Holy See passport | |
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Issued by | Secretariat of State of the Holy See |
Purpose | Identification & Travel |
Eligibility | Vatican citizens or others |
Expiration | 10 years (diplomatic) 5 years (service) 2 years (temporary service) |
Vatican City State passport | |
---|---|
Issued by | Governorate of Vatican City State |
Purpose | Identification & Travel |
Eligibility | Vatican citizens only |
Expiration | 5 years (ordinary) |
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Vatican City |
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A Vatican passport (Italian : passaporto vaticano) is a passport issued by the Holy See or by Vatican City State. The Holy See issues diplomatic and service passports, while the Vatican City State can issue ordinary passports for its citizens.
The Holy See and the Vatican City State are two subjects of international law and are presided over by the Pope through the Secretariat of State of the Holy See and the Governorate of Vatican City State respectively. Each of these two entities issues its own passports. [1]
Of the approximately 800 residents of Vatican City, over 450 have Vatican citizenship. These include the approximately 135 Swiss Guards. About the same number of citizens of the state live in various countries, chiefly in the diplomatic service of the Holy See. [2]
The Vatican City State law on citizenship, residence and access, which was promulgated on 22 February 2011, classifies citizens into three categories:
Only for the third category is an actual grant of citizenship required. [4]
Diplomatic passports of the Holy See, not passports of the Vatican State, are held by those in the Holy See's diplomatic service.
Service passports of the Holy See can be issued to people in the service of the Holy See even if not citizens of Vatican City.
Vatican City passports are issued to citizens of the state who are not in the service of the Holy See.
Passports issued by Vatican City are in Italian, French and English, [5] those issued by the Holy See are in Latin, French and English. [6]
The Holy See, also called the See of Rome, Petrine See or Apostolic See, is the central governing body of the Catholic Church and the Vatican City State. It encompasses the office of the pope as the bishop of the Apostolic episcopal see of Rome and serves as the spiritual and administrative authority of the worldwide Catholic Church and the city-state. Under international law, the Holy See holds the status of a sovereign juridical entity.
A passport is an official travel document issued by a government that certifies a person's identity and nationality for international travel. A passport allows its bearer to enter and temporarily reside in a foreign country, access local aid and protection, and obtain consular assistance from their government. In addition to facilitating travel, passports are a key mechanism for border security and regulating migration; they may also serve as official identification for various domestic purposes.
Vatican City, officially the Vatican City State, is a episcopal-system country, city-state, microstate, and enclave surrounded by, and historically a part of, Rome, Italy. It became independent from Italy in 1929 with the Lateran Treaty, and is a distinct territory under "full ownership, exclusive dominion, and sovereign authority and jurisdiction" of the Holy See, which is itself a sovereign entity under international law, maintaining the city-state's temporal power, governance, diplomatic, and spiritual independence. The Vatican is also a metonym for the pope, the city-state's and worldwide Catholic Church government Holy See, and Roman Curia. The country has the world's smallest land area and the smallest population, with 764 citizens as of 2023.
The demographics of Vatican City had an estimated resident population of 764 in 2023, including non-citizens. Additionally, 372 Vatican citizens live abroad, primarily diplomats of the Holy See and cardinals in Rome. Vatican City remains the world’s smallest country in both land area and population size.
Italian nationality law is the law of Italy governing the acquisition, transmission and loss of Italian citizenship. Like many continental European countries it is largely based on jus sanguinis. It also incorporates many elements that are seen as favourable to the Italian diaspora. The Italian Parliament's 1992 update of Italian nationality law is Law no. 91, and came into force on 15 August 1992. Presidential decrees and ministerial directives, including several issued by the Ministry of the Interior, instruct the civil service how to apply Italy's citizenship-related laws.
A Canadian passport is the passport issued to citizens of Canada. It enables the bearer to enter or re-enter Canada freely; travel to and from other countries in accordance with visa requirements; facilitates the process of securing assistance from Canadian consular officials abroad, if necessary; and requests protection for the bearer while abroad.
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.
New Zealand passports are issued to New Zealand citizens for the purpose of international travel by the Department of Internal Affairs. New Zealand has a passport possession rate of around 70% of the population and there are around 2.9 million New Zealand passports in circulation.
The Mexican passport is the passport issued to Mexican citizens for the purpose of travelling abroad. The Mexican passport is also an official ID and proof of Mexican citizenship. According to the January 2024 Henley Visa Restrictions Index, holders of a Mexican passport can visit 159 countries without a visa, placing Mexico in the 22nd rank in terms of global travel freedom.
A Norwegian passport is the passport issued to nationals of Norway for the purpose of international travel. Beside serving as proof of Norwegian citizenship, they facilitate the process of securing assistance from Norwegian consular officials abroad.
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.
Swedish passports are issued to nationals of Sweden for the purpose of international travel. Besides serving as proof of Swedish citizenship, they facilitate the process of securing assistance from Swedish consular officials abroad.
A Belgian passport 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.
A Danish passport is an identity document issued to citizens of the Kingdom of Denmark to facilitate international travel. Besides serving as proof of Danish citizenship, they facilitate the process of securing assistance from Danish 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.
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.
A Moldovan passport is an international document issued to citizens of the Republic of Moldova for the purpose of international travel. The passport is issued by the Public Services Agency and by Moldovan foreign representations abroad. The passport is valid for ten years. For children under the age of seven years it is valid for four years. Since 1 January 2006, Moldovan citizens can hold two passports simultaneously, providing a written request has been submitted to local passport office.
The following outline is provided as an overview of and introduction to Vatican City:
The Sovereign Military Order of Malta passport is a travel document issued to officials and diplomats of the Sovereign Military Order of Malta (SMOM). The order issues biometric passports which are fully ICAO9303 compliant.
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.