Passport ; Issuances and National conditions

A passport is a travel document, generally issued by a country’s govt. to its citizens, that certifies the id & nationality of its passport holder primarily for the purpose of international travel or journey. Standard passports may contain information such as the name of the passport holder, place & date of the birth passport holder, photograph of the passport holder’s, signature, & other relevant identifying information.

A holder of a passport is normally entitled to enter the country that issued the passport card, though some people entitled to a passport card may not be full citizens with the right of abode e.g. American nationals / British nationals. A passport card does not of itself create any rights in the country being visited/ obligate the issuing country in any way, such as providing consular assistance. Some passport cards attest to the bearer having standing as a diplomat / other officials, entitled to rights & privileges such as immunity from arrest/prosecution.

Many countries normally allow entry to holders of passports of other countries, sometimes requiring a visa also to be obtained, but this isn’t an automatic right. Many other additional conditions, such as not being likely to become a public charge for financial/other reasons, & the passport holder not having been convicted of a crime, may apply.

Passport card & other travel documents have a date expiry, after which it’s no longer recognized, but it’s recommended that a passport card is valid for at least 6- months as many airlines deny boarding to passengers whose passport card has a shorter date expiry, even if the destination country may not have such a requirement.

Issuances

Legal scholars including A.J. Arkelian have argued that evolutions in both the constitutional law of democratic countries & the international law applicable to all countries now render those historical tenets both obsolete & unlawful.

This may apply, for example, to people who travel a lot on business, & may need to have, say, a passport to travel on while another is awaiting a visa for another country. The UK for ex. may issue a second passport if the candidate can show a need & supporting documentation, such as a letter from an employer.

National conditions

Today, most countries issue individual passport cards to applying citizens, including children, with only a few still issuing family passport cards i.e. see below under including children on a parent's passport card i.e. most countries have switched to individual passport cards in the early to the mid-20th century. When holders apply for a new passport card, in some circumstances an expired passport card isn’t required to be surrendered/ invalidated.

Each country sets its own conditions for the issue of a passport card. E.g., Pakistan requires candidates to be interviewed before a Pakistani passport card will be granted. When applying for a passport card, all Pakistanis are required to sign an oath declaring Mirza Ghulam Ahmad to be an impostor prophet & all Ahmadis to be non-Muslims.