passport

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A passport is a travel document, usually issued by a country's government to its citizens, that certifies the identity and nationality of its holder primarily for the purpose of international travel. Standard passports may contain information such as the holder's name, place and date of birth, photograph, signature, and other relevant identifying information.
Many countries have either begun issuing or plan to issue biometric passports that contains an embedded microchip, making them machine-readable and difficult to counterfeit. As of January 2019, there were over 150 jurisdictions issuing e-passports. Previously issued non-biometric machine-readable passports usually remain valid until their respective expiration dates.

A passport holder is normally entitled to enter the country that issued the passport, though some people entitled to a passport may not be full citizens with right of abode (e.g. American nationals or British nationals). A passport does not of itself create any rights in the country being visited or obligate the issuing country in any way, such as providing consular assistance. Some passports attest to the bearer having a status as a diplomat or other official, entitled to rights and privileges such as immunity from arrest or prosecution.Many countries normally allow entry to holders of passports of other countries, sometimes requiring a visa also to be obtained, but this is not an automatic right. Many other additional conditions, such as not being likely to become a public charge for financial or other reasons, and the holder not having been convicted of a crime, may apply. Where a country does not recognise another, or is in dispute with it, it may prohibit the use of their passport for travel to that other country, or may prohibit entry to holders of that other country's passports, and sometimes to others who have, for example, visited the other country. Some individuals are subject to sanctions which deny them entry into particular countries.
Some countries and international organisations issue travel documents which are not standard passports, but enable the holder to travel internationally to countries that recognise the documents. For example, stateless persons are not normally issued a national passport, but may be able to obtain a refugee travel document or the earlier "Nansen passport" which enables them to travel to countries which recognise the document, and sometimes to return to the issuing country.
Passports may be requested in other circumstances to confirm identification such as checking into a hotel or when changing money to a local currency. Passports and other travel documents have an expiry date, after which it is no longer recognised, but it is recommended that a passport is valid for at least six months as many airlines deny boarding to passengers whose passport has a shorter expiry date, even if the destination country may not have such a requirement.

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  1. S

    Father won't sign passport please help

    Hi I have no orders with ex and my daughter currently living with him. Ex refuses to communicate with me (blocked me on phone etc) which forces my child as a go between. I checked with teenage daughter about the dates to travel overseas to Bali and all was ok. I paid for holiday and two weeks...
  2. W

    Terminating fathers rights

    I’ll try and make this as detailed yet obscure as possible (for my own safety). I have multiple children, all under the age of 5. Their biological father has not been in their lives at all for the last two years, and for some time before that was only sporadically around (domestic and family...
  3. L

    WA Ex refusing to sign 16yo passport renewal

    My ex husband is refusing to sign my 16 year old son's passport application, saying that he should be studying during his summer holidays, rather than taking a 3 week family holiday overseas with his Mum and older siblings. 1. The trip covers Christmas/NY 2. The child's father lives interstate...
  4. M

    VIC Child passport when father isn’t Australian citizen

    Hi. I am trying to obtain a passport for my daughter. We have a history of family violence and our intervention order expired one month ago after 2 years. I was unable to renew the intervention order as the court said since he hasn’t done anything wrong ( not hit us ) for a while they won’t...
  5. L

    Australian dual national can not return to Australia without an Australian Passport .

    A) Must Australian citizens, who are dual nationals, use an Australian passport to exit/enter Australia? If so, I would like to know what law and Article it is. B) Isn't it enough to present a valid Foreign Passport AND the Australian Citizenship Certificate? Everywhere I see this "Australians...
  6. M

    German passport stolen by Australian Resident in Indonesia

    About a month ago I was travelling with an Australian resident to Indonesia where he stole my passport, my ID, driver's licence and bank card. Before he did that he threatened, sexually harassed and injured me. I was not able to return to Australia due to not having a passport and I'm now back...
  7. C

    VIC Divorce Before Australian Citizenship Ceremony?

    Hi, I have been working in Australia with my permanent residency for 5 years and I passed my Australian citizenship exam and it was approved recently. I am awaiting my ceremony to get a passport. My wife decided to divorce ASAP. Does it affect my ceremony schedule if we lodge a divorce file...
  8. A

    QLD Relinquishing parental rights QLD

    Hi everyone. My daughter 15 years old. We have had no contact with her Father for approx 3 years. no bday, Xmas messages or phone calls, no care during any hospital admissions, no questions and conversations around schooling. Miss 15 is wanting a passport (we have family overseas... she...
  9. J

    Gym Passport Cancellation

    Hi, I had/have(?) been using a service that allows access to multiple selected gyms for a reasonable fee. It is a service pair for fortnightly via direct debit, which has cancellation fees for signing up for less than 12 months. I have been a member for over 12 months. I have not used this...
  10. Michaelh1957

    NSW Unable to Obtain Australian Citizenship Papers?

    I am an Australian passport holder who was born overseas and had parents born overseas as well. I am now being asked to prove citizenship again when I tried to renew my passport. I have tried several times to apply for a citizenship certificate, even though I've held multiple Australian...