Internal passport
Encyclopedia
Identity document
An identity document is any document which may be used to verify aspects of a person's personal identity. If issued in the form of a small, mostly standard-sized card, it is usually called an identity card...
used in some countries to control the internal movement and residence of its people. Countries that currently have internal passports include Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
, Ukraine
Ukraine
Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It has an area of 603,628 km², making it the second largest contiguous country on the European continent, after Russia...
, China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
and North Korea
North Korea
The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea , , is a country in East Asia, occupying the northern half of the Korean Peninsula. Its capital and largest city is Pyongyang. The Korean Demilitarized Zone serves as the buffer zone between North Korea and South Korea...
. In Uzbekistan
Uzbekistan
Uzbekistan , officially the Republic of Uzbekistan is a doubly landlocked country in Central Asia and one of the six independent Turkic states. It shares borders with Kazakhstan to the west and to the north, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan to the east, and Afghanistan and Turkmenistan to the south....
, even though citizens issued just one passport, severe restrictions on movement with the country applied, particularly in the capital city – Tashkent. In the past, internal passports were used by Imperial Russia, France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
, the Confederate States of America
Confederate States of America
The Confederate States of America was a government set up from 1861 to 1865 by 11 Southern slave states of the United States of America that had declared their secession from the U.S...
, the Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
, the Ottoman Empire
Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman EmpireIt was usually referred to as the "Ottoman Empire", the "Turkish Empire", the "Ottoman Caliphate" or more commonly "Turkey" by its contemporaries...
, South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
during Apartheid and other countries.
Soviet Union
Internal passports were used in the Soviet UnionSoviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
for identification of persons for various purposes. In particular, passports were used to control and monitor the place of residence by means of propiska
Propiska
Propiska was both a residence permit and migration recording tool in the Russian Empire before 1917 and from 1930s in the Soviet Union. It was documented in local police registers and certified with a stamp in internal passports....
, a regulation designed to control the population's internal movement by binding a person to his or her permanent place of residence. For example, a valid propiska was necessary to receive higher education or medical treatment, though these services were not limited to the location registered. Besides marriage to a resident of another area, university education was the most popular way of circumventing one's propiska and residing elsewhere. Also, since only a minority of dwellings were privately owned, having a propiska at a certain address meant that one had the right to live there.
All residents were required by law to record their address on the document and to report any relevant changes to a local office of the Ministry of Internal Affairs. For example, a citizen needed to submit photographs of themselves for their passport, taken when they were issued it at age 16, and again at age 25 and 45.
In Ukraine
Ukraine
Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It has an area of 603,628 km², making it the second largest contiguous country on the European continent, after Russia...
, these laws were repealed by its Constitutional Court
Constitutional Court of Ukraine
The Constitutional Court of Ukraine is the sole body of constitutional jurisdiction in Ukraine. The Constitutional Court of Ukraine interprets the Constitution of Ukraine and decides whether laws and other legal acts are constitutional....
in 2001 on the grounds of unconstitutionality.
In Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
, similar cases have so far failed, and the system remains in place, although in a reduced form. The system of internal passport registration and control remains extremely strict in Moscow
Moscow
Moscow is the capital, the most populous city, and the most populous federal subject of Russia. The city is a major political, economic, cultural, scientific, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the continent...
in order to reduce illegal immigration and to prevent terrorist attacks. No government permission for a residence address change is required except to settle in state-owned dwellings. De facto citizens have no hindrance to reside at another address than registered within the same city; however, many inhabitants of rented dwellings refuse official registration at new addresses because of landlords' tax evasion, which also allows for cheaper rents.
In November 2010, the Federal Migration Service announced the possible cancellation of internal passports, which would be replaced by plastic ID cards or drivers licenses.
People's Republic of China
The People's Republic of ChinaPeople's Republic of China
China , officially the People's Republic of China , is the most populous country in the world, with over 1.3 billion citizens. Located in East Asia, the country covers approximately 9.6 million square kilometres...
(PRC) maintains a system of residency registration in mainland China
Mainland China
Mainland China, the Chinese mainland or simply the mainland, is a geopolitical term that refers to the area under the jurisdiction of the People's Republic of China . According to the Taipei-based Mainland Affairs Council, the term excludes the PRC Special Administrative Regions of Hong Kong and...
known as hukou, by which government permission is needed to formally change one's place of residence. This system effectively controlled internal migration before the 1980s, but subsequent market reforms caused it to collapse as a means of migration control. An estimated 150 to 200 million people are part of the "blind flow" and have unofficially migrated, generally from poor, rural areas to wealthy, urban ones. However, unofficial residents are often denied official services such as education and medical care and are sometimes subject to both social and political discrimination. A similar system of household registration is maintained in the Republic of China
Republic of China
The Republic of China , commonly known as Taiwan , is a unitary sovereign state located in East Asia. Originally based in mainland China, the Republic of China currently governs the island of Taiwan , which forms over 99% of its current territory, as well as Penghu, Kinmen, Matsu and other minor...
(Taiwan), but it does not restrict travel as in mainland China.
Hong Kong
Hong Kong
Hong Kong is one of two Special Administrative Regions of the People's Republic of China , the other being Macau. A city-state situated on China's south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea, it is renowned for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour...
and Macau
Macau
Macau , also spelled Macao , is, along with Hong Kong, one of the two special administrative regions of the People's Republic of China...
residents need Home Return Permit
Home Return Permit
A ‘Home Return Permit’ , also referred to as a ‘Home Visit Permit’ or ‘China Back Home Pass’ , is the colloquial name for the national identity document officially known as the Mainland Travel Permit for Hong Kong and Macao Residents issued to PRC citizens who are permanent residents of Hong Kong...
s, issued by the PRC government through the Guangdong
Guangdong
Guangdong is a province on the South China Sea coast of the People's Republic of China. The province was previously often written with the alternative English name Kwangtung Province...
Public Security Bureau, to enter mainland China. The system was put in place when Hong Kong and Macau were under British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
and Portuguese
Portugal
Portugal , officially the Portuguese Republic is a country situated in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of Europe, and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the West and South and by Spain to the North and East. The Atlantic archipelagos of the...
rule. It was retained after their sovereignty was transferred to the PRC in 1997
Transfer of the sovereignty of Hong Kong
The transfer of sovereignty over Hong Kong from the United Kingdom to the People's Republic of China, referred to as ‘the Return’ or ‘the Reunification’ by the Chinese and ‘the Handover’ by others, took place on 1 July 1997...
and 1999, respectively, under the One country, two systems
One country, two systems
"One country, two systems" is an idea originally proposed by Deng Xiaoping, then Paramount Leader of the People's Republic of China , for the reunification of China during the early 1980s...
policy. The PRC government denies permit applications from people viewed as a threat to national security. Residents of mainland China wishing to visit Hong Kong or Macau require a Two-way Permit
Two-way Permit
Exit-Entry Permit for Travelling to and from Hong Kong and Macao, , colloquially known as a Two-way Permit, , are issued to mainland Chinese as entry and exit travel document for purpose of travel to Chinese Special Administrative Regions of Hong Kong and Macau...
, issued by local Public Security Bureaus in the mainland. The requirement for applying for a travel permit has recently been relaxed under the Individual Visit Scheme
Individual Visit Scheme
The Individual Visit Scheme began on July 28, 2003. It allowed travelers from Mainland China to visit Hong Kong and Macau on an individual basis...
for residents of Guangdong province, all the province-level municipalities and a number of other major cities.
Uzbekistan
In UzbekistanUzbekistan
Uzbekistan , officially the Republic of Uzbekistan is a doubly landlocked country in Central Asia and one of the six independent Turkic states. It shares borders with Kazakhstan to the west and to the north, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan to the east, and Afghanistan and Turkmenistan to the south....
, even though citizens issued just one passport, severe restrictions on movement within the country applied, particularly in the capital city – Tashkent
Tashkent
Tashkent is the capital of Uzbekistan and of the Tashkent Province. The officially registered population of the city in 2008 was about 2.2 million. Unofficial sources estimate the actual population may be as much as 4.45 million.-Early Islamic History:...
. After the explosions in 1999 all restrictions of the Soviet era were imposed, making it virtually impossible to legally acquire propiska
Propiska
Propiska was both a residence permit and migration recording tool in the Russian Empire before 1917 and from 1930s in the Soviet Union. It was documented in local police registers and certified with a stamp in internal passports....
in Tashkent.
Other
In South Africa, the pass lawsPass laws
Pass laws in South Africa were designed to segregate the population and limit severely the movements of the non-white populace. This legislation was one of the dominant features of the country's apartheid system. The Black population were required to carry these pass books with them when outside...
(notably the Pass Laws Act 1952, which applied until 1986) were a component of the apartheid system. The laws regulated where, when and for how long a person could remain outside their homeland. They also made it compulsory for all black South Africans over the age of 15 to carry a pass book at all times.
Civil liberties
Civil liberties
Civil liberties are rights and freedoms that provide an individual specific rights such as the freedom from slavery and forced labour, freedom from torture and death, the right to liberty and security, right to a fair trial, the right to defend one's self, the right to own and bear arms, the right...
campaigners in western democracies have likened some planned counter-terrorism measures as akin to the introduction of an internal passport. Tim Lott, writing in London's Evening Standard
Evening Standard
The Evening Standard, now styled the London Evening Standard, is a free local daily newspaper, published Monday–Friday in tabloid format in London. It is the dominant regional evening paper for London and the surrounding area, with coverage of national and international news and City of London...
in December 2002, said that the proposed British identity card was a possible precursor to an internal passport.
Ardent privacy advocates in the United States, such as Bill Scannell of dontspyon.us, called the CAPPS II
Computer Assisted Passenger Prescreening System
The Computer Assisted Passenger Prescreening System is a counter-terrorism system in place in the United States air travel industry...
plan to color-code air passengers by their potential terrorist status a prelude to an internal passport. However, the phrase is not commonly used to describe these measures.
Internal passports were also used in the Confederate States of America
Confederate States of America
The Confederate States of America was a government set up from 1861 to 1865 by 11 Southern slave states of the United States of America that had declared their secession from the U.S...
.
See also
- International passportInternational passportIn some countries, the international passport or passport for travel abroad is a second passport, in addition to the internal passport, required for a citizen to travel abroad within the country of residence....
- PropiskaPropiskaPropiska was both a residence permit and migration recording tool in the Russian Empire before 1917 and from 1930s in the Soviet Union. It was documented in local police registers and certified with a stamp in internal passports....
- Wolf ticket (Russia)Wolf ticket (Russia)Wolf ticket is a literal translation of the Russian language term волчий билет , a colloquial expression to denote a version of a document with restrictive clauses in comparison to the full document...
- 101st kilometre101st kilometre101st kilometre is a colloquial name for the law restricting freedom of movement in the Soviet Union.In the Soviet Union, the rights of an inmate released from the prison would typically still be restricted for a long period of time...
- Closed cities