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Passport: the story on HearLore | HearLore
Passport
The word passport originates from the Italian phrase passa porto, meaning to pass the harbor, a term that first appeared in medieval Italy to describe documents required for travelers to move through the physical gates of walled cities. These early papers were not issued by a central state authority but by local officials who needed to control the movement of people into and out of their jurisdictions. Unlike modern passports that certify identity for global travel, these medieval documents were often simple lists of towns and cities the holder was permitted to visit, serving as a permission slip rather than a guarantee of rights. The transition from private to state control over movement was an essential aspect of the transition from feudalism to capitalism, as communal obligations to provide poor relief created a desire for controls on movement. One of the earliest known references to paperwork serving an analogous role to a passport is found in the Hebrew Bible, specifically in Nehemiah 2:7, 9, dating from approximately 450 BC. In this account, Nehemiah, an official serving King Artaxerxes I of Persia, asked permission to travel to Judea, and 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. This ancient document functioned as a travel warrant, a permission or license to pass through the whole dominions of any prince, a concept that would eventually evolve into the modern passport system.
The Birth of State Control
The modern concept of the passport began to take shape in the 15th and 16th centuries when monarchs began to assert control over the movement of their subjects. 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 1414 Act of Parliament, and by 1540, granting travel documents in England became a role of the Privy Council of England. 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. These documents were not merely for identification but were tools of political control, often used to restrict the movement of certain classes of people. 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, highlighting how easily these documents could be bypassed or forged. A Pass-Card Treaty of the 18th of October 1850 among German states standardized information including issuing state, name, status, residence, and description of bearer, ensuring that tramping journeymen and jobseekers of all kinds were not to receive pass-cards. 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, reflecting the patriarchal nature of early travel documents.
What is the origin of the word passport and when did it first appear?
The word passport originates from the Italian phrase passa porto meaning to pass the harbor and first appeared in medieval Italy to describe documents required for travelers to move through the physical gates of walled cities. These early papers were not issued by a central state authority but by local officials who needed to control the movement of people into and out of their jurisdictions.
Who invented the first British passport and when was it created?
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 1414 Act of Parliament and by 1540 granting travel documents in England became a role of the Privy Council of England.
When did the modern concept of the passport begin to take shape and what changed during World War I?
The modern concept of the passport began to take shape in the 15th and 16th centuries when monarchs began to assert control over the movement of their subjects. The outbreak of World War I fundamentally changed the nature of international travel transforming the passport from a rare luxury into a mandatory security tool and introducing border passport requirements for security reasons.
When did biometric passports become common and how many jurisdictions issue them as of July 2024?
Since 1998 many countries have transitioned to biometric passports which contain an embedded microchip to facilitate authentication and safeguard against counterfeiting. As of July 2024 over 150 jurisdictions issue such e-passports and previously issued non-biometric passports usually remain valid until expiration.
Which passport is the strongest in the world as of 2026 and what defines its value?
As of 2026 the strongest passport in the world is the Singaporean passport and its value is measured by the number of countries it allows its holder to enter without a visa. One method by which to rank the value of a passport is to calculate its mobility score which 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.
What languages are currently recommended for international passports and which countries use multiple languages?
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. Many European countries use their national language along with English and French and some additional language combinations include Algerian Chadian Lebanese Mauritanian Moroccan and Tunisian passports which are in three languages Arabic English and French.
The outbreak of World War I fundamentally changed the nature of international travel, transforming the passport from a rare luxury into a mandatory security tool. A rapid expansion of railway infrastructure and wealth in Europe beginning in the mid-nineteenth century had 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, leading to a period where passports were not required, on the whole, for travel within Europe. However, 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. The 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 photograph in a passport mandatory. In 1920, the League of Nations held a conference on passports, the Paris Conference on Passports & Customs Formalities and Through Tickets. Passport guidelines and a general booklet design resulted from the conference, which was followed up by conferences in 1926 and 1927. The League of Nations issued Nansen passports to stateless refugees from 1922 to 1938, providing a lifeline for those who had lost their national status.
The Digital Revolution
The 21st century has witnessed a radical transformation in passport technology, shifting from paper booklets to digital identities stored on microchips. Since 1998, many countries have transitioned to biometric passports, which contain an embedded microchip to facilitate authentication and safeguard against counterfeiting. As of July 2024, over 150 jurisdictions issue such e-passports, and previously issued non-biometric passports usually remain valid until expiration. The passport's critical information is stored on a small RFID computer chip, much like information stored on smartcards. A more recent standard is for biometric passports, which contain biometrics to authenticate the identity of travelers. 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. In 2013, more than 5 million British passports were printed each year, one every 2.5 seconds, at a secret location in the North of England. As of 2022, they are made by Thales DIS in Poland. The face, fingerprints, and other biometric features of the passport holder are digitized and stored in pre-installed contactless smart chips, 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. This technological leap has allowed border controllers and other law enforcement agents to process these passports more quickly, without having to input the information manually into a computer.
The Politics of Exclusion
Passports have become instruments of political exclusion, defining who belongs to a nation and who is kept out. 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. About 60,000 National Without Household Registration individuals currently hold Taiwanese passports with this status. Until the 31st of January 2021, holders of British National (Overseas) passports were able to use their UK passports for immigration clearance in Hong Kong and to seek consular protection from overseas Chinese diplomatic missions. This was a unique arrangement as it involved a passport issued by one state conferring right of abode 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 is not associated with right of abode in any territory. Similarly, non-citizens in Latvia and in Estonia are individuals, primarily of Russian or Ukrainian ethnicity, who are not citizens of Latvia or Estonia, but who have settled during the 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 ethnic Russians, followed by ethnic Belarusians, ethnic Ukrainians, ethnic Poles and ethnic Lithuanians. Per 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.
The Global Mobility Index
The value of a passport is measured not by its physical weight but by the number of countries it allows its holder to enter without a visa. One method by which to rank the value of a passport is to calculate its mobility score, which 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 2026, the strongest passport in the world is the Singaporean passport. 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. As of the 21st of 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. 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. In 2014, China issued 16 million passports, ranking first in the world, surpassing the United States and India, and the number of ordinary passports in circulation rose to 120 million by October 2016, which was approximately 8.7 percent of the population.
The Language of Borders
Passports are multilingual documents that reflect the diplomatic history and linguistic diversity of the issuing nation. 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. 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. Many European countries use their national language, along with English and French. Some additional language combinations include Algerian, Chadian, Lebanese, Mauritanian, Moroccan and Tunisian passports, which 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. Passports of Bosnia and Herzegovina are in the three official languages of Bosnian, Serbian and Croatian in addition to English. Brazilian passports 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, Irish and Scottish Gaelic translations on an extra page. The first page of the old Libyan passport was in Arabic only, while the current passport has dark-blue cover, is electronically readable, and has Arabic with English translation in the first page.