World Passport
Encyclopedia
The World Passport is a document issued by the World Service Authority
, a non-profit organization founded by Garry Davis
in 1948, citing Article 13, Section 2, of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
or other travel document
. Indeed, the appearance is so close that in 1974 a criminal case was lodged against Garry Davis in France regarding his issuance of World Passports. In 1979, the World Passport was a 42-page document, with a dark blue cover, and text in English, Spanish, French, Russian, Arabic, German, and Esperanto. It contained a five-page section for medical history and a six-page section for listing organisational affiliation. The fee charged at that time was $32 and postage for a three-year passport with the possibility of two years' extension of validity.
The latest edition of the World Passport, issued January 2007, is an MRD (machine readable document) with an alphanumeric code bar enabling computer input plus an embedded "ghost" photo for security, printing covered with a plastic film. According to the WSA website, the application fee is $45 for a three-year passport, $75 for a five-year passport, and $100 for an eight-year passport.
with a national visa or entry or exit stamp), and several countries have accorded the document legal recognition. Other countries and territories have stated that they do not recognize such documents because they are not issued by a competent government authority, and thus do not meet the definition of a passport
.
The World Passport came under increased international scrutiny in 1996, after the hijacking of the MS Achille Lauro
. In the aftermath of the incident, one of the captured hijackers, Youssef Majed al-Molqi, escaped imprisonment in Italy and used a World Passport he acquired in 1988 to leave the country and travel to Spain before he was recaptured.
Russia in general does not accept the World Passport. In a 1995 interview with Kommersant
, a spokesman for the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs' Department of Consular Services stated that the World Passport is not an acceptable document for proving identity or citizenship status at Russian border crossings; only a diplomatic passport, official passport, seaman's passport, or general civil passport are accepted. However one media report claims that some members of the House of Romanov, travelling to Saint Petersburg
in 1995 for the reburial of the remains of their ancestors, were permitted by Russian authorities to obtain visas in their World Passports, in light of the special situation.
specifically included the World Passport in a training film as an example of unacceptable travel papers. Peace activist Kenneth O'Keefe
tried to travel to Iraq using a World Passport in 2003, but was rejected transit rights by Turkey, and had to apply for an American passport to continue his journey. In 2004 in the People's Republic of China
, two men from Fujian
on board Cathay Pacific
Flight 302 from Hong Kong to Guangzhou attempted to pass through immigration at Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport
using World Passports. (Hong Kong and mainland China, though both part of the same country, have separate immigration systems, due to one country, two systems
). The officers at the airport arrested them for illegal entry. Also, though Garry Davis himself travelled to India some decades ago using his World Passport and gave one personally to Jawaharlal Nehru
, in May 2007 an Indian citizen was arrested for attempting to leave India at Begumpet Airport
using his World Passport. The man had intended to travel to the United States. His travel agency and Air India
staff both accepted his passport, but Indian immigration did not. In December 2008, a man claiming to be a Russian citizen attempted to cross the border from Latvia
into Belarus
at the Urbany checkpoint using a World Passport; he stated he lost his Russian documents while in Sweden. He was arrested by the Belarusian border guards. A spokesman for Belarus' State Border Committee in an interview with a local newspaper stated that Belarus does not accept the World Passport at border crossings. He also claimed it was the first known case of its kind in the country.
n passports who were otherwise unable to travel internationally as no other country accepted their documents besides South Africa
. Will Reed, a former U.S. Army soldier who renounced
his U.S. citizenship in protest against the Vietnam War
, was held in jail in Thailand
until he attained release after getting a World Passport.
By 1991 the WSA claims to have issued "hundreds of thousands" of World Passports to refugees. Many East Africa
n refugees arriving in Nordic countries
in the early 1990s had World Passports. In July 2011, a Georgian citizen attempted to pass through Latvia
n border control with a World Passport, though he also had a valid Georgian passport
in his possession; after presenting his World Passport, he requested asylum in Latvia.
Another category of users of World Passports are stowaway
s on ships. Vessel owners are legally responsible for the stowaways until they can find a country to let them ashore, but countries are often reluctant due to questions over the validity of the stowaways' documents. Lawyers working for maritime insurers sometimes turn to the WSA when all other options are exhausted. From 1992 to 2006 the WSA issued five such documents.
, himself a World Passport holder, has suggested that a World Passport is useful at hotels and other non-governmental institutions where security is uncertain; if one is asked to hand over one's passport in such situations, one can provide the World Passport instead of a national passport. Governmental authorities do not share this assessment.
In the United Kingdom
, the Criminal Records Bureau
of the United Kingdom
's Home Office
states that registered bodies should not accept the World Passport as a proof of identity, warning that "a fake ‘World Passport’ can be purchased online by members of the public and should not be confused with a genuine passport". The Isle of Man
's Financial Supervision Commission, which regulates the isle's banks and company formation agents, states that the World Passport is not an acceptable document to prove either the nationality or identity of the bearer. Specifically, it classifies it as a spurious or fantasy passport, a term which it defines to mean as documents which "have the appearance of a passport, but are issued by organisations with no authority and to which no official recognition has been given".
With regards to the United States
, the Social Security Administration
will also not accept any World Service Authority document (including the World Passport and World Donor Passport) as evidence of identity, age, citizenship, alien status, or marital status for either claims or enumeration purposes. The Virginia Department of Social Services explicitly classifies all World Service Authority documents as "unacceptable documents" for verification of identity. The United States Department of State
instructs all U.S. embassies and consulates not to provide any notarial
, apostille
, or other authentication services in respect of World Passports, whether regarding the World Passport itself or documents relating to an application for a World Passport. They warn that such documents could be used for fraudulent or criminal purposes. In 1996, an Indiana
man was able to obtain a World Passport in a name other than his own legal name, but was detected after repeated attempts to use it to prove his identity when opening business accounts at various area banks. He was convicted of fraud
on a financial institution, and his conviction was upheld on appeal.
. Regardless of its non-acceptance in their country, a number of Russian citizens have obtained the World Passport as a form of protest against the "red tape" imposed by the Russian government on their own citizens aiming to travel abroad.
, Guangdong
involved counterfeit World Passports as well. In February 1981, the local Public Security Bureau
identified some Hong Kong criminals who were charging would-be World Passport holders more than ¥18,000 (more than US$10,000 at the official exchange rate back then) in processing fees, and misrepresenting to them that World Passport holders could settle in any country in the world.
As mentioned above, Russia does not accept World Passports, but in the 1990s, many company formation agents in Russia sold the World Passport together in a package-deal with the setup of an offshore company
(international business company
), and falsely claimed that all countries of the world accept it as an identity document. In some cases such companies charged up to US$1,000 for the passport alone.
In Malaysia in 1994, a Nigerian man was arrested at the Central Market, Kuala Lumpur by tourist police during an identity check, after he showed a World Passport. A search of his belongings showed that he carried a total of five World Passports, as well as a Nigerian passport
that had been used by another person to travel to Malaysia and Hong Kong. Authorities suspected he might be trying to sell the passports to other foreign nationals lacking valid travel documents.
World Service Authority
The World Service Authority , founded in 1953, is a non-profit organization that educates about and promotes "world citizenship", "world law", and World Government. It is best known for issuing World Passports. It has an office in Washington, D.C...
, a non-profit organization founded by Garry Davis
Garry Davis
Garry Davis is a peace activist who created the first World Passport.-Early life:Davis was the son of Meyer and Hilda Davis. He was graduated from the Episcopal Academy in 1940 and attended the Carnegie Institute of Technology...
in 1948, citing Article 13, Section 2, of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
Appearance and issuance fees
The World Passport is similar in appearance to a national passportPassport
A passport is a document, issued by a national government, which certifies, for the purpose of international travel, the identity and nationality of its holder. The elements of identity are name, date of birth, sex, and place of birth....
or other travel document
Travel document
A travel document is an identity document issued by a government or international treaty organization to facilitate the movement of individuals or small groups of persons across international boundaries...
. Indeed, the appearance is so close that in 1974 a criminal case was lodged against Garry Davis in France regarding his issuance of World Passports. In 1979, the World Passport was a 42-page document, with a dark blue cover, and text in English, Spanish, French, Russian, Arabic, German, and Esperanto. It contained a five-page section for medical history and a six-page section for listing organisational affiliation. The fee charged at that time was $32 and postage for a three-year passport with the possibility of two years' extension of validity.
The latest edition of the World Passport, issued January 2007, is an MRD (machine readable document) with an alphanumeric code bar enabling computer input plus an embedded "ghost" photo for security, printing covered with a plastic film. According to the WSA website, the application fee is $45 for a three-year passport, $75 for a five-year passport, and $100 for an eight-year passport.
As a travel document
| Country or territory | Acceptance |
|---|---|
 Belarus |
Not accepted |
 Burkina Faso |
No longer accepted |
 Canada |
Not accepted |
 Ecuador |
Accepted |
 European Union |
Not accepted |
 Holy See |
Supportive |
 Japan |
Not accepted |
 Macau |
Not accepted |
 Mauritania |
Accepted |
 New Zealand |
Not accepted |
 Russia |
Not accepted |
 Tanzania |
Accepted |
 Togo |
Accepted |
 United States |
Not accepted |
 Zambia |
No longer accepted |
Notable acceptances
According to the World Service Authority website, World Passports have reportedly been accepted on a de facto, case-by-case basis by over 150 countries (i.e. they have been stampedPassport stamp
A passport stamp is a rubber stamp inked impression received in one's passport upon entering or exiting a country. Passport stamps may occasionally take the form of sticker stamps, such as those received when entering Japan. Depending on nationality, a visitor may not receive a stamp , such as an...
with a national visa or entry or exit stamp), and several countries have accorded the document legal recognition. Other countries and territories have stated that they do not recognize such documents because they are not issued by a competent government authority, and thus do not meet the definition of a passport
Passport
A passport is a document, issued by a national government, which certifies, for the purpose of international travel, the identity and nationality of its holder. The elements of identity are name, date of birth, sex, and place of birth....
.
The World Passport came under increased international scrutiny in 1996, after the hijacking of the MS Achille Lauro
MS Achille Lauro
MS Achille Lauro was a cruise ship based in Naples, Italy. Built between 1939 and 1947 as MS Willem Ruys, a passenger liner for the Rotterdamsche Lloyd. It is most remembered for its 1985 hijacking...
. In the aftermath of the incident, one of the captured hijackers, Youssef Majed al-Molqi, escaped imprisonment in Italy and used a World Passport he acquired in 1988 to leave the country and travel to Spain before he was recaptured.
Russia in general does not accept the World Passport. In a 1995 interview with Kommersant
Kommersant
Kommersant is a commerce-oriented newspaper published in Russia. , the circulation was 131,000.- History :The newspaper was initially published in 1909, and it was closed down following the Bolshevik seizure of power and the introduction of censorship in 1917.In 1989, with the onset of press...
, a spokesman for the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs' Department of Consular Services stated that the World Passport is not an acceptable document for proving identity or citizenship status at Russian border crossings; only a diplomatic passport, official passport, seaman's passport, or general civil passport are accepted. However one media report claims that some members of the House of Romanov, travelling to Saint Petersburg
Saint Petersburg
Saint Petersburg is a city and a federal subject of Russia located on the Neva River at the head of the Gulf of Finland on the Baltic Sea...
in 1995 for the reburial of the remains of their ancestors, were permitted by Russian authorities to obtain visas in their World Passports, in light of the special situation.
Notable rejections
Travelling on a World Passport has never been easy. By 1975, Garry Davis had already been imprisoned 20 times for his attempts to cross international borders with nothing but a World Passport. As early as 1991, the US' Air Transport AssociationAir Transport Association
Airlines for America , formerly known as Air Transport Association of America, Inc. , is America's oldest and largest airline trade association. A4A member airlines and their affiliates transport more than 90 percent of U.S. airline passenger and cargo traffic. Based in Washington, D.C., the...
specifically included the World Passport in a training film as an example of unacceptable travel papers. Peace activist Kenneth O'Keefe
Kenneth O'Keefe
Kenneth Nichols O'Keefe is an Irish-American activist and former US Marine. He led the human shield action to Iraq and was a passenger on the MV Mavi Marmara during the Gaza flotilla raid...
tried to travel to Iraq using a World Passport in 2003, but was rejected transit rights by Turkey, and had to apply for an American passport to continue his journey. In 2004 in the People's Republic of China
People's Republic of China
China , officially the People's Republic of China , is the most populous country in the world, with over 1.3 billion citizens. Located in East Asia, the country covers approximately 9.6 million square kilometres...
, two men from Fujian
Fujian
' , formerly romanised as Fukien or Huguing or Foukien, is a province on the southeast coast of mainland China. Fujian is bordered by Zhejiang to the north, Jiangxi to the west, and Guangdong to the south. Taiwan lies to the east, across the Taiwan Strait...
on board Cathay Pacific
Cathay Pacific
Cathay Pacific is the flag carrier of Hong Kong, with its head office and main hub located at Hong Kong International Airport, although the airline's registered office is on the 33rd floor of One Pacific Place...
Flight 302 from Hong Kong to Guangzhou attempted to pass through immigration at Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport
Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport
Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport is the main airport of Guangzhou, the capital of the province of Guangdong, People's Republic of China. Both airport codes were inherited from the previous Guangzhou airport, and the IATA code reflects Guangzhou's former romanization Canton...
using World Passports. (Hong Kong and mainland China, though both part of the same country, have separate immigration systems, due to one country, two systems
One country, two systems
"One country, two systems" is an idea originally proposed by Deng Xiaoping, then Paramount Leader of the People's Republic of China , for the reunification of China during the early 1980s...
). The officers at the airport arrested them for illegal entry. Also, though Garry Davis himself travelled to India some decades ago using his World Passport and gave one personally to Jawaharlal Nehru
Jawaharlal Nehru
Jawaharlal Nehru , often referred to with the epithet of Panditji, was an Indian statesman who became the first Prime Minister of independent India and became noted for his “neutralist” policies in foreign affairs. He was also one of the principal leaders of India’s independence movement in the...
, in May 2007 an Indian citizen was arrested for attempting to leave India at Begumpet Airport
Begumpet Airport
Begumpet Airport at Hyderabad, also known as Hyderabad Airport, used to be the only international airport in Andhra Pradesh, but however, it is now defunct with the opening of the Hyderabad International Airport on the 23rd March 2008. It is a civil enclave located in Begumpet...
using his World Passport. The man had intended to travel to the United States. His travel agency and Air India
Air India
Air India is the flag carrier airline of India. It is part of the government of India owned Air India Limited . The airline operates a fleet of Airbus and Boeing aircraft serving Asia, Australia, Europe and North America. Its corporate office is located at the Air India Building at Nariman...
staff both accepted his passport, but Indian immigration did not. In December 2008, a man claiming to be a Russian citizen attempted to cross the border from Latvia
Latvia
Latvia , officially the Republic of Latvia , is a country in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by Estonia , to the south by Lithuania , to the east by the Russian Federation , to the southeast by Belarus and shares maritime borders to the west with Sweden...
into Belarus
Belarus
Belarus , officially the Republic of Belarus, is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe, bordered clockwise by Russia to the northeast, Ukraine to the south, Poland to the west, and Lithuania and Latvia to the northwest. Its capital is Minsk; other major cities include Brest, Grodno , Gomel ,...
at the Urbany checkpoint using a World Passport; he stated he lost his Russian documents while in Sweden. He was arrested by the Belarusian border guards. A spokesman for Belarus' State Border Committee in an interview with a local newspaper stated that Belarus does not accept the World Passport at border crossings. He also claimed it was the first known case of its kind in the country.
Use by refugees and stateless persons
The World Service Authority issues World Passports to refugees and other people who are unable to obtain valid, usable travel documents. However, many of those refugees, after getting their hopes up, have found World Passports to be useless. According to statements by Garry Davis in the mid-1970s, major users of World Passports at the time included persons in Southeast Asia fleeing from the wars there, as well as holders of RhodesiaRhodesia
Rhodesia , officially the Republic of Rhodesia from 1970, was an unrecognised state located in southern Africa that existed between 1965 and 1979 following its Unilateral Declaration of Independence from the United Kingdom on 11 November 1965...
n passports who were otherwise unable to travel internationally as no other country accepted their documents besides South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
. Will Reed, a former U.S. Army soldier who renounced
Renunciation of citizenship
Renunciation is a voluntary act of relinquishing one's citizenship . It is the opposite of naturalization whereby a person voluntarily acquires a citizenship, and related to denaturalization where the loss of citizenship is not voluntary, but forced by a state.-Historic practices:The old common law...
his U.S. citizenship in protest against the Vietnam War
Vietnam War
The Vietnam War was a Cold War-era military conflict that occurred in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. This war followed the First Indochina War and was fought between North Vietnam, supported by its communist allies, and the government of...
, was held in jail in Thailand
Thailand
Thailand , officially the Kingdom of Thailand , formerly known as Siam , is a country located at the centre of the Indochina peninsula and Southeast Asia. It is bordered to the north by Burma and Laos, to the east by Laos and Cambodia, to the south by the Gulf of Thailand and Malaysia, and to the...
until he attained release after getting a World Passport.
By 1991 the WSA claims to have issued "hundreds of thousands" of World Passports to refugees. Many East Africa
East Africa
East Africa or Eastern Africa is the easterly region of the African continent, variably defined by geography or geopolitics. In the UN scheme of geographic regions, 19 territories constitute Eastern Africa:...
n refugees arriving in Nordic countries
Nordic countries
The Nordic countries make up a region in Northern Europe and the North Atlantic which consists of Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden and their associated territories, the Faroe Islands, Greenland and Åland...
in the early 1990s had World Passports. In July 2011, a Georgian citizen attempted to pass through Latvia
Latvia
Latvia , officially the Republic of Latvia , is a country in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by Estonia , to the south by Lithuania , to the east by the Russian Federation , to the southeast by Belarus and shares maritime borders to the west with Sweden...
n border control with a World Passport, though he also had a valid Georgian passport
Georgian passport
Georgian passports are issued to citizens of Georgia to facilitate international travel.-See also:*Visa requirements for Georgian citizens*Visa policy of Georgia*List of passports* E.U. Eastern Partnership Program -References:...
in his possession; after presenting his World Passport, he requested asylum in Latvia.
Another category of users of World Passports are stowaway
Stowaway
A stowaway is a person who secretly boards a vehicle, such as an aircraft, bus, ship, cargo truck or train, to travel without paying and without being detected....
s on ships. Vessel owners are legally responsible for the stowaways until they can find a country to let them ashore, but countries are often reluctant due to questions over the validity of the stowaways' documents. Lawyers working for maritime insurers sometimes turn to the WSA when all other options are exhausted. From 1992 to 2006 the WSA issued five such documents.
As an identity document
The World Service Authority promotes the World Passport not just as a document for international travel, but a "neutral, apolitical document of identity". Investor Doug CaseyDoug Casey
Douglas "Doug" Casey is an American-born free market economist, best-selling financial author, and international investor and entrepreneur...
, himself a World Passport holder, has suggested that a World Passport is useful at hotels and other non-governmental institutions where security is uncertain; if one is asked to hand over one's passport in such situations, one can provide the World Passport instead of a national passport. Governmental authorities do not share this assessment.
In the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
, the Criminal Records Bureau
Criminal Records Bureau
The Criminal Records Bureau , is an Executive Agency of the Home Office, which provides wider access to criminal record information through its Disclosure service for England and Wales...
of the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
's Home Office
Home Office
The Home Office is the United Kingdom government department responsible for immigration control, security, and order. As such it is responsible for the police, UK Border Agency, and the Security Service . It is also in charge of government policy on security-related issues such as drugs,...
states that registered bodies should not accept the World Passport as a proof of identity, warning that "a fake ‘World Passport’ can be purchased online by members of the public and should not be confused with a genuine passport". The Isle of Man
Isle of Man
The Isle of Man , otherwise known simply as Mann , is a self-governing British Crown Dependency, located in the Irish Sea between the islands of Great Britain and Ireland, within the British Isles. The head of state is Queen Elizabeth II, who holds the title of Lord of Mann. The Lord of Mann is...
's Financial Supervision Commission, which regulates the isle's banks and company formation agents, states that the World Passport is not an acceptable document to prove either the nationality or identity of the bearer. Specifically, it classifies it as a spurious or fantasy passport, a term which it defines to mean as documents which "have the appearance of a passport, but are issued by organisations with no authority and to which no official recognition has been given".
With regards to the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, the Social Security Administration
Social Security Administration
The United States Social Security Administration is an independent agency of the United States federal government that administers Social Security, a social insurance program consisting of retirement, disability, and survivors' benefits...
will also not accept any World Service Authority document (including the World Passport and World Donor Passport) as evidence of identity, age, citizenship, alien status, or marital status for either claims or enumeration purposes. The Virginia Department of Social Services explicitly classifies all World Service Authority documents as "unacceptable documents" for verification of identity. The United States Department of State
United States Department of State
The United States Department of State , is the United States federal executive department responsible for international relations of the United States, equivalent to the foreign ministries of other countries...
instructs all U.S. embassies and consulates not to provide any notarial
Notary
A notary is a lawyer or person with legal training who is licensed by the state to perform acts in legal affairs, in particular witnessing signatures on documents...
, apostille
Apostille convention
The Hague Convention Abolishing the Requirement for Legalisation for Foreign Public Documents, the Apostille convention, or the Apostille treaty is an international treaty drafted by the Hague Conference on Private International Law...
, or other authentication services in respect of World Passports, whether regarding the World Passport itself or documents relating to an application for a World Passport. They warn that such documents could be used for fraudulent or criminal purposes. In 1996, an Indiana
Indiana
Indiana is a US state, admitted to the United States as the 19th on December 11, 1816. It is located in the Midwestern United States and Great Lakes Region. With 6,483,802 residents, the state is ranked 15th in population and 16th in population density. Indiana is ranked 38th in land area and is...
man was able to obtain a World Passport in a name other than his own legal name, but was detected after repeated attempts to use it to prove his identity when opening business accounts at various area banks. He was convicted of fraud
Fraud
In criminal law, a fraud is an intentional deception made for personal gain or to damage another individual; the related adjective is fraudulent. The specific legal definition varies by legal jurisdiction. Fraud is a crime, and also a civil law violation...
on a financial institution, and his conviction was upheld on appeal.
As a political statement
Regardless of its acceptance or lack thereof, a traveler may also obtain a World Passport as a moral statement of his or her belief in the inalienable right to travel under the Universal Declaration of Human RightsUniversal Declaration of Human Rights
The Universal Declaration of Human Rights is a declaration adopted by the United Nations General Assembly . The Declaration arose directly from the experience of the Second World War and represents the first global expression of rights to which all human beings are inherently entitled...
. Regardless of its non-acceptance in their country, a number of Russian citizens have obtained the World Passport as a form of protest against the "red tape" imposed by the Russian government on their own citizens aiming to travel abroad.
Counterfeits and fraudulent issuance
Despite its limited acceptance amount the countries of the world, the World Passport is so popular that criminals have even taken to producing fake ones. The Isle of Man's Financial Supervision Commission reports that they have identified counterfeit World Passports. Also, the first cross-jurisdictional fake passport case ever found in GuangzhouGuangzhou
Guangzhou , known historically as Canton or Kwangchow, is the capital and largest city of the Guangdong province in the People's Republic of China. Located in southern China on the Pearl River, about north-northwest of Hong Kong, Guangzhou is a key national transportation hub and trading port...
, Guangdong
Guangdong
Guangdong is a province on the South China Sea coast of the People's Republic of China. The province was previously often written with the alternative English name Kwangtung Province...
involved counterfeit World Passports as well. In February 1981, the local Public Security Bureau
Public Security Bureau
In the People's Republic of China, a public security bureau refers to the government offices while the smaller offices are called Police posts which are similar in concept to the Japanese Kōban system) present in each province and municipality that handles policing , public security, and...
identified some Hong Kong criminals who were charging would-be World Passport holders more than ¥18,000 (more than US$10,000 at the official exchange rate back then) in processing fees, and misrepresenting to them that World Passport holders could settle in any country in the world.
As mentioned above, Russia does not accept World Passports, but in the 1990s, many company formation agents in Russia sold the World Passport together in a package-deal with the setup of an offshore company
Offshore company
The term offshore company is ambiguous. It may refer to either:# A company which is incorporated outside the jurisdiction of its primary operations regardless of whether that jurisdiction is an offshore financial centre i.e...
(international business company
International business company
An international business company or international business corporation is an offshore company formed under the laws of some jurisdictions as untaxed company which is not permitted to engage in business within the jurisdiction in which it is incorporated...
), and falsely claimed that all countries of the world accept it as an identity document. In some cases such companies charged up to US$1,000 for the passport alone.
In Malaysia in 1994, a Nigerian man was arrested at the Central Market, Kuala Lumpur by tourist police during an identity check, after he showed a World Passport. A search of his belongings showed that he carried a total of five World Passports, as well as a Nigerian passport
Nigerian passport
Nigerian passports are issued to Nigerian citizens to travel abroad.-Physical properties:* Surname* Given Names* Maiden Name* Nationality Nigerian* Date of Birth.* Sex* Place of Birth* Date of Issue* Date of Expiry* passport number...
that had been used by another person to travel to Malaysia and Hong Kong. Authorities suspected he might be trying to sell the passports to other foreign nationals lacking valid travel documents.
External links
- What's a World Passport? article by Daniel Engber in slate.com (March 24, 2006)
- Asylum seekers try their luck with 'world passport', article by Matthew Vella in Malta TodayMalta TodayMaltaToday is a twice-weekly English language newspaper published in Malta. Its first edition was published on 19 November, 1999, and started out as a Friday newspaper. Currently it is published on Wednesdays and Sundays.-History:...
(7 February 2010) - The World Passport on the World Service Authority website