A certificate of identity, sometimes called an alien's passport, is a

travel document 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 beare ...

issued by a country to non-citizens (also called aliens) residing within their borders who are stateless persons or otherwise unable to obtain a passport from their state of nationality (generally

refugee A refugee, according to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), is a person "forced to flee their own country and seek safety in another country. They are unable to return to their own country because of feared persecution as ...

s). Some states also issue certificates of identity to their own citizens as a form of emergency

passport 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 ...

or otherwise in lieu of a passport. The visa requirements of certificates of identity may be different from those of regular passports.

Types

1951 Convention documents (for refugees)

A certificate of identity issued to a refugee is also referred to as a 1951 Convention travel document (also known as a

refugee travel document A refugee travel document (also called a 1951 Convention travel document or Geneva passport) is a travel document issued to a refugee by the state which they normally reside in, allowing them to travel outside that state and to return there. Re ...

or a Geneva passport), in reference to the 1951

Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees The Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees, also known as the 1951 Refugee Convention or the Geneva Convention of 28 July 1951 is a United Nations multilateral treaty that defines who a refugee is and sets out the rights of individuals ...

. 145 countries are parties to the 1951 Convention and 146 countries are parties to the 1967

Protocol Relating to the Status of Refugees The Protocol Relating to the Status of Refugees is a key treaty in international refugee law. It entered into force on 4 October 1967, and 146 countries are parties. The 1951 United Nations Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees restrict ...

. Notably, the United States is not a party to the Convention, but provides travel documents to its lawful permanent residents, either as a Re-entry Permit or a refugee travel document under the 1967 Protocol.

1954 Convention documents (for stateless persons)

A certificate of identity issued to a stateless person is also referred to as a 1954 Convention travel document, in reference to the

1954 Convention Relating to the Status of Stateless Persons The Convention Relating to the Status of Stateless Persons is a 1954 United Nations multilateral treaty that aims to protect stateless individuals. Surrounding events The United Nations Charter and Universal Declaration of Human Rights were ap ...

. 89 countries are parties to the 1954 Convention. Unlike a refugee travel document, a certificate of identity issued by most countries does not in itself entitle the holder to readmission into the country.

Non-Convention travel documents

Non-Convention (or non-National) travel documents are

s issued by a country to non-citizen (also called alien) residents who do not have access to passport facilities from their own countries, are not recognized as either Convention refugees, and are not officially stateless under the 1954

Convention relating to the status of stateless persons The Convention Relating to the Status of Stateless Persons is a 1954 United Nations multilateral treaty that aims to protect statelessness, stateless individuals. Surrounding events The United Nations Charter and Universal Declaration of Human ...

(or the country they live in has not signed that convention). In these cases there is no formal international agreement to regulate the issue of travel documents to these people although most countries will issue their own version of a non-convention travel document to residents. These documents broadly meet

ICAO The International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO ) is a specialized agency of the United Nations that coordinates the principles and techniques of international air navigation, and fosters the planning and development of international sch ...

standards for international identity documents. They are known variously as Alien's Passports in mainland Europe and Scandinavia and as a certificate of identity in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

and

Hong Kong Hong Kong)., Legally Hong Kong, China in international treaties and organizations. is a special administrative region of China. With 7.5 million residents in a territory, Hong Kong is the fourth most densely populated region in the wor ...

National examples

Certificates of identity are issued under various names, including: * – Australian Certificate of Identity * –

Bruneian International Certificate of Identity The Bruneian International Certificate of Identity (ICI) is an international travel document issued by the Immigration and National Registration Department to Bruneian permanent residents who are stateless. It is valid for five years. Eligibility ...

* – Canadian Certificate of Identity * – Estonian alien's passport * – * – Hong Kong Document of Identity for Visa Purposes ** before handover – Hong Kong Certificate of Identity * – Indian Identity Certificate * – * –

Japan Re-entry Permit The is a travel document similar to a certificate of identity, issued by Japan's Ministry of Justice (Japan), Ministry of Justice. It is a passport-like booklet with a light brown cover with the words " RE-ENTRY PERMIT TO JAPAN" on the front. ...

* –

Non-citizens (Latvia) "Non-citizens" () in Latvian law are individuals who are not citizens of Latvia or any other country, but who, in accordance with the Latvian law "Regarding the status of citizens of the former USSR who possess neither Latvian nor another citizen ...

* – Macau Special Administrative Region Travel Permit ** before handover – ('Passport for foreigners') * – Malaysian Certificate of Identity * – New Zealand Certificate of Identity * – Singapore Certificate of Identity * –

British Certificate of Travel The British Certificate of Travel (COT) is an international travel document and a type of Home Office travel document issued by the UK Home Office to non-citizen residents of the United Kingdom who are unable to obtain a national passport or ot ...

* – U.S. Re-entry Permit

References

External links

Travel documents
Passport Canada
Certificate of identity
Fijian embassy to the United States
Certificates of identity
Legalization of Identity Certificate
Certificate of identity
Malaysia
Refugee travel documents and certificates of identity
New Zealand Dept. of Internal Affairs
Certificates of identity
Singapore Immigration & Checkpoints Authority
Certificate of travel
United Kingdom Home Office {{Passports International travel documents Identity documents