Passports Research Paper

Travel Documents

Passports

A passport is a formal document issued by a government to its citizens. It officially establishes an individual’s identity and nationality. As its name implies, a passport enables a traveller to “pass through ports” or enter a foreign country; however, the receiving country might have reasons for denying a passenger with a valid passport (for example, passengers denied might be wanted by the police or may have overextended their time in the country on a previous trip). While most countries require foreigners to have a passport to enter the country, before the terrorist attacks of September 2001 in the United States, Americans were allowed to travel to certain Caribbean countries without a valid passport; proof

The business visa, the most difficult to acquire, enables the traveller to conduct business in the foreign country. Special fees apply for each visa and often differ depending on the type of visa obtained. Because of advances in technology, information on visa requirements can be easily obtained and applications are submitted digitally via the Internet.

The requirement for visas has declined in many countries wishing to facilitate international travel. The Bahamas does not require visas for citizens of North America and most countries in Europe (the list of countries requiring visas can be obtained from the website http://www.bahamas.gov.bs).

Thomas Donohue, President of the United States Chamber of Commerce since 1997, notes that “our nation’s travel policies - and the perception of them - deter international visitors from coming to the United States.” He further notes that these practices not only impact the vacation travel industry but they also discourage international visitors from entering the United States to train, purchase products and participate in business meetings. He estimates that between 2000 and 2010, United States visa barriers may have cost that country 78 million visitors and US$606 billion in visitor spending which

For travellers returning to the United States from The Bahamas, it removes the hassle of waiting in long lines when they reach their U.S. destination; they can disembark, collect their luggage and move quickly out of the airport, as if they had taken a domestic flight. It is also an advantage to the foreign destination which offers the pre-clearance facility. In the case of America, first, it eases the air traffic demand at major U.S. airports. Secondly, since the pre-clearance procedure would have screened undesirable individuals and denied them entry before they boarded the flight, it eliminates the need for the United States immigration department to incur the expense of deporting individuals who may have entered a country illegally. For any host country, pre-clearance provides a selling point in its marketing campaign; The Bahamas Ministry of Tourism promotes the added travel convenience for visitors (and its own citizens) when travelling