This article needs to be updated. The reason given is: the latest passport received substantial media coverage for featuring comic book characters, such as The Adventures of Tintin and Suske en Wiske .(October 2022) |
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Type | Passport |
Issued by | Belgium |
First issued | 1 February 2008 (biometric passport) 7 February 2022 (current version) [1] |
Purpose | Identification |
Eligibility | Belgian citizenship |
Expiration |
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Cost |
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A Belgian passport (Dutch : Belgisch paspoort; French : Passeport belge; German : Belgischer Reisepass) is a travel document issued by Belgium to Belgian citizens to facilitate international travel. It grants the bearer international passage in accordance with visa requirements and serves as proof of citizenship.
Standard passports are issued for ordinary travel, such as vacations and business trips. They are burgundy, available in 35 and 60-page formats, and are valid for 7 years.
Diplomatic passports are issued to members of the Belgian royal family, members of the government, ministers of State and representatives of Belgium or of the Communities or Regions (diplomats, economic or trade attaches, the main representative of each Community or Region).
Service passports are 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 passports are issued in Emergency Conditions, if there is a justifiable urgent matter requiring immediate travel. They are dark green and valid for only 6 months.
Emergency Travel Documents are issued by Belgian diplomatic representatives abroad when a previously issued passport has been lost. They have only 6 pages.
Belgian passports use the standard EU design and are usually burgundy.
Text on the front cover is printed in four languages: Dutch, French, German and English. The sequence of the first three languages varies according to the lingual community of the bearer (either Dutch-French-German, French-Dutch-German or German-French-Dutch).
The front cover is emblazoned with the Belgian smaller Coat of arms.
The following words are inscribed above the coat of arms:
"EUROPESE UNIE" (Dutch), "UNION EUROPÉENNE" (French), "EUROPÄISCHE UNION" (German), "EUROPEAN UNION" (English) "KONINKRIJK BELGIË" (Dutch), "ROYAUME DE BELGIQUE" (French), "KÖNIGREICH BELGIEN" (German), "KINGDOM OF BELGIUM" (English)
The following is inscribed below the coat of arms:
"PASPOORT – PASSEPORT – REISEPASS – PASSPORT"
Biometric passports have been issued since 2015 and these bear the standard biometric symbol ( ) at the bottom of the front cover.
Belgian passports are issued by FPS Foreign Affairs, the country's ministry of foreign affairs. Belgian citizens may apply for a passport at the municipality or embassy where they are legally registered, which in turn procures the passport from the ministry.
Passports cost approximately €93.50 depending on the location of issuance. It is possible to make an urgent application at a higher cost.
The passport identifier is an 8-character alphanumeric with the structure AB123456; 2 alphas followed by 6 digits.
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. [3]
Due to concerns about forgery, the Belgian authorities charge increasingly higher fees for the replacement of lost or stolen passports after the 2nd and 3rd loss.
Belgian citizens are also citizens of the European Union and thus enjoy the rights of free movement and residence in any other country also in the European Union, as well as other European Economic Area states and Switzerland. The right to free movement is provided for in Article 21 of the EU Treaty. [4]
Belgian citizens are able to use their identity card to travel within the European Union and to other countries in the periphery of Europe.
As of 13 April 2021, Belgian citizens had visa-free or visa-on-arrival access to 187 countries and territories, ranking the Belgian passport 7th in the world according to the Henley Passport Index.
A French passport is an identity document issued to French citizens. Besides enabling the bearer to travel internationally and serving as indication of French nationality, the passport facilitates the process of securing assistance from French consular officials abroad or other European Union member states in case a French consular is absent, if needed.
Hungarian passports are issued to Hungarian citizens for international travel by The Central Data Processing, Registration and Election Office of the Hungarian Ministry of the Interior. Every Hungarian citizen is also a citizen of the European Union. The passport, besides the national identity card allows for free rights of movement and residence in any of the states of the European Union, European Economic Area and Switzerland.
A South African passport is a travel document issued to citizens of South Africa for the purpose of international travel. It allows the bearer to travel in foreign countries in accordance with visa requirements, and facilitates the process of securing assistance from South African consular officials abroad, if necessary. A South African passport is a valid proof of citizenship document according to South African nationality law. As of February 2024, citizens of South Africa enjoyed visa-free access to 108 countries, of which some may require pre-travel registration according to the Visa Restrictions Index.
Serbian passport is the primary document of international travel issued to nationals of Serbia. Passports are issued and renewed by the Serbian Police on behalf of the Ministry of Internal Affairs or, if the citizen resides abroad, by the Serbian diplomatic missions. Besides serving as proof of identity and of citizenship, it facilitates the process of securing assistance from Serbian consular officials abroad, if needed.
A German passport is an identity document issued to nationals of Germany for the purpose of international travel. A German passport is, besides the German ID card and the German Emergency Travel Document, the only other officially recognised document that German authorities will routinely accept as proof of identity from German citizens. Besides serving as proof of identity and presumption of German nationality, they facilitate the process of securing assistance from German consular officials abroad. German passports are valid for ten years or six years and share the standardised layout and burgundy red design with other EU passports. Every German citizen is also a citizen of the European Union. The passport, along with the national identity card, allows for free rights of movement and residence in any of the states of the European Union, European Economic Area and Switzerland.
An Estonian passport is an international travel document issued to citizens of Estonia, and may also serve as proof of Estonian citizenship. Besides enabling the bearer to travel internationally and serving as indication of Estonian citizenship, the passport facilitates the process of securing assistance from Estonian consular officials abroad or other European Union member states in case an Estonian consular is absent, if needed. If an Estonian citizen wishes to receive an identity document, especially an Estonian passport, somewhere other than the foreign representation of the Republic of Estonia, then the bearer of the Estonian citizenship staying abroad could receive the travel documents in embassies of any EU country worldwide by paying 50 Euro. Many countries require passport validity of no less than 6 months and one or two blank pages.
A Bulgarian passport is an international travel document issued to nationals of Bulgaria, and may also serve as proof of Bulgarian citizenship. Besides enabling the bearer to travel internationally and serving as indication of Bulgarian citizenship, the passport facilitates the process of securing assistance from Bulgarian consular officials abroad or other European Union member states in case a Bulgarian consular is absent, if needed.
Finnish passport are issued to nationals of Finland for the purpose of international travel. Aside from serving as proof of Finnish nationality, they facilitate the process of securing assistance from Finnish consular officials abroad.
Lithuanian passport is an official document, issued to Lithuanian citizens to identify themselves as such and/or to facilitate travel outside Lithuania. Every Lithuanian citizen is also a citizen of the European Union. The Lithuanian passport, along with the national identity card allows for free rights of movement and residence in any of the states of the European Union, European Economic Area and Switzerland.
A Swiss passport is the passport issued to citizens of Switzerland to facilitate international travel. Beside serving as proof of Swiss citizenship, they facilitate the process of securing assistance from Swiss consular officials abroad.
An Austrian passport is an identity document issued to citizens of Austria to facilitate international travel. Every Austrian citizen is also a citizen of the European Union. The passport, along with the national identity card, allows for free rights of movement and residence in any of the states of the European Economic Area and Switzerland.
A Dutch passport is an identity document issued to citizens of the Kingdom of the Netherlands for the purpose of international travel. As the Netherlands only distinguish one category of citizen, for all countries in the Kingdom, passports are the same for all four countries. The passport also serves as a means of identification as required by the Dutch law since 1 January 2005 for all persons over the age of fourteen. Dutch passports are valid for a period of ten years from issuing date. The passport complies with the rules for European Union passports. Since 26 August 2006 all passports are issued as a biometric passport with an embedded contactless smartcard RFID chip for storing biometric data. Every Dutch citizen is also a citizen of the European Union. The nationality allows for free rights of movement and residence in any of the states of the European Union, European Economic Area, and Switzerland.
The European Union itself does not issue ordinary passports, but ordinary passport booklets issued by its 27 member states share a common format. This common format features a colored cover emblazoned—in the official language(s) of the issuing country —with the title "European Union", followed by the name(s) of the member state, the heraldic "Arms" of the State concerned, the word "PASSPORT", together with the biometric passport symbol at the bottom center of the front cover.
Latvian passports are issued to citizens of Latvia for identity and international travel purposes. Receiving a valid passport is mandatory from the age of 15, but passports can be requested for younger children if needed for travel and other purposes. A passport is valid for 10 years if the citizen is 20 or older, for 5 years if 5–20 and for 2 years if 0–5 years old. Non-citizen passports, and refugee travel documents, are also issued. Every Latvian citizen is also a citizen of the European Union. The passport, along with the national identity card, allows Latvian citizens to travel and to have rights of free movement and rights to reside in any states of the European Union, European Economic Area and Switzerland.
Slovenian passports are issued to citizens of Slovenia to facilitate international travel. Every Slovenian citizen is also a citizen of the European Union. The passport, along with the national identity card allows for free rights of movement and residence in any of the states of the European Union, European Economic Area and Switzerland, as a result of the right of free movement and residence granted in Article 21 of the EU Treaty.
A Luxembourgish passport is an international travel document issued to nationals of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, and may also serve as proof of Luxembourgish citizenship. Besides enabling the bearer to travel internationally and serving as indication of Luxembourgish citizenship, the passport facilitates the process of securing assistance from Luxembourg consular officials abroad or other European Union member states in case a Luxembourg consular is absent, if needed.
The Albanian passport is a travel document issued by the Ministry of Interior to Albanian citizens to enable them to travel abroad. They are also used as proof of identity within the country, along with the Albanian ID card.
Moroccan passports are issued to nationals and citizens of Morocco for the purpose of international travel. Besides serving as a proof of Moroccan citizenship, they facilitate the process of securing assistance from Moroccan consular officials abroad if needed. Since 15 December 2009, a biometric passport was available for all new applicants. Moroccan citizens can now apply for a passport anytime, anywhere. Launched in tandem with the new enrollment program, a web portal outlining issuance requirements takes applicants through the procedure step by step, from the comfort of their keyboard. Once proof of identity has been gathered, the applicant can fill in an online form to print and submit in person at the prefecture.
Laotian passports are issued to citizens of Laos by Consular Department within the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to travel internationally. The biometric passport has been issued since 30 June 2016.
Passports of the EFTA member states are passports issued by the European Free Trade Association (EFTA) member states Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland. EFTA is in this article used as a common name for these countries.