What are passport "endorsements" and "limitations", and how do they differ?
Canadian passports have a page reserved for "endorsements and limitations" (French: "mentions et restrictions"):
I assume (but correct me if I am wrong) that this page is intended for messages from the Canadian government.
"Limitations" seems clear enough—I imagine that if the Canadian authorities don't want me to travel to, say, the Republic of Molvanîa, then they will write this limitation on this page. Then again, I suppose whether to admit me to Molvanîa is the sole prerogative of the Molvanîan government. (I have never seen an airline scrutinize anyone's "endorsements and limitations" passport page before letting them on an international flight; all they seem to care about is the ID page and the visa. So even if I have a no-Molvanîa limitation in my passport, what's to stop me from getting on a plane bound to Molvanîa?) What sort of limitations can be written here that are actually effective, and who enforces them?
And what is an "endorsement"? The usual meaning of this term in English is something akin to "support" or "approval". For what travel-related purpose would I need an explicit statement of approval from the Canadian government in my passport? The passport already states that it's "valid for all countries", so I can't fathom what extra benefits an endorsement might provide. Or is "endorsement" a legal term that means something different in this context? If so, what is this meaning, and how does it differ from "limitation"?
Best Answer
That page can be used for basically any type of note that the issuing authority wants to record. An incomplete list of examples, not all of which are necessarily applicable to Canadians:
- a change in the holder's name (e.g. getting married)
- other names by which the holder is known
- travel restrictions (e.g. "valid for travel to all countries except Liechtenstein")
- added pages to the passport
- a change in the dates of the passport's validity
- odd flavours of nationality (e.g. British or U.S. non-citizens nationals) and associated right of abode
And yes, these are only binding on the originating country: if the passport is endorsed to make it invalid for Liechtenstein, it's unlikely to stop its holder from visiting, but when they return and Immigration finds Liechtenstein stamps, there may be some questions asked. (Partly because Liechtenstein doesn't actually have border controls as such, so you need to go out of your way to get those stamps...)
Of course, in this age of digital records, this all seems a little quaint and these pages will probably go the way of the dodo someday.
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What do endorsements mean on a passport?
Endorsed passports indicate that: (1) They are valid only for a specific period of time; (2) The bearer has a certain status; and/or. (3) There is some other relevant information about the bearer of the passport.Where is the endorsement page in passport?
The endorsement pages are not a separate entity from the passport itself. They are normally within the passport, typically towards the back of all the materials. One example of using the endorsement pages, would be for housing a certification of non-citizenship nationality.What is passport ordinary?
One of the most popular out of all the passport types is the personal US passport, also called \u201cordinary passport\u201d or \u201cregular passport\u201d. It is a blue passport book that is issued to the majority of the citizens of the United States. It is the US passport to get if you want to travel.What is a passport and why might you need one?
Your passport is your license to travel. It enables you to enter other countries and return to the U.S. Obtaining a passport is a straightforward process, but there are a few things you need to get a passport. Below you'll find information about passport requirements so you can roam.Admiralty / Maritime Jurisdiction: Brief breakdown
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