This paper attempts to aim light onto the potential threats of the political statement of the "World Passport". With the rise of non-State actors, documents such as the World Passport can give one the opportunity to move freely, without any record or consequence.

1. Analysis of the World Passport
Patrick Katsaris
15 May 2016

2. 1
Introduction
The World Passport, a travel document created by Gary Davis, founder of the
non-profit organization “World Service Authority” was created in 1953 (THE WORLD
PASSPORT). This travel document is based upon Article 13, Section 2 of the Universal
Declaration of Human Rights, which states, “Everyone has he right to leave any country,
including his or her own, and to return to his country” (WSA Passport Acceptance).
Since the creation of the World Passport, many States have rejected entry into their State,
due to the fact that it is not a legitimate international identification, which is not issued by
any government of any sovereign State, rather a single independent organization.
Although not accepted by many States, the World Service Authority reports a plethora of
successful uses of their World Passport. This type of identification, which is not issued
by any recognized authority, could potentially be a threat to national security due to the
fact that any one can obtain this document legally and be able to put false information
on it.
World Service Authority
The World Service Authority (WSA), also known as “The World Government of
World Citizens”, is a non-profit organization, created by Gary Davis in 1953. The
organization was founded within the city hall of Ellsworth, Maine (THE WORLD
PASSPORT). This organization is a strong advocate for “Global Citizenship” which
believes that we should all acts as citizens of the world, rather than individuals within
separate sovereign States. This organization offers various documents, which allows and
individual to obtain a global identity, through various certificates or through their most
popular document, the World Passport (THE WORLD PASSPORT). This organization
also offers a numerous amount of services such as international law counsel, as well as
accesses to their own currency (THE WORLD PASSPORT). All of these services are
based upon their founder’s idea of global citizenship. This organization is currently head
quartered in Washington DC (5 Thomas Circle, NW Washington DC 20005 USA)
World Passport
The World Passport is defined by the World Service Authority website as the
following:
“The World Passport is a 30 page Machine Readable Travel Document (MRTD*) with
alphanumeric code line, scanned-in passport photo and "ghost"security paperwith embedded logo, the data
page laminated, in 7 languages: English, French, Spanish, Russian, Arabic, Chinese and Esperanto.
Each passport is numbered and each page contains the World Citizen logo as background.Two pages are
reserved for affiliate identifications: diplomatic corps, organizations, firms, etc. There are nineteen visa
pages.In the inside back cover, there is space for home address,next of kin, doctor, employer, driving
license no. And national passport/identity number. The cover is blue with gold lettering.” (THE WORLD
PASSPORT, See appendix 1)
As we can see through the definition and the image of the World Passport in the
first appendix, this document is, not by any means, cheap or easily identifiable as fake.
In fact, when compared to an actual passport, to that of, for instance Australia, the
resemblance and official style is not to far off (See appendix 2).

3. 2
Application Process
The first step in obtaining the World Passport is by first filling out the application
and following the posted instructions on the WSA website. The process is similar to that
of obtaining an American Passport, you have various choices on the passport (language,
validity length, etc.). Also, the application process only requires a filled out application,
signed agreements, passport photos, and a payment method for the fee. This process does
ask for a second form of ID, the applicant has the choice of sending a scan of a valid ID,
having a notary public notarize the application, or they may send in a visible print of the
right index finger (THE WORLD PASSPORT). The estimated time of receiving the
World Passport, after completing the application process, is approximately 2 months.
However, there are options to expedite the process by paying an extra USD$150, which
you would then receive the passport within as little as 2 to 3 business days (THE
WORLD PASSPORT).
Global Acceptance
Although being a political statement, the World Passport, according to the reports
of the WSA, have had successful uses all around the world. This means that a holder of a
World Passport was admitted into a State by only using the World Passport (WSA
Passport Acceptance). In addition to this, the States of Burkina Faso, Ecuador,
Mauritania, Tanzania, Togo, and Zambia all officially recognize the World Passport as an
official travel document (THE WORLD PASSPORT, See appendix 3).
In addition, there are many recorded cases of the World Passport being accepted
in 183 States all being a mix of developed and developing States. The most recorded
acceptance was within the United States (WSA Passport Acceptance, See appendix 4).
The record that the WSA provides, show numerous stamps from the years of 1990-2007.
This means that unknown individuals, with unknown origins, were granted passage into
the United States with a World Passport.
Yet, the United States is not the only developed country to allow passage to
World Passport holders. Canada and the United Kingdom also have recorded entries on
their acceptance of the World Passport (WSA Passport Acceptance, See appendix 5).
Although these World Passports were able to make it through customs and immigration,
it does not mean that they are accepted within the States that they were previously
accepted in. The times the World Passport were accepted could be explained as TSA
officers or Immigration Officers not paying attention to the overall passport, and simply
looking at the name and validity date.
Threat to National Security
The World Passport, which is recognized by a handful of States, and has been
accepted by more than 100 others at one point of time or another, is a possible threat to
national security as it is very simple to obtain one of these documents by using false
information. For example, any college-aged adult, under the legal drinking age, can
obtain a fake ID if they have the right connections. Another one of the choices for proof
of identity was a marking of one index finger, not only could the individual not have their
fingerprints recorded, but it is not known, yet very unlikely, that the WSA has the
capabilities to obtain an identity from a finger print. The final option for proof of identity
was having the application notarized; this is very easy to fake as anyone can buy a notary
stamp online. It is also possible to use a false ID to get the document notarized.

4. 3
In conclusion, the World Passport could potentially allow for a Non-State actor to,
legally, contain this document (as fake US or other faked State passports are punishable
with up to 25 years in prison) in addition to gaining access and moving freely from State
to State under a fake name, and fake information (18 U.S. Code § 1543). The World
Passport can be easily falsified, yet it is not illegal to own, and it is recorded to have been
accepted all around the world.

5. 4
Appendix 1: World Passport

6. 5
Appendix 2: World Passport Comparison to Australian Passport

7. 6
Appendix 3: Zambian and Tanzanian Letter to the WSA on the Acceptance of the World
Passport

8. 7
Appendix 3: Zambian and Tanzanian Letter to the WSA on the Acceptance of the World
Passport (Cont.)

9. 8
Appendix 4: World Passport Accepted within the United States

10. 9
Appendix 5: World Passport Accepted within Canada and the United Kingdom
(Canada)
(United Kingdom)

11. 10
Bibliography
18 U.S. Code § 1543 - Forgery or false use of passport. (n.d.). Retrieved February 15,
2016, from https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/18/1543
THE WORLD PASSPORT. (n.d.). Retrieved February 15, 2016, from
http://www.worldservice.org/docpass.html
WSA Passport Acceptance - Visas on WSA Passports. (n.d.). Retrieved February 15,
2016, from http://www.worldservice.org/visas.html
Zill, O. (n.d.). Crossing Borders. Retrieved February 15, 2016, from
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/trail/etc/fake.html