United Nations laissez-passer

Last updated

United Nations laissez-passer
UN-laissez-passer.jpg
The front cover of a blue machine-readable United Nations laissez-passer.
Type laissez-passer
Issued by United Nations and the International Labour Organization
PurposeIdentification
EligibilityUN officials and officials of the United Nations Specialized Agencies and the IAEA
Size88 mm × 125 mm (3.5 in × 4.9 in)
United Nations laissez-passer
UN-laissez-passer red.jpg
The front cover of a red machine-readable United Nations laissez-passer.
Type laissez-passer
Issued byUnited Nations
PurposeIdentification
EligibilityHigh UN officials and Directors of the United Nations Specialized Agencies and the IAEA
Size88 mm × 125 mm (3.5 in × 4.9 in)

A United Nations laissez-passer (UNLP or LP) is a diplomatic travel document issued by the United Nations under the provisions of Article VII of the 1946 Convention on the Privileges and Immunities of the United Nations [1] in its offices in New York City and Geneva, as well as by the International Labour Organization (ILO). [2]

Contents

The UNLP is issued to UN and ILO staff as well as staff members of international organizations such as the WHO, the IAEA, the World Tourism Organization, the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty Organization Preparatory Commission, the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons, the World Trade Organization, the International Monetary Fund, the International Organization for Migration, the World Intellectual Property Organization and the World Bank. The document is written in English and French, working languages of United Nations.

The UNLP is a valid travel document, which can be used like a national passport (in connection with travel on official missions only).

Most officials hold a blue UNLP (up to D-1 level), which is similar in legal status to a service passport. A red UNLP is issued to particularly high officials (D-2 [lower-alpha 1] and above [lower-alpha 2] ), and confers similar status to that of a diplomatic passport holder.

Name and signature page

A data page has a visual zone and a machine-readable zone. The visual zone has a photograph of the holder, data about the passport, and data about the LP holder much similar to a normal passport. The nationality and place of birth of the passport holder is not mentioned in a UNLP, but the UN is used in fields similar to issuing country.

The first line of a machine-readable zone (which is at the bottom of the page) of the passport contains a letter to denote the type of travel document (which is despite the laissez-passer status, it is "P" for passport), followed by the code normally used for the citizenship of the passport holder (but here: "UNO/UNA" for "United Nations Organization/Agency"), and the name (surname first, then given name or names) of the passport holder. When visa are placed in a UNLP, the same practice should be followed, and in the nationality field, UNO/UNA should be placed. [3] This guideline however is often not observed.

e-UNLP

Effective 3 September 2012, all applicants for new LPs received by the UN Office in Geneva (UNOG) will be issued the new "e-UNLPs" and there will be no renewal of current UNLPs. The new "e-UNLP" is fully compliant with international standards established by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO). These include the use of bio-chip technology, facial recognition identification and employs strict photographic standards for passport documents. All "e-UNLPS" will be issued with a five-year fixed duration, regardless of contract expiration and will not contain dependents. The validity period of the new e-UNLP cannot be extended and additional visa pages cannot be added. Existing LPs retain the validity date stipulated in the document.

Limitations of a laissez-passer compared to a passport

The UN laissez-passer is not treated as a valid passport for the purposes of obtaining an Electronic Travel Authorization to visit Canada. [4]

Persons not entitled to a laissez-passer

Some categories of persons employed by or affiliated with the United Nations are not normally entitled to receive a laissez-passer, e.g.: goodwill ambassadors, Messengers of Peace, consultants of United Nations organizations and funds and programmes, experts on missions for the United Nations, and individual and institutional contractors.

However, in accordance with section 22 of the Convention on the Privileges and Immunities of the United Nations, individuals who are designated as experts on missions for the UN may be issued a United Nations Certificate, which is not a legal travel document but serves to certify that the holder is travelling on official business on behalf of the UN or specialized agency or related organization. [5]

Notes

  1. For example, the Assistant Secretary-General of the United Nations or a Deputy Director-General in a United Nations Specialized Agency.
  2. This includes the Under-Secretary-General of the United Nations, the Director-Generals of the United Nations Specialized Agencies, the Deputy Secretary-General of the United Nations, and the Secretary-General of the United Nations.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Passport</span> Travel document typically issued by a states national government to its citizens

A passport is an official travel document issued by a government that contains a person's identity for international travel. A person with a passport can travel to and from foreign countries more easily and access consular assistance. A passport certifies the personal identity and nationality of its holder. It is typical for passports to contain the full name, photograph, place and date of birth, signature, and the issue and expiration dates of the passport. While passports are typically issued by national governments, certain subnational governments are authorised to issue passports to citizens residing within their borders.

ISO 3166-1 alpha-3 codes are three-letter country codes defined in ISO 3166-1, part of the ISO 3166 standard published by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO), to represent countries, dependent territories, and special areas of geographical interest. They allow a better visual association between the codes and the country names than the two-letter alpha-2 codes. They were first included as part of the ISO 3166 standard in its first edition in 1974.

A machine-readable passport (MRP) is a machine-readable travel document (MRTD) with the data on the identity page encoded in optical character recognition format. Many countries began to issue machine-readable travel documents in the 1980s. Most travel passports worldwide are MRPs. The International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) requires all ICAO member states to only issue MRPs as of April 1, 2010, and all non-MRP passports must expire by November 24, 2015.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Camouflage passport</span> False identity document

A camouflage passport is a document, designed to look like a real passport, issued in the name of a non-existent country or entity. It may be sold with matching documents, such as an international driver's license, club membership card, insurance documents or similar supporting identity papers. A camouflage passport is not a real, valid passport and is to be distinguished from a valid second passport, which an individual with dual citizenship may be eligible to hold, a novelty fantasy passport, or a fake of a real passport.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Travel document</span> Identity document issued by a government or international entity

A travel document is an identity document issued by a government or international entity pursuant to international agreements to enable individuals to clear border control measures. Travel documents usually assure other governments that the bearer may return to the issuing country, and are often issued in booklet form to allow other governments to place visas as well as entry and exit stamps into them.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Croatian passport</span> Passport of the Republic of Croatia issued to Croatian citizens

Croatian passport is issued to citizens of the Republic of Croatia for the purpose of international travel. The passport has the purpose of serving as proof of Croatian citizenship and identity. Responsibility for their issuance lies with the Ministry of the Interior; and for citizens abroad, passports are issued by the local embassy or consulate. Croatian passports are valid for ten or five years, and are not renewable. Every Croatian 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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pakistani passport</span> Passport of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan issued to Pakistani citizens

The Pakistani passport is an essential travel document granted by the Government of Pakistan to its citizens for international travel purposes. The Directorate General of Immigration & Passports holds the responsibility for passport issuance, under the regulation of the Ministry of Interior.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dutch passport</span> Passport issued from the Kingdom of the Netherlands

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Passports of the European Union</span> Passport issued to the European Union

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 coloured 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 centre of the front cover.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Brazilian passport</span> Passport issued to Brazilian nationals

The Brazilian passport is the official document for foreign travel issued by the federal government, through the Federal Police.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Iraqi passport</span> Passport issued to citizens of the Republic of Iraq

The Iraqi passport is the travel document issued to citizens of the Republic of Iraq, including the autonomous Kurdistan Region, for the purpose of international travel. The new "A" series of passports began circulating on 1 February 2010, as a result of Iraqi governmental initiatives to create a more secure passport. As of 6 March 2023, a third-generation electronic passport, approved by the International Civil Aviation Organization, has begun circulating in order to make travel more accessible by shortening about 85% of the paperwork and the administrative procedures, and will be issued to citizens within one day of their request. Previous series issued by passport offices in Iraq and diplomatic representatives worldwide include the "S" non-machine-readable series and the "G" series.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lebanese passport</span> Passport of the Republic of Lebanon issued to Lebanese citizens

The passport of the Republic of Lebanon is a passport issued to the citizens of the Republic of Lebanon to enable them to travel outside the Republic of Lebanon and entitles the bearer to the protection from the diplomatic missions and consulates of the Republic of Lebanon if necessary. It is issued exclusively by the Lebanese Directorate General of General Security (DGGS), and can also be issued at various Lebanese diplomatic missions and/or consulates outside the Republic of Lebanon. It allows the bearer a freedom of living in the Republic of Lebanon without any immigration requirements, participate in the Lebanese political system, entry to and exit from the Republic of Lebanon through any port, travel to and from other countries in accordance with visa requirements, facilitates the process of securing consular assistance abroad from the diplomatic missions and consulates of the Republic of Lebanon if necessary, and requests protection for the bearer while abroad.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Visa policy of Montenegro</span> Policy on permits required to enter Montenegro

Visitors to Montenegro must obtain a visa from one of the Montenegrin diplomatic missions, unless they come from one of the visa exempt countries. Visa policy is regulated by Regulation on Visa Regime Act. Where there are no diplomatic or consular representations of Montenegro, visa requiring foreigners may obtain them from diplomatic or consular representations of Serbia, Bulgaria and Croatia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Visa policy of Mongolia</span> Policy on permits required to enter Mongolia

Visitors to Mongolia must obtain a visa from one of the Mongolian diplomatic missions unless they are citizens of one of the visa-exempt countries, or citizens who may obtain a visa on arrival, or citizens eligible for an e-Visa.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">UNMIK Travel Document</span>

An UNMIK Travel Document was a passport-sized travel document issued to residents of Kosovo, who were not able to obtain a passport from the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, for the purpose of foreign travel. The document was issued by the United Nations Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK) from 2000 to 2008.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">European Union laissez-passer</span> Travel document

A European Union laissez-passer is a travel document issued to civil servants and members of the institutions of the European Union. It is proof of privileges and immunities the holders enjoy. The document is valid in all countries of the European Union as well as in over 100 other countries. In 2006, the European Commission issued or renewed 2,200 laissez-passer, and other agencies may issue the document as well.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Visa policy of Turkey</span> Policy on permits required to enter Turkey

The visa policy of Turkey deals with the requirements that a foreign national wishing to enter Turkey must meet to be permitted to travel to, enter and remain in the country.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Interpol Travel Document</span>

An Interpol Travel Document is a travel document issued to Interpol officers for travel to Interpol member countries. They are intended to reduce response times for personnel deployed to assist with transnational criminal investigations, major events or emergency situations by waiving normal visa requirements.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Visa policy of Turkmenistan</span> Policy on permits required to enter Turkmenistan

In accordance with the law, citizens of all countries require a visa to enter Turkmenistan unless they have special passports. To obtain a tourist visa for Turkmenistan, all foreign citizens must supply an invitation letter issued by a travel agency licensed in Turkmenistan.

References

  1. "Convention on the privileges and immunities of the United Nations" (PDF). United Nations (in English and French). 1946-02-13. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2021-10-13. Retrieved 2022-03-10.
  2. Münch, Wolfgang; Tang, Guangting; Wynes, M. Deborah (2005). "Review of the Management of the United Nations Laissez-passer" (PDF). Joint Inspection Unit, UN. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2020-10-27. Retrieved 2022-03-09.
  3. "Part 2 — Specifications for the Security of the Design, Manufacture and Issuance of MRTDs" (PDF). Doc 9303: Machine Readable Travel Documents (8th ed.). International Civil Aviation Organization. 2021. ISBN   978-92-9265-319-4. LCCN   2008200406. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2021-08-27. Retrieved 2022-03-10.
  4. "Apply for an Electronic Travel Authorization (eTA)". Government of Canada. 2022-03-09. Archived from the original on 2022-03-10. Retrieved 2022-03-09.
  5. "Guide to the Issuance of UN Travel Documents" (PDF). United Nations Development Programme . Office of Central Support Services, Department of Management, United Nations. July 2012. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2022-03-10. Retrieved 2022-03-09.

See also