-service-passports|title=Passports: Service Passports|date=30 September 2016 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://fam.state.gov/fam/07fam/07fam1310.html|title=Introduction to Passport Services|access-date=2021-11-13|archive-date=2018-08-02|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180802130254/https://fam.state.gov/fam/07fam/07fam1310.html|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://2009-2017.state.gov/documents/organization/265151.pdf|title=US Diplomatic Note}}</ref>}}

==== Public affairs passports ====
: 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===
{{Main|National without household registration|British nationality law}}

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.{{efn|name=ROC|The area under the definition consists of:
*[[Geography of Taiwan|Taiwan]] ({{zh|t=台灣}})
*[[Penghu]] ({{zh|t=澎湖}})
*[[Kinmen]] ({{zh|t=金門|p=Jīnmén}})
*[[Matsu Islands]] ({{zh|t=馬祖列島|p=Mǎzǔ Lièdǎo}})
*[[List of islands of Taiwan|Other nearby islands]]}} In both cases, holders of such passports are able to obtain residence on an equal footing with foreigners by applying for [[indefinite leave to remain]] (UK) or a [[resident certificate]] (ROC).

====Republic of China (Taiwan)====
[[File:ROC National Without Registration Passport Datapage.jpg|thumb|Sample <abbr title="Republic of China (Taiwan)">ROC</abbr> passport issued to [[National without household registration|NWOHRs]]. Note the absence of a national ID number.]]

A [[Taiwanese nationality law|Republic of China citizen]] who does not have [[household registration in Taiwan|household registration]] ({{zh|t=戶籍|p=hùjí}}) in the area administered by the ROC{{efn|name=ROC}} is classified as a National Without Household Registration (NWOHR; {{zh|t=無戶籍國民|Wú hùjí guómín}}) and is subject to immigration controls when clearing ROC border controls, does not have automatic residence rights, and cannot vote in [[Elections in Taiwan|Taiwanese elections]]. However, they are exempt from [[conscription in Taiwan|conscription]]. Most individuals with this status are children born overseas to ROC citizens who do hold household registration. Additionally, because the ROC observes the principle of ''[[jus sanguinis]]'', members of the [[overseas Chinese]] community are also regarded as citizens.<ref>{{harvnb|Selya|2004|pp=329–330}}.</ref> During the [[Cold 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.<ref>{{harvnb|Cheng|2014|p=138}}.</ref> About 60,000 NWOHRs currently hold [[Taiwan passport|Taiwanese passport]]s with this status.<ref>{{cite news |title=無戶籍國民 返台將免簽 |trans-title=Nationals without household registration returning to Taiwan will soon be visa-exempt |last1=Chen |first1=Yuren 陳郁仁 |last2=Tang |first2=Zhenyu 唐鎮宇 |language=Chinese |date=August 16, 2011 |work=[[Apple Daily (Taiwan)|Apple Daily]] |url=https://tw.appledaily.com/headline/daily/20110816/33600621/ |access-date=October 10, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200204215925/https://tw.appledaily.com/headline/daily/20110816/33600621/ |archive-date=February 4, 2020}}</ref>

====United Kingdom====
The United Kingdom issues several similar but distinct passports which correspond to the country's several categories of nationality. Full [[British citizen]]s are issued a standard [[British passport]]. British citizens resident in the [[Crown Dependencies]] may hold variants of the British passport which confirm their [[Manx passport|Isle of Man]], [[Jersey passport|Jersey]], or [[Guernsey passport|Guernsey]] 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 the territory's transfer from Britain 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 British [[protectorate]]. [[British subject]] passports are issued to otherwise stateless individuals connected to [[British India]] or to certain categories of Irish citizens (though, in the latter case, they do convey right of abode). 

Additionally, individuals connected to a [[British overseas territory]] are accorded [[British Overseas Territories citizen]]ship 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 maintains [[Belonger status|its 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.<ref>"[https://bm.usconsulate.gov/visas/visa-exemptions-bermudians/ Visa Exemptions for Bermudians] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161201081541/https://bm.usconsulate.gov/visas/visa-exemptions-bermudians/ |date=2016-12-01 }}". ''U.S. Consulate General in Bermuda''. Retrieved 31 October 2021.</ref>

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 without [[indefinite leave to remain]] in the United Kingdom. NWOHRs do not, for instance, have access to the [[Visa 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 for [[Visa policy of India|eVisas]], 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<ref name="HKSARRecognition" /> and to seek consular protection from [[List of diplomatic missions of China|overseas Chinese diplomatic missions]]. This was a unique arrangement as it involved a passport issued by one state conferring right of abode (or, more precisely [[Right of abode in Hong Kong|right 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 a [[Hong Kong Document of Identity for Visa Purposes|Document of Identity for Visa Purposes]] for travel.<ref name="HKSARRecognition">{{cite press release |title=HKSAR Government follows up on China's countermeasures against British Government's handling of issues related to British National (Overseas) passport |url=https://www.info.gov.hk/gia/general/202101/29/P2021012900763.htm |publisher=[[Government of Hong Kong]] |date=29 January 2021 |access-date=8 February 2021 |archive-date=9 February 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210209025551/https://www.info.gov.hk/gia/general/202101/29/P2021012900763.htm}}</ref> This restriction disproportionally affects ease of travel for [[South Asians in Hong Kong|permanent residents of Indian, Pakistani, and Nepali ethnicity]],<ref>{{cite news |last1=Tsang |first1=Emily |last2=Paul |first2=Ethan |date=2 February 2021 |title=Hong Kong BN(O): official rejection of passports leaves many members of ethnic minority communities stranded at home |url=https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/3120127/hong-kong-bno-official-rejection-passports-leaves-many |work=[[South China Morning Post]] |access-date=8 February 2021 |archive-date=9 February 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210209025551/https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/3120127/hong-kong-bno-official-rejection-passports-leaves-many}}</ref> who were not granted Chinese nationality in 1997. As an additional consequence, Hongkongers seeking early pre-retirement withdrawals from the [[Mandatory Provident Fund]] pension scheme may not use BN(O) passports for identity verification.<ref>{{cite press release |title=MPFA statement |date=10 March 2021 |url=https://www.mpfa.org.hk/en/info-center/press-releases/202103002 |publisher=[[Mandatory Provident Fund]] |access-date=17 May 2021 |archive-date=10 March 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210310123401/https://www.mpfa.org.hk/en/info-center/press-releases/202103002}}</ref>

====Latvia and Estonia====
Similarly, non-citizens [[Non-citizen (Latvia)|in Latvia]] and [[Estonian nationality law|in Estonia]] are individuals, primarily of Russian or Ukrainian ethnicity, who are not citizens of Latvia or Estonia, but who have settled during the [[Occupation of the Baltic states|Soviet 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 are [[Russians in Latvia|ethnic Russians]], followed by ethnic Belarusians, ethnic Ukrainians, ethnic Poles and ethnic Lithuanians.<ref name="pmlp.gov.lv">[http://www.pmlp.gov.lv/lv/assets/documents/statistika/01.01.2015/ISVN_Latvija_pec_TTB_VPD.pdf Population of Latvia by ethnicity and nationality; Office of Citizenship and Migration Affairs] {{Webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191031054711/https://www.pmlp.gov.lv/lv/assets/documents/statistika/01.01.2015/ISVN_Latvija_pec_TTB_VPD.pdf |date=31 October 2019}} 2015 {{in lang|lv}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://vvc.gov.lv/export/sites/default/docs/LRTA/Likumi/On_the_Status_of_those_Former_U.S.S.R._Citizens.doc|title=Section 1 and Section 8, Law "On the Status of those Former U.S.S.R. Citizens who do not have the Citizenship of Latvia or that of any Other State"|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303174813/http://vvc.gov.lv/export/sites/default/docs/LRTA/Likumi/On_the_Status_of_those_Former_U.S.S.R._Citizens.doc|archive-date=3 March 2016}}</ref> According to the [[UN Special Rapporteur]], the citizenship and naturalization laws in Latvia "are seen by the Russian community as discriminatory practices".<ref name=UNSR>[http://www2.ohchr.org/english/bodies/hrcouncil/docs/7session/A.HRC.7.19.Add.3.doc Report on mission to Latvia (2008)] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303192204/http://www2.ohchr.org/english/bodies/hrcouncil/docs/7session/A.HRC.7.19.Add.3.doc |date=2016-03-03 }}, UN Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance — see Para. 30 and 88</ref> Per [[Visa policy of Russia|Russian visa policy]], holders of the [[Estonian 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.

===Regional and subnational passports===
====China====
The [[People's Republic of China]] (PRC) authorises its [[Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China|Special Administrative Regions]] of [[Hong Kong]] and [[Macau]] to issue passports to their permanent residents with [[Chinese nationality law|Chinese nationality]] under 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. A [[Hong Kong Special Administrative Region passport]] (HKSAR passport) and [[Macau Special Administrative Region passport]] (MSAR passport) gain visa-free access to many more countries than ordinary [[Chinese passport|PRC passports]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://aipassportphoto.com/article/visa-free-china-hong-kong-macau|title=Visa-Free Access for PRC, HKSAR and MSAR Passports|website=aipassportphoto.com}}</ref>

On 1 July 2011, the [[Ministry 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.<ref name="MFAbiometric">{{cite web |date=1 June 2011 |script-title=zh:中华人民共和国外交部公告 |url=http://www.fmprc.gov.cn/chn/pds/fw/lsfw/tzgg/t826969.htm |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110913110501/http://www.fmprc.gov.cn/chn/pds/fw/lsfw/tzgg/t826969.htm |archive-date=13 September 2011 |access-date=31 August 2011 |publisher=[[Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the People's Republic of China]] |language=zh}}</ref><ref name="refworld">{{cite web |date=6 May 2013 |title=China: Procedure and requirements to obtain a biometric passport,... |url=https://www.refworld.org/docid/527a1b5b4.htm |access-date=12 December 2019 |publisher=Canada. Immigration and Refugee Board |via=UNHCR |archive-date=28 July 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200728142605/https://www.refworld.org/docid/527a1b5b4.htm |url-status=dead }}</ref> The face, fingerprints, and other [[biometric]] features of the passport holder is [[Digitize|digitized]] and stored in pre-installed contactless [[Smart chips|smart chip]],<ref>{{cite web |title=Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi Attends the Launch Ceremony for the Trial Issuance of E-Passports for Public Affairs |url=http://www.fmprc.gov.cn/eng/zxxx/t791409.htm |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110205102626/http://www.fmprc.gov.cn/eng/zxxx/t791409.htm |archive-date=5 February 2011 |access-date=15 February 2011 |publisher=Ministry of Foreign Affairs}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=因公电子护照31日试点签发 可使持照人快速通关 |url=http://www.china.com.cn/travel/txt/2011-02/01/content_21855650.htm |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110707014522/http://www.china.com.cn/travel/txt/2011-02/01/content_21855650.htm |archive-date=7 July 2011 |access-date=15 February 2011 |publisher=中国网}}</ref> 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".<ref name="canada">{{cite web |date=22 September 2015 |title=Responses to Information Requests: CHN105049.E China: Information on electronic/biometric passports,... |url=https://www.justice.gov/sites/default/files/pages/attachments/2015/10/22/chn105049.e.pdf |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211009173927/https://www.justice.gov/sites/default/files/pages/attachments/2015/10/22/chn105049.e.pdf |archive-date=9 October 2021 |access-date=12 December 2019 |publisher=Canada. Immigration and Refugee Board}}</ref> Ordinary biometric passports were introduced by the [[Ministry of Public Security of the People's Republic of China|Ministry of Public Security]] on 15 May 2012.<ref>{{cite web |title=Chinese passports to get chipped |url=http://usa.chinadaily.com.cn/china/2012-05/04/content_15203762.htm |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180921030325/http://usa.chinadaily.com.cn/china/2012-05/04/content_15203762.htm |archive-date=21 September 2018 |access-date=5 May 2012 |publisher=China Daily USA}}</ref> As of January 2015, all new passports issued by China are biometric e-passports, and non-biometric passports are no longer issued.<ref name="canada" />

In 2012, over 38 million Chinese citizens held ordinary passports, comprising only 2.86 percent of the total population at the time.<ref>{{Cite web |title=3800万中国公民持有普通护照 电子护照正式签发启用 |url=http://news.xinhuanet.com/legal/2012-05/15/c_123134110.htm |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160414214856/http://news.xinhuanet.com/legal/2012-05/15/c_123134110.htm |archive-date=2016-04-14 |access-date=2016-03-31}}</ref> In 2014, China issued 16 million passports, ranking first in the world, surpassing the United States (14 million) and India (10 million).<ref>{{cite web |title=India ranks third in issuing passports |url=http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/agartala/India-ranks-third-in-issuing-passports/articleshow/50401641.cms |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160305021741/http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/agartala/India-ranks-third-in-issuing-passports/articleshow/50401641.cms |archive-date=2016-03-05 |access-date=2016-03-31 |website=Times of India}}</ref> The number of ordinary passports in circulation rose to 120 million by October 2016, which was approximately 8.7 percent of the population.<ref>{{Cite web |title=国务院关于出境入境管理法执行情况的报告 |url=http://www.mps.gov.cn/n2253534/n2253535/n2253536/c5538068/content.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161106061752/http://www.mps.gov.cn/n2253534/n2253535/n2253536/c5538068/content.html |archive-date=2016-11-06 |access-date=2016-11-05}}</ref> As of April 2017 to date, China had issued over 100 million biometric ordinary passports.<ref name="ailvxing1">{{Cite web |title=4月全国启用新号段电子普通护照 你拿到新护照了吗 - 爱旅行网 |url=http://www.ailvxing.com/info-103-24211-0.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171201034833/http://www.ailvxing.com/info-103-24211-0.html |archive-date=2017-12-01 |access-date=2017-11-19 |website=www.ailvxing.com}}</ref>

====Kingdom of Denmark====
The three constituent countries of the [[Danish Realm]] have a common nationality. [[Denmark|Denmark proper]] is a member of the [[European Union]], but [[Greenland]] and [[Faroe Islands]] are not. Danish citizens residing in Greenland or Faroe Islands can choose between holding a [[Danish passport|Danish EU passport]] and a Greenlandic or Faroese non-EU Danish passport.

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 of [[Austrian passport|Austria]], [[Dutch passport|the Netherlands]], and [[Swedish passport|Sweden]]) according to the [[Henley Passport Index]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Henley Passport Index 2020 Q1 Infographic Global Ranking |url=https://www.henleypassportindex.com/assets/2020/Q1/HENLEY%20PASSPORT%20INDEX%202020%20Q1%20INFOGRAPHIC%20GLOBAL%20RANKING_191219.pdf |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210629221622/https://www.henleypassportindex.com/assets/2020/Q1/HENLEY%20PASSPORT%20INDEX%202020%20Q1%20INFOGRAPHIC%20GLOBAL%20RANKING_191219.pdf |archive-date=29 June 2021 |access-date=14 July 2021 |language=English}}</ref> According to the [[World 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).<ref>{{cite web |title=Visa Openness Report 2016 |url=http://dtxtq4w60xqpw.cloudfront.net/sites/all/files/docpdf/2015visaopennessreportonline.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160123123959/http://dtxtq4w60xqpw.cloudfront.net/sites/all/files/docpdf/2015visaopennessreportonline.pdf |archive-date=23 January 2016 |access-date=23 January 2016 |publisher=World Tourism Organization}}</ref>

====Serbian Coordination Directorate Passports in Kosovo====
{{main|Coordination Directorate for Kosovo and Metohija|Serbian passport#Kosovo Residents}}

Under Serbian law, people born or otherwise legally settled in Kosovo{{efn|Kosovo is the subject of a territorial dispute between the [[Kosovo|Republic of Kosovo]] and the [[Serbia|Republic of Serbia]]. The Republic of Kosovo [[2008 Kosovo declaration of independence|unilaterally declared independence]] on 17 February 2008. [[Kosovo–Serbia relations|Serbia continues to claim]] it as part of its [[Autonomous Province of Kosovo and Metohija|own sovereign territory]]. The two governments [[Belgrade–Pristina negotiations|began to normalise relations]] in 2013, as part of the [[Brussels Agreement (2013)|2013 Brussels Agreement]]. Kosovo is currently recognised as an independent state by {{#expr:{{Numrec/Kos|N}}-{{Numrec/Kos|W}}}} out of the {{UNnum}} [[member states of the United Nations|United Nations member states]]. In total, {{Numrec|Kosovo}} UN member states have recognised Kosovo at some point, of which {{Numrec|Kosovo|W=Y}} later withdrew their recognition.}} are considered Serbian nationals and as such they are entitled to a Serbian passport.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.glas-javnosti.rs/clanak/drustvo/glas-javnosti-07-11-2008/albanci-hoce-srpski-pasos|title=Najnovije vesti|date=7 November 2008|website=Glas javnosti}}</ref> However, these passports are not issued directly by the [[Ministry of Internal Affairs (Serbia)|Serbian Ministry of Internal Affairs]] but by the Serbian [[Coordination Directorate for Kosovo and Metohija]] instead.<ref name="Koordinaciona Uprava za KiM">{{cite web|url=http://www.mup.gov.rs/cms_lat/sadrzaj.nsf/biometrijska-dokumenta-KiM.h|title=Kako do biometrijskih dokumenata ako sam stanovnik Kosova i Metohije?|access-date=2021-11-13|archive-date=2013-10-20|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131020003211/http://www.mup.gov.rs/cms_lat/sadrzaj.nsf/biometrijska-dokumenta-KiM.h|url-status=dead}}</ref> These particular passports do not allow the holder to enter the [[Schengen Area]] without a visa.<ref name="Schengen visa list">{{cite web|url=http://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=CONSLEG:2001R0539:20091219:EN:PDF|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110420223321/http://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=CONSLEG:2001R0539:20091219:EN:PDF|url-status=dead|title=Consolidated version of Council regulation No. 539/2001, as of 19 December 2009|archive-date=20 April 2011}}</ref><ref name="pasos">{{cite web |title=Putna isprava – Pasoš |url=http://www.mup.gov.rs/cms_lat/dokumenta.nsf/putne-isprave.h |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100110064700/http://www.mup.gov.rs/cms_lat/dokumenta.nsf/putne-isprave.h |archive-date=10 January 2010 |access-date=19 December 2009 |publisher=Ministry of Internal Affairs |language=sr}}</ref>

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 the [[Henley Passport Index]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.henleyglobal.com/passport-index/ranking|title=The Official Passport Index Ranking}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.serbianembassy.jp/SRPSKI/Formulari%20i%20slike/Zakon%20o%20putnim%20ispravama%202007.pdf|title=Law on Travel Documents|access-date=2023-11-21|archive-date=2009-03-25|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090325061012/http://www.serbianembassy.jp/SRPSKI/Formulari%20i%20slike/Zakon%20o%20putnim%20ispravama%202007.pdf|url-status=dead}}</ref> 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.<ref>{{Cite press release |publisher=Henley & Partners |title=The Henley & Partners Visa Restrictions Index Celebrates Ten Years |url=https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/the-henley--partners-visa-restrictions-index-celebrates-ten-years-530277751.html |via=www.prnewswire.com}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Izdavanje pasoša u diplomatsko-konzularnim predstavništvima Srbije |url=http://www.mup.gov.rs/cms_lat/dokumenta.nsf/putne-isprave-dkpredstavnistva.h |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090924204315/http://www.mup.gov.rs/cms_lat/dokumenta.nsf/putne-isprave-dkpredstavnistva.h |archive-date=24 September 2009}}</ref><ref name="design">{{cite web |title=Izgled biometrijskog pasoša |url=http://www.mup.gov.rs/cms_lat/dokumenta.nsf/putne-isprave-izgled.h |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100302050717/http://www.mup.gov.rs/cms_lat/dokumenta.nsf/putne-isprave-izgled.h |archive-date=2 March 2010 |access-date=19 December 2009 |publisher=Ministry of Internal Affairs |language=sr}}</ref>

====American Samoa====
{{Main|United States nationality law#Nationals}}

Although all U.S. citizens are also U.S. nationals, the reverse is not true.  As specified in {{usc|8|1408}}, a person whose only connection to the United States is through birth in an outlying possession (which is defined in {{usc|8|1101}} as [[American Samoa]] and [[Swains 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 former [[U.S. overseas possessions]], i.e. the [[Panama Canal Zone]] and [[Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands]].<ref>In the [[Panama 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 former [[Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands]] the residents were considered nationals and citizens of the Trust Territory and not American nationals.</ref> The [[United States passport|passport]] 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.<ref>{{Cite journal
|url=https://fam.state.gov/fam/08fam/08fam050502.html#M505_2_2
|title=8 FAM 505.2 Passport Endorsements
|journal=U.S. Department of State
|access-date=2018-07-18
}}
</ref> 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 are [[Right of foreigners to vote in the United States|not presently allowed by any U.S. state to vote in federal or state elections]].

===Passports issued by entities without sovereign territory===
{{main|Travel document#Indigenous passports}}
Several entities without a sovereign territory issue documents described as passports, most notably [[Iroquois|Iroquois League]],<ref>{{cite web|title=Question 1|url=https://ezra.cornell.edu/posting.php?timestamp=1065675600|work=Dear Uncle Ezra...|publisher=Cornell University|access-date=15 October 2012|year=2012}}</ref><ref>{{cite news| url=https://www.nytimes.com/1990/06/12/sports/putting-tradition-to-the-test.html | work=The New York Times | title=Putting Tradition to the Test | first=William N. | last=Wallace | date=1990-06-12 | access-date=2010-05-21}}</ref> the [[Aboriginal Provisional Government]] in Australia and the [[Sovereign Military Order of Malta]].<ref>{{cite web|title=The New e-Passport|url=http://www.bmlv.gv.at/truppendienst/ausgaben/artikel.php?id=433|work=Osterreichs Bundesheer|publisher=Eigentümer und Herausgeber: Bundesministerium für Landesverteidigung und Sport|access-date=15 October 2012|language=de, en|date=February 2006}}</ref> Such documents are not necessarily accepted for entry into a country.

==Details and specifications==
[[File:Manufacturing passports of the United Kingdom.jpg|upright|thumb|More than 5 million British passports are printed each year&mdash;one every 2.5 seconds&mdash;at this secret location in the North of England<ref>{{cite web | title = How Your Passport is Made – Exclusive Behind-The-Scenes Footage | publisher = National Archives | date = July 1, 2013 | url = https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ha5VPXZ3ILs | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20140114230000/http://youtube.com/watch?v=Ha5VPXZ3ILs | url-status = dead | archive-date = January 14, 2014 }}</ref>]]

===Criteria for issuance===
Each country sets its own conditions for the issue of passports.<ref>{{cite book|last=Hannum|first=Hurst|title=The Right to Leave and Return in International Law and Practice|year=1987|publisher=Martinus Nijhoff Publishers|isbn=9789024734450|page=73|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=xyrBdidiyf8C&q=%22some+form+of+documentation+is+required+in+every+country+for+issuance+of+a+passport%22&pg=PA73|access-date=3 November 2012}}</ref> 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.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://passportinfo.com/passport-seizure/ |title=What Is a Passport Seizure?|date=26 August 2016}}</ref> In many countries, surrender of one's passport is a condition of granting [[bail]] in lieu of imprisonment for a pending criminal trial due to the risk of the person leaving the country.<ref>{{cite book|last= Devine|first=F. E|title=Commercial bail bonding: a comparison of common law alternatives|publisher=ABC-CLIO|year=1991|pages=84, 91, 116, 178|isbn= 978-0-275-93732-4|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=TChu-tGy3ycC&q=surrender%20%20passport%20&pg=PA190}}</ref> 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 a [[Pakistani passport]] will be granted.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.dgip.gov.pk/Files/Process.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090806232542/http://www.dgip.gov.pk/Files/Process.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=2009-08-06 |title=Government of Pakistan, Directorate General of Immigration & Passports |publisher=Dgip.gov.pk |access-date=2013-07-01}}</ref> When applying for a passport or a national ID card, all Pakistanis are required to sign an oath declaring [[Mirza Ghulam Ahmad]] to be an impostor prophet and all [[Ahmadiyya|Ahmadis]] to be non-Muslims.<ref name="hanif">{{cite news|url=https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/programmes/from_our_own_correspondent/8744092.stm|title= Why Pakistan's Ahmadi community is officially detested |date= 16 June 2010|work=[[BBC News]] |first=Mohammed|last=Hanif|author-link=Mohammed Hanif}}</ref> In contrast, individuals holding [[British National (Overseas)]] status are legally entitled to hold a passport in that capacity.

Countries with [[conscription]] or [[national service]] requirements may impose restrictions on passport applicants who have not yet completed their military obligations. For example, in [[Finland]], male citizens aged 18–30 years must prove that they have completed, or are exempt from, [[Conscription in Finland|their obligatory military service]] to be granted an [[Finnish passport|unrestricted 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.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.poliisi.fi/poliisi/home.nsf/Pages/27D36CBC704FEB01C22571CE0054A6C0|title=Passports for persons liable for military service|year=2009|publisher=Finnish Police|access-date=2009-08-24|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081014100037/http://www.poliisi.fi/poliisi/home.nsf/pages/27D36CBC704FEB01C22571CE0054A6C0|archive-date=2008-10-14|url-status=dead}}</ref> Other countries with obligatory military service, such as [[South Korea]] and [[Syria]], have similar requirements, e.g. [[South Korean passport]] and [[Syrian passport]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.mofa.gov.sy/cweb/MOEX_NEW/Cons_serv/con_serv_out_3_1.htm|title=Passports for Syrian Citizens|access-date=2013-01-11|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121113225511/http://www.mofa.gov.sy/cweb/MOEX_NEW/Cons_serv/con_serv_out_3_1.htm|archive-date=2012-11-13|url-status=dead}}</ref>

===Validity===
{{main|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.<ref>{{cite web|title=Frequently Asked Questions|url=https://travel.state.gov/content/passports/en/passports/FAQs.html|publisher=US Department of State|access-date=9 August 2016}}</ref> 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 a [[United Kingdom passport]], [[United States Passport]], [[New Zealand Passport]] (after 30 November 2015)<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/10-year-passport-law-passes/F7ZGD3GRIXNZYA2KLHOO3CAOVU/|title=10-year passport law passes|date=December 4, 2023|website=[[The New Zealand Herald]] }}</ref> or [[Australian passport]].

Some countries issue passports that are valid for longer than 10 years, which the ICAO does not recommend due to their security concerns. Some countries, including all member states of the [[European Union]], do not accept passports older than 10 years.

===Cover designs===
{{Main|Andean passport|CARICOM passport|Central America-4 passport|ECOWAS passport|Passports of the European Union}}
[[File:Passport design world map.svg|alt=|thumb|Colours across the world for modern passport booklet covers]]
Passport booklets from almost all countries around the world display the [[national 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.<ref>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.</ref>  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 the [[Schengen Agreement]] have agreed that their e-passports should contain fingerprint information in the chip.<ref>{{cite journal |url=http://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/HTML/?uri=CELEX:02004R2252-20090626&qid=1518713474119&from=EN |title= Council Regulation (EC) No 2252/2004 of 13 December 2004 on standards for security features and biometrics in passports and travel documents issued by Member States| date=29 December 2004 |journal=Official Journal of the European Union |access-date=6 October 2010}}</ref>
* In 2006, the members of the [[Central America-4 Border Control Agreement|CA-4]] Treaty ([[Guatemala]], [[El Salvador]], [[Honduras]], and [[Nicaragua]]) adopted a common-design passport, called the [[Central America-4 passport|Central 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 the [[Andean Community of Nations]] ([[Bolivia]], [[Colombia]], [[Ecuador]], and [[Peru]]) 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.<ref>[http://www.sice.oas.org/trade/junac/decisiones/dec525e.asp Andean Community / Decision 525: Minimum specific technical characteristics of Andean Passport] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160922192319/http://www.sice.oas.org/trade/junac/decisiones/dec525e.asp |date=2016-09-22 }}.</ref>  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.
* The [[Union 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.
* Twelve member states of the [[Caribbean Community]] (CARICOM) began issuing passports with a [[CARICOM passport|common design]] since early 2009.<ref>{{cite web|title=More Member States using the new CARICOM passport|url=http://www.caricom.org/jsp/pressreleases/pres22_07.jsp|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110608034921/http://www.caricom.org/jsp/pressreleases/pres22_07.jsp|archive-date=8 June 2011|access-date=15 June 2021}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.jis.gov.jm/special_sections/caricomnew/lesserKnownFacts.html|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20101019112259/http://www.jis.gov.jm/special_sections/caricomnew/lesserKnownFacts.html|url-status=dead|title=Lesser Known Facts about the CSM|archivedate=October 19, 2010}}</ref> 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 language|French]], Dutch). The member states which use the common design are [[Antigua and Barbuda]], [[Barbados]], [[Belize]], [[Dominica]], [[Grenada]], [[Guyana]], [[Jamaica]], [[Saint Kitts and Nevis]], [[Saint Lucia]], [[Saint Vincent and the Grenadines]], [[Suriname]], and [[Trinidad and Tobago]].  There was a movement by the [[Organisation 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.<ref>{{Cite web |date=8 February 2021 |title=Benefits of CARICOM passport |website=Best Citizenships |url=https://best-citizenships.com/2021/02/08/benefits-of-caricom-passport/ |access-date=2023-03-08 |language=en-US}}</ref>

===Request page===
[[File:PassportmessageUSA.jpg|thumb|Passport message found inside the [[United States passport]]]]
Passports sometimes<!-- make sure you provide an appropriate reference if you change "sometimes" to anything else (e.g. "often") that implies some higher-level commonality than a case-by-case examples of a few countries like the US --> 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===
<!--- Please put any additions in correct alphabetical order --->
In 1920, an international conference on passports and through tickets held by the [[League of Nations]] recommended that passports be issued in the [[French language]], historically the language of diplomacy, and one other language.<ref>{{cite book|last=Baenninger|first=Martin|title=In the eye of the wind: a travel memoir of prewar Japan |publisher=McGill-Queen's Press – MQUP|location=Cheltenham, England|year=2009|series=Footprints|volume=Footprints|page=12|isbn=978-0-7735-3497-1|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=HOtze2tfb_IC&q=lingua+franca&pg=PA12|access-date=2011-11-17}}</ref> Currently, the [[ICAO]] 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.<ref>{{Cite book |url=https://www.icao.int/publications/Documents/9303_p3_cons_en.pdf |title=Doc 9303, Machine Readable Travel Documents Part 3 - Specifications Common to all MRTDs |publisher=International Civil Aviation Organization |year=2021 |isbn=9789292659349 |edition=8th |location=Montréal, Quebec, Canada |pages=3 |language=en |archive-date=2025-02-07 |access-date=2023-07-20 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250207213709/https://www.icao.int/publications/Documents/9303_p3_cons_en.pdf |url-status=dead }}</ref> 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 the [[official 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|date=June 2021}}
* [[Algerian passport|Algerian]], [[Chadian passport|Chadian]], [[Lebanese passport|Lebanese]], [[Mauritanian passport|Mauritanian]], [[Moroccan passport|Moroccan]] and [[Tunisian passport]]s are in three languages: Arabic, English, and French.
* The [[Barbadian passport]] and the [[United 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 of [[Puerto 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;<ref name=":2">{{cite web |title=PRADO |url=https://www.consilium.europa.eu/prado/en/VAT-AD-01004/image-286975.html |access-date=2021-06-21 |website=European Council |language=en}}</ref> the cover and instructions pages are printed solely in English.
* On [[Belgian passport]]s, 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.
* [[Bosnia and Herzegovina passport|Passports of Bosnia and Herzegovina]] are in the three official languages of Bosnian, Serbian and Croatian in addition to English.
* [[Brazilian passport]]s contain four languages: Portuguese, the official country language; Spanish, because of bordering nations; English and French.
* [[British passports]] bear English and French on the information page and Spanish, [[Welsh language|Welsh]], [[Irish language|Irish]] and [[Scottish Gaelic]] translations on an extra page.
* [[Cypriot passport]]s are in Greek, Turkish and English.
* [[Haitian passport]]s are in French and [[Haitian Creole]].
* [[Vatican and Holy See passports|Passports issued by the Holy See]] are in [[Latin]] (the language of the Catholic Church), French, and English.<ref name=":2" />
* The first page of the old [[Libyan 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.
* [[Iraqi passport]]s are in Arabic, Kurdish and English.
* [[Macau SAR passport]]s are in three languages: Chinese (in [[traditional Chinese characters]]), Portuguese and English.
*[[New Zealand passport]]s are in English and [[Māori language|te reo Māori]].
* [[Norwegian passport]]s are in the two forms of the Norwegian language, [[Bokmål]] and [[Nynorsk]], [[Northern Sami]] and English.
* [[Sri Lankan passport]]s are in [[Sinhala language|Sinhala]], [[Tamil language|Tamil]] and English.
* [[Swiss passport]]s are in five languages: German, French, Italian, [[Romansh language|Romansh]] and English.

==Limitations on use==

[[File:2018 singapore passport cover.jpg|thumb| Singaporean Passport, the world's strongest passport as of 2025]]
{{further|Visa (document)|Non-visa travel restrictions|Border 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 the [[British 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.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.uscis.gov/iframe/ilink/docView/SLB/HTML/SLB/0-0-0-1/0-0-0-29/0-0-0-2006.html|title=ilink – USCIS|work=uscis.gov|access-date=2014-04-24|archive-date=2016-03-08|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160308050051/https://www.uscis.gov/iframe/ilink/docView/SLB/HTML/SLB/0-0-0-1/0-0-0-29/0-0-0-2006.html|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.theage.com.au/politics/federal/chris-brown-wont-be-able-to-come-to-australia-unless-he-challenges-visa-refusal-20150927-gjvqfq.html|title=Chris Brown won't be able to come to Australia unless he challenges visa refusal and wins|first=Latika|last=Bourke|date=September 27, 2015|website=The Age}}</ref> 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.<ref name=timatic>{{cite web|title=Country information (passport section)|work=[[Timatic]]|publisher=[[International Air Transport Association]] (IATA) through [[Olympic Air]] |url=http://cms.olympicair.com/timatic/webdocsI/countryinfo.html |access-date=3 August 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190129030557/http://cms.olympicair.com/timatic/webdocsI/countryinfo.html |archive-date=29 January 2019|url-status=dead}}</ref> 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 the [[House of Representatives (Libya)|Tobruk government]].<ref name=timatic/><ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.alaraby.co.uk/english/news/2017/4/11/khalifa-haftar-introduces-a-muslim-ban-in-east-libya |title=Khalifa Haftar introduces a 'Muslim ban' in east Libya|first=Robert|last=Cusack|date=11 April 2017 |website=Alaraby.co.uk}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.libyanexpress.com/haftar-issues-travel-ban-on-six-muslim-countries-in-eastern-libya/|title=Haftar issues travel ban on six Muslim countries in eastern Libya |publisher=Libyan Express|date=11 April 2017 |website=Libyanexpress.com|access-date=10 August 2017}}</ref> The Pakistani passports explicitly mention that these passports are valid in all countries except Israel. The majority of [[Arab]] countries, as well as Iran and Malaysia, ban Israeli citizens;<ref name=timatic/> however, exceptional entry to Malaysia is possible with approval from the [[Ministry of Home Affairs (Malaysia)|Ministry of Home Affairs]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.imi.gov.my/index.php/en/main-services/visa/visa-requirement-by-country|title=Visa requirements by country |publisher=Immigration Department of Malaysia|access-date=3 August 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170210231743/http://www.imi.gov.my/index.php/en/main-services/visa/visa-requirement-by-country|archive-date=10 February 2017|url-status=dead}}</ref> Certain countries may also restrict entry to those with Israeli stamps or visas in their passports. As a result of tension over the former [[Republic of Artsakh]] dispute, Azerbaijan currently forbids entry to Armenian citizens as well as to individuals with proof of travel to Artsakh.
[[File:Pakistani passport not valid for Israel.jpg|thumb|Text on a Pakistani passport saying that the passport is not valid for Israel.]]

Between September 2017 and January 2021, the [[United States of America]] did not issue new visas to nationals of Iran, North Korea, Libya, Somalia, Syria, or Yemen pursuant to [[Presidential Proclamation 9645|restrictions]] imposed by the [[First presidency of Donald Trump|Trump administration]],<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2017/09/24/us/politics/new-order-bars-almost-all-travel-from-seven-countries.html |title=New Order Indefinitely Bars Almost All Travel from Seven Countries |newspaper=The New York Times |date=24 September 2017 |last1=Shear |first1=Michael D.}}</ref> which were subsequently repealed by the [[Biden administration]] on 20 January 2021.<ref name=":6">{{cite web|date=2021-01-21 |title=Proclamation on Ending Discriminatory Bans on Entry to The United States|website=The White House |url=https://bidenwhitehouse.archives.gov/briefing-room/presidential-actions/2021/01/20/proclamation-ending-discriminatory-bans-on-entry-to-the-united-states/|access-date=2021-01-24}}</ref> Similarly, the United States of America does not issue new visa to nationals of Afghanistan, Burma, Chad, Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, and Yemen, as well as limiting the entry of nationals from Burundi, Cuba, Laos, Sierra Leone, Togo, Turkmenistan, and Venezuela.<ref>https://www.whitehouse.gov/fact-sheets/2025/06/fact-sheet-president-donald-j-trump-restricts-the-entry-of-foreign-nationals-to-protect-the-united-states-from-foreign-terrorists-and-other-national-security-and-public-safety-threats</ref> The restrictions were/are conditional and could be lifted if the countries affected met the required security standards specified by the Trump administration. [[Multiple citizenship|Dual citizens]] of these countries could/can still enter the United States of America if they presented a passport from a non-designated country.

==Value==
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.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://edition.cnn.com/travel/powerful-passports-2023/index.html | title=The world's most powerful passports for 2023 | date=18 July 2023 }}</ref>

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|date=November 2024}}

== Passport issuance volumes ==
{| class="wikitable alternance sortable"
|+Example passport issuances
!scope="col"| Nationality
!scope="col" data-sort-type=number | Number of issuances <br/>in year
!scope="col"| Latest <br/>year
!scope="col"| Number of issuances <br/>per capita
|-
|scope="row"|{{USA}}<ref>{{cite web| url = https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/about-us/reports-and-statistics.html| title = Reports and Statistics (state.gov)}}</ref>
|{{formatnum:24021257}}
|2023
|{{Per thousand|24021257|329484123}}
|-
|scope="row"|{{FRA}}<ref>{{cite web|url=https://ants.gouv.fr/nos-resultats|title = Nos résultats}}</ref>
|{{formatnum:5400000}}
|2022
|{{Per thousand|5400000|67400000}}
|-
|scope="row"|{{AUS}}<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.passports.gov.au/2019-20-passport-facts|title=2019-20 Passport Facts|date=2 March 2018}}</ref>
|{{formatnum:1745340}}
|2019–2020
|{{Per thousand|1745340|25765131}}
|-
|scope="row"|{{IRL}}<ref>{{cite web |last=Department of Foreign Affairs |date=29 December 2022 |title=2022 sets new record for Irish passports |url=https://www.gov.ie/en/press-release/fe216-2022-sets-new-record-for-irish-passports/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230617063205/https://www.gov.ie/en/press-release/fe216-2022-sets-new-record-for-irish-passports/ |archive-date=17 June 2023 |access-date=18 June 2023 |website=gov.ie}}</ref>
|1,080,000
|2022
|{{Per thousand|1080000|5149139}}
|-
|scope="row"|{{HKG}}<ref>[https://www.immd.gov.hk/opendata/eng/law-and-security/personal_documentation/statistics_on_hksar_passport_issued.csv No. of HKSAR passport issued] (format: spreadsheet) {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220115101340/https://www.immd.gov.hk/opendata/eng/law-and-security/personal_documentation/statistics_on_hksar_passport_issued.csv |date=2022-01-15 }}</ref>
|{{formatnum:71827}}
|2019
|{{Per thousand|71827|7466441}}
|-
|scope="row"|{{GBR}}<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/hm-passport-office-data-february-2021|title = HM Passport Office data: February 2021}}</ref>
|{{formatnum:4008870}}
|2020
|{{Per thousand|4008870|65605246}}
|-
|scope="row"|{{CAN}}<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.canada.ca/fr/immigration-refugies-citoyennete/organisation/publications-guides/rapport-annuel-programme-passeport-2014-2015.html|title = Rapport annuel du Programme de passeport pour 2014–2015|date = 19 October 2016}}</ref>
|{{formatnum:5100000}}
|2014–2015
|{{Per thousand|5100000|38005238}}
|-
|scope="row"|{{China}}<ref>{{cite web|url=https://vitomag.com/zhs/lifestyle/uahks|title = 2018年，中国护照签发量首次突破3000万|date = 25 September 2019}}</ref>
|{{formatnum:30080000}}
|2018
|{{Per thousand|30080000|1444216000}}
|-
|scope="row"|{{FIN}}<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.hs.fi/suomi/art-2000002880938.html|title=Poliisi: Yli 800000 tarvitsee uuden passin tänä vuonna – tiedossa on ruuhkaa|date = 20 January 2016}}</ref>
|{{formatnum:774544}}
|2015
|{{Per thousand|774544|5487308}}<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://dvv.fi/-/suomen-virallinen-vakiluku-oli-vuoden-2015-lopussa-5-487-3-1|title=Suomen virallinen väkiluku oli vuoden 2015 lopussa 5 487 308|date = 1 April 2016}}</ref>
|-
|scope="row"|{{SWE}}<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.publikt.se/nyhet/rekordmanga-nya-pass-forra-aret-16446|title=Rekordmånga nya pass förra året|date = 27 February 2014}}</ref>
|{{formatnum:1478583}}
|2013
|{{Per thousand|1478583|9600000}}
|}

==See also==

*[[Common Veterinary Entry Document|Animal passport]]
*[[Identity document]]
*[[Identity theft]]
*[[ISO/IEC 7810]] defines the standard size for passport booklets.
*[[List of passports]]
*[[Passport card (disambiguation)]]
*[[Passport stamp]]
*[[Pet passport]]
*[[Self-sovereign identity]]
*[[Travel document]]

==Notes==
{{reflist|group=note}}
{{notelist}}

==References==
{{reflist}}

==Further reading==
* {{cite book |title=Advisory and technical committee for communications and transit. Replies of the governments to the enquiry on the application of the resolutions relating to passports, customs formalities and through tickets|year=1922|publisher=[[League of Nations]]|location=Geneva|oclc=46235968|url=https://archive.org/details/advisorytechnica00leag}}
* {{cite thesis |last=Holder IV|first=Floyd William|date=Fall 2009|title=An Empirical Analysis of the State's Monopolization of the Legitimate Means of Movement: Evaluating the Effects of Required Passport use on International Travel|degree=M. P. A.|publisher= Texas State University|location=San Marcos|docket=Applied Research Projects, Paper 308|url=http://ecommons.txstate.edu/arp/308/|oclc=503473693}}
* {{cite book |title= The Passport: The History of Man's Most Travelled Document|last=Lloyd|first=Martin|year=2008|edition=2nd|publisher= Queen Anne's Fan|orig-year=2003|location= Canterbury|isbn= 978-0-9547150-3-8|oclc= 220013999}}
* {{cite book |title= Rights of Passage: The Passport in International Relations|last=Salter|first=Mark B.|year=2003|publisher= Lynne Rienner Publishers|location= Boulder, Co|isbn= 978-1-58826-145-8|oclc=51518371}}
* {{cite book |title= The Invention of the Passport: Surveillance, Citizenship and the State|url= https://archive.org/details/pdfy-S0NQwPjPkMlzZ2eS|last=Torpey|first=John C.|year=2000 |publisher=Cambridge University Press|location=Cambridge|isbn= 0-521-63249-8|series=Cambridge studies in law and society|oclc=59408523}}
* {{cite book |title= The American Passport; Its History and a Digest of Laws, Rulings and Regulations Governing Its Issuance by the Department of State|last1=United States|last2=Hunt|first2=Gaillard|author-link2=Gaillard Hunt|year=1898|publisher=Govt. print. off|location=Washington|oclc=3836079|url=https://archive.org/details/americanpasspor01statgoog}}
* {{cite book |last1=Bixby |first1=Patrick |title=License to Travel: A Cultural History of the Passport |date=2023 |publisher=University of California Press |isbn=978-0-520-39789-7}}

==External links==
{{Wikivoyage|Passport|Passports|an article}}
{{NIE Poster|year=1905}}
*{{Commons category-inline}}
*[http://www.consilium.europa.eu/prado/ PRADO – The Council of the European Union '''P'''ublic '''R'''egister of '''A'''uthentic Travel- and ID '''D'''ocuments '''O'''nline]
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20080511235516/http://travel.howstuffworks.com/passport.htm How Passports Work] US-focused information from [[Howstuffworks]]
*[https://www.nbcnews.com/id/wbna22419963 Investigation into passport fraud], ''[[Dateline NBC]]'', December 28, 2007
*[http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/travel/2004001752_webeuropetravel08.html Passport-free travel to begin for citizens of nine more European countries], ''[[Seattle Times]]'', November 8, 2007

{{Passports|state=expanded}}
{{Nationality laws}}
{{Tourism}}
{{Visa policy by country}}
{{Visa Requirements}}
{{Authority control}}
[[Category:Passports| ]]