Passport

A passport is an official document issued by a government that contains a user's identity, permitting them to travel to and from other countries more easily and to access consular assistance. The given passport confirms the identity and nationality of it's holder, and it is typical for passports to contain the full name photograph, signature, and the expiration date of the document itself. While they are issued by national governments, some subnational governments are permitted to issue them to locals residing in their borders. Meanwhile, many nations have proposed, or already been handing out biometric passports that contains a microchip, making them machine-readable and hard to counterfeit, and as of January 2019, there were well over 150 jurisdictions that issued biometric passports, and older passports remain valid until they expire.

Overview
A passport is required to travel across different countries, and such holders are entitled to enter the nation that issued it, some people that are trusted with a passport may not be naturalized citizens of that country. Some special passports attest to the user of being a diplomat or other official, making them immune from arrest or prosecution.

Application
Each country sets it's conditions for the issue of passports, and under the laws of most countries, passports are treated as government property and can be revoked or limited at any time, usually on grounds and possibly subject to internal review. In many jurisdictions as well, the surrendering of one's passport is a condition of granting bail in lieu of incarceration for a pending criminal trial, if the individual is deemed an actual flight risk. When passport holders apply to have them replaced, some will have to surrender their old passport for it to be invalidated or destroyed, with exceptions being made if it contained a viable visa. Nations with mandatory conscription or military service may restrict passport applications who have not yet applied for military obligations, for example, a Finnish or South Korean passport.

In the United States, the US Department of State, and the Bureau of Consular Affairs permits users to fill out a form or by downloading a PDF copy of the application, with a tool being a shared resource for at least 4 of their forms, and users may see a different form than expected. The form filler may create the correct one based on the information provided, as according to the website. Applications can be granted to a first-time user, or if the user is a parent of a child under 16, and may be eligible to change or correct passport, or replacing a passport that is limited (for example, a 10 year validity period for an adult's passport) as an example.

If an American user suspects that their passport were lost or stolen, they will have to report it to the State Department immediately, which requires the form known as DS-11, and to follow the guidance from the same department, based on how quickly the user needs to have it replaced. If an American lost their passport abroad, they'll have to go to an embassy or consulate itself.

Limitations
A passport is merely an identity document that is recognized for international travel purposes, and the possession of one doesn't entitle someone to enter any country other than the one that issued it, and sometimes not even them either. Many countries normally require an entry visa to enter, and each one has different requirements or conditions that grant visas, as for the visitor not likely to become a public charge for financial, medical, family, or other reasons themselves. When a country's sovereignty is disputed or unknown, entry may be prohibited to the other party of said dispute, or if the holder has been convicted of a crime, or likely to commit a legal offense. Many nations implement border controls that block the entry of people of certain nationalities who have visited a few countries, for example, the country of Georgia rejects attempts for Taiwanese holders to enter itself, while nationals in the Indian Subcontinent have been banned from entering parts of Eastern Libya under the control of the Tobruk government itself. Between Late 2017 and January 2021, the United States did not issue visas for Iranian, North Korean, Somali, Syrian, or Yemeni individuals pursuant to restrictions imposed by the Trump administration which were lifted under the presidency of Joe Biden in 2021. When it was enforced, the restrictions could be lifted if the affected nations met the required security standards from Trump's administration and dual citizens could enter if they presented a passport from a non-designated country.