Camouflage passport
Encyclopedia
A camouflage passport is a passport
issued in the name of a non-existent country
that is intended to look like a real country’s passport.
Such passports are also often sold with several matching documents, including an international driver’s license and similar supporting identity papers.
Camouflage passports are generally issued in names of countries that no longer exist or have changed their name. Others use the names of places or political subdivisions that exist within a real country, but that have never issued and cannot issue passports. Still others are issued in the names of wholly fictitious countries but that typically have a plausible or familiar ring to their names.
Nansen passport
is often confused with camouflage passport, but is actually a valid document.
While sometimes referred to as “fantasy passports”, camouflage passports differ from fantasy passports in several ways. Camouflage passports are sold by businesses who sell passports in the names of many non-countries, none of whom they claim to represent, while fantasy passports are issued by an entity that is issuing a passport in their own name. Lastly, camouflage passports are calculated to appear to have been issued by an actual country. The identity of that nation is immaterial as long as it is assumed to be real by a person to whom the passport is lawfully exhibited. Fantasy passports also are “official looking”, but this is only to enhance the credibility of the issuing entity and bolster the holder’s own sense of membership therein. Of course, a camouflage passport might be used as a novelty, while a fantasy passport might be used as camouflage; there is, accordingly, some overlap.
Fantasy passports are usually issued both by and in the name of certain state-like or pseudo-state entities. These include putative micronations, non-territorial states or principalities, pseudo-states, and Indian Tribe
s.
The goal of a fantasy passport is sometimes to make a political statement or to denote membership in an organisation. For example, the Iroquois
Confederacy has issued Iroquois passports for use by its Lacrosse team when participating in international competitions.
Interest in fantasy passports can also be explained by their novelty appeal. Souvenir state passports, manufactured by United Passports, are a good example of fantasy passports. Although these passports do look very similar to actual US passports (in color and size) they are clearly marked and distributed as novelties, to avoid confusion.
Examples include:
On the other hand, both camouflage and fantasy passports are wholly different from second passports where a person, typically with dual citizenship, is issued two legitimate passports by different countries.
Passport
A passport is a document, issued by a national government, which certifies, for the purpose of international travel, the identity and nationality of its holder. The elements of identity are name, date of birth, sex, and place of birth....
issued in the name of a non-existent country
Country
A country is a region legally identified as a distinct entity in political geography. A country may be an independent sovereign state or one that is occupied by another state, as a non-sovereign or formerly sovereign political division, or a geographic region associated with a previously...
that is intended to look like a real country’s passport.
Such passports are also often sold with several matching documents, including an international driver’s license and similar supporting identity papers.
Camouflage passports are generally issued in names of countries that no longer exist or have changed their name. Others use the names of places or political subdivisions that exist within a real country, but that have never issued and cannot issue passports. Still others are issued in the names of wholly fictitious countries but that typically have a plausible or familiar ring to their names.
Nansen passport
Nansen passport
Nansen passports were internationally recognized identity cards first issued by the League of Nations to stateless refugees.-Origins:Designed in 1921 by Fridtjof Nansen, in 1942 they were honored by governments in 52 countries and were the first refugee travel documents...
is often confused with camouflage passport, but is actually a valid document.
Camouflage and “fantasy passports”
Fantasy passports are usually issued both by and in the name of certain state-like or pseudo-state entities. These include putative micronations, non-territorial states or principalities, pseudo-states, and Indian Tribe
Indian tribe
In the United States, a Native American tribe is any extant or historical tribe, band, nation, or other group or community of Indigenous peoples in the United States...
s.
The goal of a fantasy passport is sometimes to make a political statement or to denote membership in an organisation. For example, the Iroquois
Iroquois
The Iroquois , also known as the Haudenosaunee or the "People of the Longhouse", are an association of several tribes of indigenous people of North America...
Confederacy has issued Iroquois passports for use by its Lacrosse team when participating in international competitions.
Interest in fantasy passports can also be explained by their novelty appeal. Souvenir state passports, manufactured by United Passports, are a good example of fantasy passports. Although these passports do look very similar to actual US passports (in color and size) they are clearly marked and distributed as novelties, to avoid confusion.
Examples include:
- NSK (Neue Slovenische Kunst) passports issued by the non-territorial SloveniaSloveniaSlovenia , officially the Republic of Slovenia , is a country in Central and Southeastern Europe touching the Alps and bordering the Mediterranean. Slovenia borders Italy to the west, Croatia to the south and east, Hungary to the northeast, and Austria to the north, and also has a small portion of...
n art collectiveNeue Slowenische KunstNeue Slowenische Kunst , aka NSK, is a controversial political art collective that announced itself in Slovenia in 1984, when Slovenia was part of Yugoslavia. NSK's name, being German, is compatible with a theme in NSK works: the complicated relationship Slovenes have had with Germans...
championed by the rock band LaibachLaibach (band)Laibach is a Slovenian avant-garde music group associated with industrial, martial, and neo-classical musical styles. Laibach formed June 1, 1980 in Trbovlje, Slovenia . Laibach represents the music wing of the Neue Slowenische Kunst art collective, of which it was a founding member in 1984... - World Service AuthorityWorld Service AuthorityThe World Service Authority , founded in 1953, is a non-profit organization that educates about and promotes "world citizenship", "world law", and World Government. It is best known for issuing World Passports. It has an office in Washington, D.C...
(WSA) passports, which are apparently honored by at least a few countries. (See World PassportWorld PassportThe World Passport is a document issued by the World Service Authority, a non-profit organization founded by Garry Davis in 1948, citing Article 13, Section 2, of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.-Appearance and issuance fees:...
.) - Conch RepublicConch RepublicThe Conch Republic is a micronation declared as a tongue-in-cheek secession of the city of Key West from the United States on April 23, 1982. It has been maintained as a tourism booster for the city since...
, a micronationMicronationMicronations, sometimes also referred to as model countries and new country projects, are entities that claim to be independent nations or states but which are not recognized by world governments or major international organizations...
declared as a tongue-in-cheek protest secession of the city of Key West, FloridaKey West, FloridaKey West is a city in Monroe County, Florida, United States. The city encompasses the island of Key West, the part of Stock Island north of U.S. 1 , Sigsbee Park , Fleming Key , and Sunset Key...
from the USA in 1982. - NewfoundlandNewfoundland and LabradorNewfoundland and Labrador is the easternmost province of Canada. Situated in the country's Atlantic region, it incorporates the island of Newfoundland and mainland Labrador with a combined area of . As of April 2011, the province's estimated population is 508,400...
passports can be found at various tourist shops to serve as souvenirs of Newfoundland and LabradorNewfoundland and LabradorNewfoundland and Labrador is the easternmost province of Canada. Situated in the country's Atlantic region, it incorporates the island of Newfoundland and mainland Labrador with a combined area of . As of April 2011, the province's estimated population is 508,400...
. These mark the distinct culture of the most eastern Canadian province and oldest place of European colonization in North America. They are also reminders that Newfoundland was once an independent British Colony of Newfoundland and Dominion of NewfoundlandDominion of NewfoundlandThe Dominion of Newfoundland was a British Dominion from 1907 to 1949 . The Dominion of Newfoundland was situated in northeastern North America along the Atlantic coast and comprised the island of Newfoundland and Labrador on the continental mainland...
before joining CanadaCanadaCanada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
in 1949. - "Kingdom of Heaven" Passports are issued by the Embassy of Heaven ChurchEmbassy of HeavenEmbassy of Heaven is a Christian based organization based in Stayton, Oregon that seeks to separate from secular government. Its members profess themselves to be literal citizens of the Kingdom of Heaven and reject any ties to what they refer to as "worldly governments"...
in Stayton, OregonStayton, OregonStayton is a city in Marion County, Oregon, United States, located southeast of the state capital, Salem, on Oregon Route 22. It is south of Sublimity and east of Aumsville. Located on the North Santiam River, Stayton is a regional agricultural and light manufacturing center. The population was...
.
On the other hand, both camouflage and fantasy passports are wholly different from second passports where a person, typically with dual citizenship, is issued two legitimate passports by different countries.