Passport

n

1. (Government, Politics & Diplomacy) an official document issued by a government, identifying an individual, granting him permission to travel abroad, and requesting the protection of other governments for him

[From French passeport, from passer to pass + port]

Passports are a necessary and important part of every person’s itinerary when traveling to another country or applying for a visa, this is an inescapable and necessary truth, as Descartes might put it if he were an international traveler or immigrant it is an ‘unshakable truth’. But with all great theological arguments there are exceptions to the rule, the first epistemological exception seems to be the greater being that is the one truth we can be sure of (you know who) and the second is of course Her Royal Highness the Queen.


It is highly improbable that the Queen is about to pack her corgi’s and bid farewell to Sandringham and emigrate to Canada. However if she were she would not need a passport to go along with her Canada immigration request. In fact as head of state of both Australia and the UK- immigration papers are something she would not need for Australia as she is afforded the same immigration status there as she is in the UK.

The Queen is of the select few of one who does not have a passport in the UK; this is because they are all issued by her, in writing and spirit of course. Another interesting fact in the same vein is that the Pope’s passport, he who is closer to God than most, is issued to him by the Vatican and is issued as ‘Passport No. 1’. The Pope’s privileges when it comes to travel seem to end with that privilege, as he is regarded by most countries in the same way as many diplomats are, he will receive fast-tracking of any necessary visa, but nonetheless still requires a visa.


The invention of what we now view as a passport is credited to Henry V in the 1400’s, they do however date back to the Persian empire around 450 BC in the form of what school children would now call a toilet pass. The story goes that a subservient of the King of Persia, Artaxerxes I, was issued a request for safe passage into Judea addressed to the governors of the lands beyond ‘the river’. That would just not be adequate in this immigration super state we now exist in, “Oh hi Mr. US immigration man, here’s my note from my boss asking for safe and assured passage into your country.”


This however is not as far fetched as it might sound; in 2007, a delay in the processing of US passports led to a temporary lifting of rules that US citizens had to carry passports to enter Mexico, Canada, Bermuda and the Caribbean. This was highly capitalised on by the Caribbean tourist board at the time and led to a slight increase of visitors form the US.

Some Famous Faces Passport’s