![People standing in a circle holding out passport books of various countries.](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d1/Wikimedian_Passports_at_Wikimania_2024.jpg/260px-Wikimedian_Passports_at_Wikimania_2024.jpg)
A passport is a booklet issued by countries to their citizens, permitting the person to travel to other countries. In some cases countries issue travel documents similar to passports to their residents. International organizations also issue travel documents, usually called laissez-passer, to their staff. This article shows images of the various passports currently issued.
Contemporary ordinary passports
![](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/2/23/Passport_design_world_map.png/730px-Passport_design_world_map.png)
Special cases
Passports where the captioned country is shown in italics are issued either by territories with extremely limited recognition of their passports or by states that are neither member states of the United Nations nor United Nations non-member observer states.
However, even though Taiwan maintains official diplomatic relations with only 14 countries, its "Republic of China (Taiwan) Passport" is still accepted as a valid travel document in most countries of the world. Although its passport enjoys (for nationals with rights of abode in Taiwan) visa-free (or visa on arrival access) status in 137 countries, ranking the ordinary Taiwanese passport 29th in the world (tied with Uruguay) according to the Visa Restrictions Index,[1] some countries, such as Argentina, Brazil, the People's Republic of China (PRC), Jamaica and Mauritius, pursuant to their positions on Taiwan's political status, refuse to visé or stamp Taiwan passports, and instead issue visas on a separate travel document or a separate piece of paper to Taiwanese travellers to avoid conveying any kind of recognition to Taiwan as a polity distinct from the People's Republic of China (PRC).
Africa
![](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/8/86/Africa_%28orthographic_projection%29.svg/170px-Africa_%28orthographic_projection%29.svg.png)
North and Central America
![](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/43/Location_North_America.svg/170px-Location_North_America.svg.png)
South America
![](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/0f/South_America_%28orthographic_projection%29.svg/170px-South_America_%28orthographic_projection%29.svg.png)
Asia
![](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/8/80/Asia_%28orthographic_projection%29.svg/170px-Asia_%28orthographic_projection%29.svg.png)
Europe
![](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/44/Europe_orthographic_Caucasus_Urals_boundary_%28with_borders%29.svg/170px-Europe_orthographic_Caucasus_Urals_boundary_%28with_borders%29.svg.png)
Oceania
![](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/8/8e/Oceania_%28orthographic_projection%29.svg/170px-Oceania_%28orthographic_projection%29.svg.png)
International organizations and sovereign subjects of international law
Contemporary diplomatic passports
-
King's Messenger passport
Types
Special passports
Not granting a right of abode
Certain passports do not, without additional endorsement, confer the right of abode anywhere and have varying international acceptance for travel:
British National (Overseas) passport - GBN[2] is widely accepted for international travel
British Subject passport - GBS[3] is widely accepted for international travel
Sovereign Military Order of Malta passport has very limited travel acceptance
Tongan Protected Person passport has very limited travel acceptance
Travel documents issued to non-nationals
- 1951 Convention Travel Document
- 1954 Convention Travel Document
- Certificate of identity
- Interpol passport
- Laissez-passer (issued by the European Union and the United Nations)
- Nansen passport
- Travel document
Common design passport groups
- Andean passport
- CARICOM passport
- CEMAC passport
- Central America-4 passport
- ECOWAS passport
- Mercosul/Mercosur passport
- European Union passport
- Passports issued by EU candidate states
- Five Nations Passport Group
See also
References
- ^ "Global Ranking - Visa Restriction Index 2016" (PDF). Henley & Partners. Archived from the original (PDF) on 12 March 2016. Retrieved 1 March 2016.
- ^ PRADO documentation for British National (Overseas) passports accessed 14 March 2016
- ^ PRADO documentation for British Subject passports accessed 14 March 2016
External links
Media related to Passports at Wikimedia Commons