Passport Facts for Kids
Passport Facts for Kids | Kids World Travel Guide | Last updated: 15 March 2024
In our passport facts for kids you will find lots of useful information on passports and visa, written for children by children.
When travelling abroad, the most important item to take along is the passport!
So let's start with some explanations and then read through our fascinating fun facts about passports.
25 Amazing Passport Facts for Kids
1. In 1783, Benjamin Franklin ordered the first US passports to be printed.
2. In 2023, the U.S. Department of State issued 24 million passports. In the ten years between 2013 and 2023 about 196 million passports were issued, that means more than 50% of all Americans have a passport. This shows that although Americans generally love travelling, although most of them travel inside their own country and have never been abroad.
3. Did you know, that Americans do not need to have a passport for travels to Puerto Rico, Guam, American Samoa, the U.S. Virgin Islands or the Northern Mariana Islands, as these are U.S. territories!
Benjamin Franklin4. Passport Facts for Kids: Did you know that there are 26 regional offices where you can apply for a new passport in the USA. Passport agencies and centers work on appointment-basis only.
5. If you already have a U.S. passport, you can renew your passport via mail.
6. In the USA, there are passport books and passport cards. The cards that fit every wallet can only be used when crossing borders by land or sea, otherwise for international travel the passport books are mandatory.
7. In the UK, you can rent your passport online or in person at one of the 1,100 post office branches. in 2022, according to the latest statistics, more than 7 million UK passports were applied for.
8. If you loose your passport or it is stolen, you always must report it to your nearest police station and to your consulate when travelling abroad as the danger of identity theft is huge.
9. Once a passport has been reported as stolen or lost, the passport number is invalid for travel and can not be used for international travel anymore. The missing travel documents are registered on an Interpol database.
10. At border posts at airports as well as at ports and road and train border posts, immigrations officers check passports against this Interpol registry to find criminals who are travelling with these passports. Also many fake passports are found doing the routine checks.
11. Passport Facts for Kids: Did you know that the majority of the world's passports have a red cover! There are different shades of red, but still red colour is more common for passports than is blue, green or black.
12. Interestingly, the UK passport is nicknamed the 'red book', while the U.S. passport is often referred to as the 'blue book'.
red passports - image by passport index13. In 2024, according to PassportIndex.org, the passport of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) is the most powerful passport in the world. The Emirati passport allows visa-free travel to 179 countries! This is the result of negotiations as now the UAE citizens enjoy a visa waiver to the 26 Schengen countries of Europe.
14. Amongst the highly ranking passports are those of Germany, Luxembourg, France, Italy, Netherlands, Austria and Spain that allow visa-free travel to 177 countries. The passport of the USA and the UK passport are not ranked at the top but also among the most powerful passports in the world, allowing easy access to 172 and 174 countries respectively.
15. Passports usually have between 24 and 60 pages. A standard US passport has 28 pages including 17 blank pages for adding entry or exit stamps and visas of the visited countries. The newer so-called electronic passports that are issued since 2007 come with 52 pages.
16. Passports are usually valid for ten years. However, kids under 16 years of age, usually have to renew their passports every five years.
17. The only person in the world who does not need to carry a passport when travelling abroad is King Charles III of the United Kingdom. The UK passport is issued by 'His Majesty' since 2023, the death of Queen Elizabeth II. The king does not need to carry a passport as otherwise he would have to issue a passport to himself! All other members of the Royal Family, however, have passports.
King Charles III - image by Muhammad Aamir Sumsum/shutterstock.com18. In some countries, children are listed on their parents passports, but many countries require that children have their own passport for travels.
Children need to have their own passports when travelling in many countries, for example USA, Canada, South Africa, UK and many European countries. In many countries, passports for children are valid for shorter periods (usually 5 years) and must be renewed more often. Always check the requirements with the embassy of the country to which you are travelling and know if you need to bring your own passport.
Passport Facts for Kids19. According to old customs, most country's passports include a so-called 'request page', with some text requesting from other nations that passport holders are allowed to pass freely and be granted support when needed. This message is not included in Swiss and Austrian passports.
Request message in US passport20. Passport Facts for Kids: Most passports are printed in at least two or three languages. This means the national language and at least one other additional language.
21. Most passports also use the English language, however, some passports' additional languages are French or Spanish as in the US passport.
22. And do remember, passports from Arab countries, such as the Emirati passport from the UAE, are opened from the left hand side, as they start from last page and are read from right to left.
23. When taking a passport picture certain regulations have to be followed. To get the size, image background and standard format for passport photos right, you have to find some guidelines from your passport centre.
In general, one cannot wear any uniform on a passport picture. Wearing hats, caps, sunglasses and hair that covers part of your face are not allowed. Check with your country's requirements for passport photos. Below are the UK passport photo requirements.
24. Liechtenstein has the most expensive passports in the world and surpassed Australia that had the most expensive passport for some years. In 2024, the passport fee for the ten-year-travel document of Liechtenstein is a whopping US$275! The passport fee more than double the fee of a U.S. passport which costs US$165 in 2024!
25. Citizens of Vatican City, the smallest country in the world, have their own country's passports, but there are no immigration control or border posts around the Vatican borders as the tiny city state is located inside the city of Rome in Italy.
Vatican, the smallest country in the world.Further Reading
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Resources for Passport Facts for Kids
Sources for Passport Facts page and recommended reading:
- U.S. Department of State. "Statistics - U.S. Passports". Travel.State.gov. Accessed 15 March 2024
- U.S. Department of State. "Where to apply for a passport - Search page". Travel.State.gov. Accessed 15 March 2024
- Global Passport Power Rank. "Passport Index 2020". PassportIndex.org. Accessed Accessed 15 March 2024
- The Royal Household. "Passports - The Royal Family". Royal UK. Accessed Accessed 15 March 2024
- UK Government. "Get a Passport Photo - Guidance" Gov.uk. Accessed Accessed 15 March 2024
- Australian Government. "2022 Passport Fee". Australian Passport Office. Accessed Accessed 15 March 2024
- The Post Office. "Renew a Passports". UK Post Office. Accessed Accessed 15 March 2024
Image Credits for Passport Facts for Kids page: Shutterstock, RapidTravelChai and own images
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