A passport is essential if an individual is seeking to work or move across different borders. A passport acts as the indication that an individual belongs to a particular jurisdiction and can be the reference point to allow or control how an individual accesses a certain jurisdiction. Hence, countries or sovereign monarchies use it to classify people who get in and out of their jurisdictions. This article is going to examine the premises upon which an individual can enjoy or stop enjoying the privileges of this document.
A Passport Doesn’t Mean You Can Travel
Possessing a valid passport is not enough to travel from one country to another. A passport might be expiring tomorrow meaning a person is legible is to travel until the day of expiry, pending renewal of the passport. However, some countries do not allow such to take place and require a passport to be valid for a certain period to be allowed into a particular country.
This defies the thought that with a passport, someone can go anywhere, at any time. Countries such as those in Europe require a passport to be valid three months after the day of entry into a certain country as prescribed by the Schengen Act. However, a majority of countries use the thumb rule which stipulates holders to have a passport valid for six months after entering a country.
Hence, merely holding a passport is no guarantee that someone can travel.
What Is A Passport
A passport acts as an international pass for travels beyond a holder’s country of application for a passport. It is offered to a country’s citizens to travel internationally because it verifies a holder’s nationality and identity.
A passport is contained in a booklet that comprises of the holder’s name, area of birth, date of birth, date of issue, expiry date, the document number, signature and photo of the holder.
The frequency and type of documentation issued for passports vary depending on the status and reasons for traveling. Below are the types of passports issued to various cadres of individuals:
Types Of Passports
Official Passport
Also referred to as service passport is given to employees of a government. This passport aims to notify a host country that a holder of a passport is entering a country on behalf of the country of origin on an official capacity. However, a bearer is not afforded any exclusive privileges.
• Diplomatic Passport
This type of passport is given to foreign envoys who are visiting other countries on official business to represent the interests of their countries. The passport grants the bearers benefits like exclusion from prosecution and taxation in a country of existence.
This traveling document is offered to ambassadors and foreign dignitaries representing a country of issuance in another country on official duties.
Diplomats are the messengers of their countries of origin and are always posted to certain country to oversee the interest of their country in a host country. This passport has its privileges such as exemption from tax and prosecutions.
Diplomats are appointed by the government to conduct official business abroad and maintain political, economic and social relations with other countries. Their passports typically grant them certain privileges and immunities, such as exemption from prosecution and taxes in the host country.
• ePassport
An electronic form of a passport that contains a holder’s info on an electronic chip on the epassport. The chip is fortified by security features that distinguish passports.
Can a Felon Get a Passport
People traveling encounter the question can a felon get a passport. It is possible to get a passport with a record of felony, but it comes after a very rigorous application. Having a past of offenses affects the likelihood of a person being granted a passport from a country of origin. For example, in the USA a person is not entirely denied the chance to apply and get a passport. However, this power is held by a destination country, which is the country a holder seeks to visit. The country an individual seeks to enter can either allow or deny the request to access a country to the holder’s criminal past.
In the US, a criminal crime does not rule out an individual from getting a passport entirely, but it regulates how a person accesses a country of choice, subject to that country’s laws.
Can A Felon Get A Passport But No Visa?
A passport is a form of an ID that identifies an individual in another country while a visa document that legitimizes someone’s entry into a certain country. In the U.S citizens traveling abroad can travel with or without a felonious past. But, when in a country they have traveled in, they can be prosecuted if they have committed a felony in the country of travel.
For individuals staying in a foreign country for more than 1 to 2 months require a visa, a subject to renewal after expiry.
Committing A Felony While Using A Passport
Forging or falsifying legal documents to acquire passports sums to a felony which is charged under federal and state and can result in the revocation of a passport. However, a criminal past does not warrant cancellation of a passport but can impede the process of acquiring a passport in the U.S.
The Federal laws in the U.S permit the Department of State (DOS) to recall and review travel documents such as passports that were acquired through fraud or other illegalities. The premise for ordering such action includes:
• If a person has an impending warrant of arrest for felony
• If there exists a court declaration prohibiting a person from leaving the U.S.A.
• If the holder is a sentenced drug trafficker using the document to undertake criminal activities.
The revocation is very rigorous and is done step by step so that sufficient due diligence is done. The revocation process is overseen by the DOS. Revocation is normally done if an individual traveling is deemed as a flight risk for other passengers and themselves. In a bid to prevent any mishaps, DOS grounds such individuals pending the review of their traveling documents.
The letter is addressed from the State Department requesting the revocation to the DOS. The content of the letter includes:
• The culprit’s name, previous residence
• Place and date of birth
• Passport number
• Duplicates of existing court orders and arrest warrants
Conviction Of A Treasonable Offense
Treason is a very grave offense when it comes to sovereign nations. Treason is the act of betraying one’s country by doing actions that are seen to pose a danger to the security of a country. Many countries punish such crimes by death or life imprisonment. Hence, on many occasions, people convicted of treasons never get to see outside the walls of their jails.
This information informs whether or not an individual convicted of a felony can be granted a passport. Since someone is convicted of treason, they cannot go outside a country because they are jailed and cannot leave the boundaries of the country within which they are held.
However, the law applies until the person is realized where they can then apply for a passport.
State Laws
State laws stipulate that a conviction is not sufficient grounds to revoke an applicant’s request. This is because a crime can be minor such as a misdemeanor which does not prohibit a person from traveling outside the U.S. However, this rule has its limitation when it comes to the awarding of passports to serious offenders such as international drug traffickers, murderers, etc.
A person’s right to acquire passport can be revoked if a holder is convicted of a treasonable act or if they are convicted of state or federal felony, and their passports used to access other countries or if their traveling documents were used to facilitate the crime.
The restrictions only stay in place for the duration of the sentence, probation or parole. However, these laws are subjects to interpretation depending on the state of residence.
Other Reasons To Be Denied
The passport application is rigorous in this age of terrorism. Governments of many countries have put a premium on this very limited document. For security and other reasons, this document is given to a small population that meets the premises of being granted a passport.
One of the main reasons for passport denial is the incomplete filling of a passport application form. The passport application contains ns very important information that is used to categorize people. Hence, for the data acquired from it to be resourceful, it should contain all the necessary information. Lack of filling a form properly is tantamount to being denied a passport.
Child Support
Paying for the upkeep of children is integral to the upbringing of children when parents are not living together. Some parents take advantage of and flee the country to avoid paying child support.
In the event the unpaid child support arrears reach the maximum of $5000, a parent is not legible to be granted passport. This directive is gotten from the US Department of Health and Human Services. Before traveling, it is essential to make plans to pay the arrears so that you can be issued by a passport.
Conclusion
Passport has become a very important ingredient of the globalized world because it facilitates movement from one place to another. However, it is important to stay away from trouble and maintain a clean profile that can help access a passport as fast as possible.