passports

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Island Hit Hard by Hurricanes Is Selling Citizenship for $200K

'Golden passport' program is helping Dominica fight the effects of climate change

(Newser) - Dominica, a small island in the eastern Caribbean, has welcomed thousands of new citizens in recent years who have no intention of living there. The country has been selling citizenship to fund government programs, including efforts to rebuild from 2017's devastating Hurricane Maria and make the island more resilient...

Feds Make Passport Renewal Fully Available Online

You can apply 'without having to do anything in person or send anything in the mail'

(Newser) - The State Department says it has taken a big step to make it easier for Americans to renew their passports. Officials say an online program is now fully operational and available to the public. People over 25 who have had a passport before will now be able to renew their...

State Department Has Exciting News on Passport Renewals

Some can now apply online

(Newser) - There's an easier way to renew your passport—online. The State Department has opened a trial run allowing a limited number of people to apply for their updated travel documents with a few clicks, the AP reports. You can't just start anytime—windows will open at midday Eastern...

Maldives Just Banned Israelis From Entering

The Maldives says it won't be letting in Israel passport holders amid war against Hamas in Gaza

(Newser) - As some countries are increasingly expressing support for the Palestinian people in Gaza amid the Israel-Hamas war , one nation has taken things in a new direction. Per the AP , the Maldives has now banned individuals holding Israeli passports from entering the archipelago in the Indian Ocean, with the office of...

US Sees No End to Lines for Passports
Passport Crisis Snarls Travel
UPDATED
Jul 6, 2023 1:40 AM CDT

Passport Crisis Snarls Travel

Scaled back during pandemic, agency now can't recover

(Newser) - We previously reported that the passport situation in the US is bad, but just how bad? The State Department recommends that you submit your passport application at least six months prior to your departure date, NBC News reports. Take into account, of course, that first you have to book an...

New Flashpoint in Trump Search: His Passports

FBI took them but is returning them; former president says they were 'stolen'

(Newser) - Donald Trump is getting his passports back. That they were taken in the first place has emerged as the latest source of controversy related to the FBI search of Mar-a-Lago, reports USA Today . On Monday, Justice Department official Jay Bratt emailed Trump representatives to say that agents removed three Trump...

April 11 Will Be a Big Day for Transgender Americans

State Department sets date for widespread introduction of gender-neutral passports

(Newser) - In what State Department special envoy for LGBTQ rights Jessica Stern calls a "momentous step," Americans will be able to select "X" as their gender on passport applications starting April 11. Stern says adding the gender-neutral option moves the US toward "ensuring that our administrative systems...

Passport Fees Will Jump by $20 Next Week
Big Passport
Fee Hike Is
on the Way
Dec 23, 2021 2:32 PM CST

Big Passport Fee Hike Is on the Way

Passport books will cost $20 more starting Monday

(Newser) - American citizens applying for new passports or renewing old ones next week might get sticker shock: The fee is set to jump by 18%, more than double the rate of inflation, starting Dec. 27. The State Department tweeted this week that the cost of a passport book is going up...

'X' Marks US Passport in a Big First
'X' Marks
US Passport
in a Big First
Oct 27, 2021 12:31 PM CDT

'X' Marks US Passport in a Big First

United States has issued one with 'X' gender designation instead of 'male' or 'female'

(Newser) - The US has issued its first passport with an "X" gender designation—a milestone in the recognition of the rights of people who don't identify as male or female—and expects to be able to offer the option more broadly next year, the State Department said Wednesday. The...

US Passports Are Getting a Third Gender Option

State Department says applicants can now self-select gender

(Newser) - Under changes announced by the State Department on Wednesday, American passports will still list a person's gender—but it will be up to the individual whether it says M or F, and a third option is on the way. Secretary of State Anthony Blinken said in a release that...

Report: Ex-Google CEO Just Bought a Passport to EU

Recode: Eric Schmidt has applied, been approved for citizenship in Cyprus in 'passport for sale' scheme

(Newser) - Buried within the pages of a publication in Cyprus last month, a tiny notice appeared written in the Greek alphabet, except for one name written in English: "Eric Emerson Schmidt," of Atherton, Calif. That notice in Alithia was an announcement of an application and approval for Cypriot citizenship,...

Looking to Get a New Passport? Forget About It for Now

Unless you have 'life-or-death emergency' or are renewing, State Dept. says passports are on hold

(Newser) - The State Department wasn't kidding when it put out its "level four" travel advisory last month urging Americans not to go abroad amid the coronavirus pandemic. CNN reports that on Friday, the department put up a "passport operations" update on its website , and the upshot of that...

Researcher: It's Time for 'Climate Passports'

People who lose their homes will need them, says Hans Joachim Schellnhuber at UN summit

(Newser) - A prominent researcher is proposing establishing a "climate passport" for people driven from their homes by the impact of global warming, per the AP . Hans Joachim Schellnhuber, founder of the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research, said Thursday the passport could be modeled on a similar certificate given to...

US Revoking Passports of Hispanics Near Border

'Washington Post' reports on new crackdown based on old controversy

(Newser) - A new immigration controversy involves not the denial of US citizenship from applicants but the stripping of US citizenship from Hispanics along the Texas-Mexico border. The Washington Post unpacks the story, which asserts that hundreds and perhaps thousands of Hispanics in the region are suddenly having their American citizenship challenged....

CAR Minister Says Tennis Star's Passport Is a 'Clumsy Fake'

And that Boris Becker isn't an official diplomat, though Becker disagrees

(Newser) - Boris Becker's claim of diplomatic immunity in an ongoing bankruptcy case just went from odd to bewildering. Though the former tennis champ claims his April appointment as a Central African Republic attache to the European Union means he's immune from bankruptcy hearings in the UK, the CAR appears...

Taiwan's New Passports Had One Big Problem

They used a photo of Dulles airport in DC, not one in Taiwan; official resigns

(Newser) - An official in Taiwan has stepped down from her post after what looks to be a multimillion-dollar mistake involving hundreds of thousands of passports. Focus Taiwan reports that Agnes Chen, the chief of the country's Bureau of Consular Affairs, resigned Wednesday after it was discovered the nation's new...

Convicted Pedophiles to Be Identified on New US Passports

New document will identify them as sex offenders

(Newser) - America's registered child sex offenders will now have to use passports identifying them for their past crimes when traveling overseas. The State Department said Wednesday it would begin revoking passports of registered child sex offenders and will require them to apply for a new one that carries a "...

New Passport Rankings Have a Notable No. 1

For first time, an Asian nation (Singapore) gets the honors

(Newser) - A new ranking of the world's most powerful passports is out, and it contains a notable first, per US News & World Report . The Passport Index by financial advisory firm Arton Capital puts an Asian nation in the top spot for the first time. Singapore gets the honors, with...

Australia Plans 'World-First' Move Against Pedophiles

'The existing passport legislation was not working'

(Newser) - "No country has ever taken such decisive and strong action to stop its citizens from going overseas ... to abuse kids." So declares an Australian official in discussing a bold "world-first" plan that would see passports denied to convicted pedophiles who had served their time but remained a...

White Sox Player Ate His Passport on a Plane

Jose Abreu testified he had to get rid of fake doc before landing in US

(Newser) - Some people snack on the peanuts offered on airline flights; Jose Abreu scarfs down beer and pieces of his passport. That's what the first baseman for the Chicago White Sox testified Wednesday in Miami at a trial for a baseball agent and a trainer accused of smuggling Cuban baseball...

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