Passport

A passport is a government-issued document that certifies the identity andnationality of its holder for the purpose of international travel. The elements of identity contained in all standardized passports include information about the holder, including name, date of birth, gender and place of birth. A passport displays nationality, but not the place of residence of the passport holder. The passport holder is normally entitled to enter (in most cases: return to) the country that issued the passport in accordance with the laws of that country. A passport does not necessarily grant the passport holder entry into another country, nor to consular protection while abroad or any other privileges, such as immunity from arrest or prison sentences those rights and privileges, if and when applicable, arise from international treaties.

!ntitlement to passports
Traditionally, legal authority to issue passports is founded on the e"ercise of each nation#s e"ecutive discretion (or $rown prerogative, as it is %nown in constitutional monarchies) relating to foreign affairs. $ertain legal tenets follow, namely: passports are issued in the name of the state no person has a legal right to be issued a passport that each nation#s government, in e"ercising its e"ecutive discretion, has complete, unfettered discretion to refuse to issue or to revo%e a passport and that the latter discretion is not sub&ect to &udicial review. 'owever, legal scholars li%e A.(. Ar%elian have argued that evolutions in both the constitutional law of democratic nations and the international law applicable to all nations now render the prevailing archaic principle that passport issuance is founded in the e"ecutive discretion of national governments both obsolete and unlawful. )n nations with constitutionally entrenched bills of rights (such as the *nited +tates of America and $anada), constitutional guarantees of freedom of movement are meaningless without a citizen#s right to the re,uisite ancillary element (a passport) -- without which no freedom of movement between states can in fact be e"ercised. -uarantees of freedom of movement of persons between states are also entrenched in binding international covenants. Those covenants, which have the force of law in signatory nations, li%ewise necessarily subsume the right of citizens to passports, including a right not to be denied access to passports on arbitrary, capricious, discriminatory grounds. The right guaranteed in many national constitutions and in widely ratified international covenants is a right to travel, and that means the right to travel to and from somewhere else. All such destinations are immediately and effectively precluded by absence of a passport. .y guaranteeing the freedom of movement, entrenched constitutional rights (in nations li%e $anada and the *nited +tates) and binding provisions of international law render unconstitutional the basis of e"isting passport law in $rown prerogative, and obsolete the notion of absolute e"ecutive discretion over passport issuance and hence the right of individuals to travel

Types

An )ndian /iplomatic 0assport and an 1fficial 0assport. These passports serve supplementary functions to an ordinary )ndian passport. !ach passport type has a different color.

A rough standardization e"ists in types of passports throughout the world, although passport types, number of pages and definitions can vary by country.

Full passports
1rdinary passport (tourist passport, regular passport, passport) )ssued to citizens and other nationals, and generally the most-issued type of passport. +ometimes it is possible to have children registered within the ordinary passport of the parent, rendering the passport functionally e,ual to a family passport. 1fficial passport (service passport, also special passport) )ssued to government employees for wor%-related travel, and to accompanying dependents. /iplomatic passport )ssued to diplomats and other government officials for wor%-related international travel, and to accompanying dependents. Although most persons with diplomatic immunity carry diplomatic passports, having a diplomatic passport is not the e,uivalent of having diplomatic immunity. A grant of diplomatic status, a privilege of which is diplomatic immunity, has to come from the government of the country in relation to which diplomatic status is claimed. Also, having a diplomatic passport does not mean visa-free travel. A holder of a diplomatic passport must obtain a non-diplomatic visa when traveling to a country where he is not currently nor is going to be accredited as a diplomat, if visas are re,uired to nationals of his country. )n e"ceptional circumstances, a diplomatic passport is given to a foreign citizen with no passport of his own, such as an e"iled 2)0 who lives, by invitation, in a foreign country. +uch is the case of 3ing $onstantine )) of -reece who has traveled on diplomatic

passports for /enmar% (the ancestral home of his royal house) and +pain (the adopted country of his sister 4ueen +ofia) !mergency passport (temporary passport) )ssued to persons whose passports were lost or stolen, and who do not have time to obtain replacement passports. +ometimeslaissez-passer are used for this purpose.

$ollective passport )ssued to defined groups for travel together to particular destinations, such as a group of school children on a school trip to a specified country. 5amily passport )ssued to family members6father, mother, son, daughter. There is one passport holder. The passport holder may travel alone or with one or more other family members. A family member who is not the passport holder cannot use the passport for travel unless accompanied by the passport holder.

A visa - what is it all about?

A visa is a form of permission for a non-citizen to travel to, enter, transit or remain in a particular country. A visa does not guarantee entry. That remains the right of the immigration officials of the country concerned. Some countries may ask visitors to present return tickets and evidence of means (vailability of funds) to cover their intended stay. Some countries may refuse entry to visitors ho do not comply ith their re!uirements regarding general appearance and clothing. Some countries have compulsory currency e"change regulations on first entry. #nly the country$countries you plan to visit can provide up-to-date information about visa re!uirements for South African passport holders. %eportation is at the traveller&s e"pense. Application for visitors and business visas, for South Africa ork, study, o n business and immigration permits

'on-South African citizens ishing to apply for a visa$permit in one of the above categories, should please contact the nearest South African Representative mission abroad . ho ill guide and assist interested persons in submitting the relevant application. (or country specific information, access )Foreign Relations)

$redit card
A credit card is a payment card issued to users as a system of payment. )t allows the cardholder to pay for goods and services based on the holder7s promise to pay for them. 89: The issuer of the card creates a revolving account and grants a line of credit to the consumer (or the user) from which the user can borrow money for payment to amerchant or as a cash advance to the user. A credit card is different from a charge card: a charge card re,uires the balance to be paid in full each month.8;: )n contrast, credit cards allow the consumers a continuing balance of debt, sub&ect to interest being charged. A credit card also differs from acash card, which can be used li%e currency by the owner of the card. A credit card differs from a charge card also in that a credit card typically involves a third-party entity that pays the seller and is reimbursed by the buyer, whereas a charge card simply defers payment by the buyer until a later date. The size of most credit cards is <= > ;? in (@A.BC > A<.D@ mm),8<: conforming to the)+1E)!$ F@9C )/-9 standard. $redit cards have an embossed ban% card number complying with the)+1E)!$ F@9; numbering standard. .oth of these standards are maintained and further developed by)+1E)!$ (T$ 9E+$ 9FEG- 9