Passport

A Turkish passport

The inside of a United States passport

A passport is a travel document that a person owns. It is a citizen of the country on the passport. A passport asks that the person carrying it be allowed to enter and pass through other countries. They also allow a person to re-enter their country. Passports are given by national governments.

Passports usually have a person's picture, signature, date of birth, nationality and country of birth. Many countries are now issuing passports with biometric properties. This helps confirm that the person carrying a passport is the real owner. These countries have passports that use biometrics: Malaysia, Australia, Turkey, Greece, Israel, New Zealand, Japan, Portugal, Sweden, the United Kingdom, the United States, Germany, Ireland, Poland, Italy, Slovenia, Singapore, Thailand, India and the Republic of Korea.

Many countries are switching over to biometric passports because it can easily confirm the authenticity of the holder's identity. Passports are used so a stamp can be placed in it to prove that the identity of the holder has been confirmed with the immigration officials in the country of travel.

In 1920, the International Conference on Passports, Customs Formalities and Through Tickets made a law that said passports must be issued in French and at least one other language. Now, many countries issue passports in English and the language(s) of the issuing country.

Passport Media

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

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  Passport control at Dubai International Airport

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  Sample ROC passport issued to NWOHRs. Note the absence of a national ID number.

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

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  Colours across the world for modern passport booklet covers

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  An Argentine passport with the name of Mercosur at the top

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  Passport message found inside the United States passport

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  Singaporean Passport, the world's strongest passport as of 2023

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

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  Arabic papyrus with an exit permit, dated January 24, 722 AD, pointing to the regulation of travel activities. From Hermopolis Magna, Egypt