11 Surprising Facts About Passport You Probably Didn¡¯t Know

If you are a traveller and likes to roam around the world, you would invariably carry your passport. But have ever stopped to think about your passport which plays the important role in facilitating your travel as without it you can¡¯t even imagine entering inside international borders.

The passport is, for travellers, synonymous with freedom, adventure and new experiences. It allows you to enter a country and explore all its charms and mysteries. Here we bring you the amazing facts about passports. Basically, it serves to show that a person can enter and leave a country, but its main function is to identify where its holder comes from and where he went.

Earlier we have bought the list of the countries where Indian passport holders can travel visa-free and today we are talking about some amazing and interesting facts about passports around the world:

The passport word first mentioned in the Bible?

Unsplash/Representational image

Passport has been around for a very, very long time! In fact, it has one of the oldest references in the Bible. It is in The Book of Nehemiah, a tome of the Old Testament. Nehemiah, an official in the service of King Artaxerxes I the sixth King of the Achaemenid Empire of Persia around 450BC during the Persian Empire, granted passage to Judea through a royal missive addressed "to the governors of the province beyond the river". The authorization to circulate freely, granted following the royal request, is the beginning of what will formally become the passport, this laissez-passer that we know today.

The origin of the word "passport" dates back to the 15th century

Unsplash/Representational image

If the oldest reference to the passport appears in the Bible, the origin of the two French words ¡®passer¡¯ + ¡®port¡¯ meaning ¡°to pass through a port¡± dates from the 15th century. At the time, it was also written as a compound word ¡°passport¡±. First used to authorize the movement of goods, the compound name ¡°passport¡± then spread to refer to the movement of people from the middle of the 15th century. It is not certain, however, that the term ¡°port¡± referred exclusively to seaports but rather to the gates of fortified cities.

If you have a Face tattoo or face surgery you will require a new passport

Unsplash/Representational image

If you had a face tattoo or face surgery on your face, you will need a new passport. This makes a slight change in your appearance, so you will have to change your picture. You will need to do this if you have a plain face at the time of getting your passport, but you have had a tattoo or surgery on your face after some time.

You can't wear a uniform or cover your face or head in your passport photo

Unsplash/Representational image

You cannot get your passport photo taken wearing any uniform, wearing hats, caps, and even sunglasses are not allowed. In fact, if your hair is covering your face, then you will have to get photographed again. Only commercial employees like pilots and flight attendants may get approval.

Renew your passport six months before it expires

Unsplash/Representational image

Don't take chances with your passport's expiry date before taking a trip. Some countries around the world require your passport to be valid for 90 days after entry. But to have a margin of safety, you should guarantee the validity of six months - that's the time required by some.

World Passport

Unsplash/Representational image

It is possible to have a world passport if it¡¯s issued by the World Service Authority, a DC-based nonprofit organization that claims to educate about and promote "world citizenship", "world law", and world government. These have been accepted as travel documents by very few countries around the world including Burkina Faso, Ecuador, Mauritania, Tanzania, Togo, and Zambia.

Passports have been in use since the 13th century

Passports have been in use since the 13th century. King Henry V introduced this concept, to make it easier to prove his nationality and identity when travelling to foreign lands. However, at that time they were not given the name ¡®passport¡¯.

The colours of the passport have meanings

Travel Triangle

Have you noticed that every passport from different countries has a different colour - Red, blue, green or black? Passports can be defined in one of these 4 colours and their different shades. In Europe, burgundy is appropriate following an agreement adopted in the 1980s. But some countries have also opted for red in reference to communism. The United States to India have their passport colour in blue because it is symbolically associated with the ¡°New World¡±. Green, culturally associated with the Muslim religion, has been chosen as a passport colour by the countries of the Maghreb and the Middle East. Black, rarer, appears on the passports of several sub-Saharan African countries in reference to the African continent, but it is also the colour of the New Zealand passport as its the national colour of the country. Interestingly, the UK passport is nicknamed the ¡®red book¡¯, while the US passport is often referred to as the ¡®blue book¡¯

Photo ID not mandatory before World War I

The passport evolved a lot before reaching its current form. Photo ID among the additions that have become mandatory. While the first photographs appeared at the beginning of the 19th century, it was not until a century later that it was compulsory to show the passport holder's photo. It was after World War I that certain measures were taken, such as the addition of a photo to identify the owner of a passport. It would seem that this obligation was born after a German spy was able to enter Great Britain with a false American passport. Back in 1915 family photographs were allowed on passports if the faces of all members were clearly seen but it was not until the second half of the 20th century, after the Second World War, that passport formalities were standardized in the international system.

The Queen of England doesn't have a passport

AFP

For any citizen of an EU country, it is possible to travel in the European area only with his national identity card. On the other hand, the passport becomes compulsory to cross its borders. Queen Elisabeth II is not a citizen like the others. She has neither a national identity card nor a passport, but that does not prevent her from travelling all over the world! Indeed, British passports being issued in the name of Her Majesty, the ¡°Queen¡± herself has no need for them and travels without a passport! On the other hand, the other members of the ¡°Royal Family¡± do not have this privilege, including her husband, the Prince of Edinburgh and her son, Prince Charles.

Not all passports have the same value

As you can imagine: depending on the nationality of your passport, you will have more or less ease in travelling the world. Unfortunately, not all citizens of the world are equal when it comes to getting around. The more powerful your passport is and the more mobile you are, the more you will be able to travel to foreign countries without a visa being necessary. According to Henley Passport Index 2022, the Japanese and Singapore passport are the two most powerful passports in the world, and their passport holders are allowed to travel to 192 countries without a visa. India has improved its ranks and is currently placed at 83rd position from the earlier 90th position in the most powerful passport report with a visa-free score of 60.

For more trending stories, click here.