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An answer to one of today's popular questions (here) mentions the existence of the "World Passport". This is a passport which is not issued by any nation state, but by an organization that wants to establish a global government in its place.

Surprisingly (to me), the passport is accepted nearly everywhere (see here), and so seems like a handy thing to have.

I'm curious what travelling under such a document is like in practice though. Does "accepted" mean "after 4 hours of detention and questioning", or is it just like travelling on any other passport? Do visa requirements end up being stricter? Does the user have to prove their citizenship of some other country?

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I think you have to look a little closer at your page that claims widespread acceptance. each entry is a single claim (supported only by a photo of an entry stamp page) of one person who has managed to get into that country using a World Passport. Many of the claims are obvious fakes and the photos are not of entry stamps. So for most countries, only a handful of people in the history of the passport have been successful with it. Most of those could simply be due to an immigration official not paying attention.

If you look at the Wikipedia page you will find a much more realistic assessment.

Many countries and territories have stated that they do not recognize the World Passport because it is not issued by a competent government authority, and thus does not meet the definition of a passport. As a result, travelling on a World Passport has never been easy. By 1975, Garry Davis [founder of World Service Authority] had already been imprisoned 20 times for his attempts to cross international borders with nothing but a World Passport.

The United States Department of State's official position on the World Passport is that it is just a booklet issued by a private organisation upon payment of a fee, and not a passport.As early as 1991, the US Air Transport Association specifically included the World Passport in a training film as an example of unacceptable travel papers.

In the United Kingdom, the Criminal Records Bureau of the United Kingdom's Home Office states that registered bodies should not accept the World Passport as a proof of identity, warning that "a fake ‘World Passport’ can be purchased online by members of the public and should not be confused with a genuine passport".

EDIT:If you follow the links where the WSA claims that the passports are officially accepted, many of them are letters in which the country says it accepts documents issued by the WSA as an identify document. An identity document is not a travel document, and won't necessarily get you into a country.

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    I would add that the photocopied "visas" are in fact fakes. The German "visa" is a stamp of the director for tourist services in the main railway station of Duisburg (No, it is not at a border), the three France "visas" are a stamp of the Dover-Calais ferry, a "carte de sejour" which is equivalent to a work permission ("green card") and can be placed everywhere and a US customs stamp. The Switzerland visa is a train stamp. In short: It is a fantasy passport. Commented Jun 26, 2013 at 21:43
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Just more proof that the so-called World Passport is not recognised and can get you into trouble:

Mos Def To Stand Trial Over 'World Passport'

Rapper Mos Def is to stand trial in South Africa after attempting to leave the country using a "world passport".

The American was trying to fly out of Cape Town last week when he handed immigration officials a document they said was invalid.

World passports are the creation of a pressure group and used by some activists who believe in a world without borders.

The 42-year-old hip hop artist and actor, whose real name is Dante Terrel Smith and also goes under the name of Yasiin Bey, was arrested and later released on bail of 5,000 rand (£210).

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  • Hi jcaron. We are looking for complete detailed answers here, ones that stand alone. This is more of a comment. Commented Jan 21, 2016 at 21:47

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