Belgian passport
Encyclopedia
Belgium
Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...
to facilitate international travel. The Federal Public Service Foreign Affairs
FPS Foreign Affairs Belgium
The FPS Foreign Affairs, Foreign Trade and Development Cooperation , more commonly known as the FPS Foreign Affairs, is a Federal Public Service of Belgium. It was created by Royal Order on March 8, 2002, as part of the plans of the first Verhofstadt Government to modernise the federal administration...
is responsible for issuing and renewing Belgian passports.
Types of Passports
- Standard Passport - Issued for ordinary travel, such as vacations and business trips. The passport identifier is an 8-character alphanumeric with the structure AB123456; 2 alphas followed by 6 digits.
- Diplomatic Passport - Issued to members of the Belgian Royal Family, members of the government, ministers of StateCrown Council of BelgiumThe Crown Council of Belgium is composed of the King of the Belgians, the Ministers and the Ministers of State. The King chairs the Crown Council...
and representatives of Belgium or of the Communities or Regions (diplomats, economic or trade attaches, the main representative of each Community or Region) - Service Passport - Issued to civil servants within the federal public services, ministries, parliaments and judicial services sent on an official mission abroad by the Belgian authorities.
- Temporary Passport is a passport issued in Emergency Conditions by the provinces valid for 6 months, if there is a justifiable urgent matter requiring immediate travel. This Passport is recognisable by its dark green cover.
- Emergency Travel Document is issued when previous passport was lost by the Belgian diplomatic representatives abroad. It is also burgundy but has only 6 sheets.
Physical Appearance
Belgian passports are burgundyBurgundy (color)
Burgundy is a shade of purplish red associated with the Burgundy wine of the same name, which in turn is named after the Burgundy region of France. The color burgundy is similar to other shades of dark red such as maroon...
, with the Belgian smaller Coat of arms
Coat of arms of Belgium
The coat of arms of the Kingdom of Belgium bears a lion, called the Belgian Lion, or Leo Belgicus. This is in accordance with article 193 of the Belgian Constitution: The Belgian nation takes red, yellow and black as colours, and as state coat of arms the Belgian lion with the motto UNITY MAKES...
emblazoned in the centre of the front cover. The words "EUROPESE UNIE" (Dutch
Dutch language
Dutch is a West Germanic language and the native language of the majority of the population of the Netherlands, Belgium, and Suriname, the three member states of the Dutch Language Union. Most speakers live in the European Union, where it is a first language for about 23 million and a second...
), "UNION EUROPÉENNE" (French
French language
French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...
) and "EUROPÄISCHE UNION" (German
German language
German is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union....
) (European Union) - "KONINKRIJK BELGIË" (Dutch
Dutch language
Dutch is a West Germanic language and the native language of the majority of the population of the Netherlands, Belgium, and Suriname, the three member states of the Dutch Language Union. Most speakers live in the European Union, where it is a first language for about 23 million and a second...
), "ROYAUME DE BELGIQUE" (French
French language
French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...
) and "KÖNIGREICH BELGIEN" (German
German language
German is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union....
) (Kingdom of Belgium) is inscribed above the coat of arms and the word "PASPOORT - PASSEPORT - REISEPASS" (Passport) is inscribed below the coat of arms. Belgian passports have the standard biometric symbol at the bottom and use the standard EU design. The sequence of the languages on the cover is Dutch-French-German, French-Dutch-German or German-French-Dutch, depending on the affiliation with the lingual community of its holder.
Passport forgery
According to the Belgian police, 19,050 blank Belgian passports had been stolen between 1990 and 2002 and had been used to create forged travel documents.External links
- Images of a 1946 Belgian passport from www.passportland.com
- Images of a 1968 Belgian passport from www.passportland.com