
For many of us, having a passport is simply a formality we must remember before abroad vacations. Meanwhile, for most people in the world, it is simply a paper resembling global inequality.
The first attempts to control the flow of persons date back to the 3rd – 4th century BCE. Although there was no concept of boundaries at the time in the modern sense of the word, it was rather rapidly realized that the right to decision could be part of the privileged social class (e.g. rulers, officials) over the unprivileged class (boys, craftsmen). As early as the 3rd century B.C.E., Indian residents wishing to go to another country had to have paid and sealed passes issued by the warden. During the same period, China issued papers containing reasonably detailed population data that determined the possibilities of movement between the counties of the empire and checkpoints. During the mediate Ages, in selected Italian cities, local authorities issued a paper allowing travellers to travel outside the country. It is believed that this is the Italian expression port passa‘pass through port’ or passa porte ‘passing through the gate’ is the origin of the modern word ‘passport’.
European expansionism of the 15th and 16th centuries, which gave emergence to colonization and laid the foundations for capitalist economies, was based on slave or semi-slave labour of indigenous residents of colonized lands. In later years, depending on the needs and economical situation of the colonizers on the continent, the movement of people was increased or inhibited, without any procedures to control population growth comparative to the ability to adapt recently arrived residents and at the same time safe residence and labour rights of immigrants. Among the first systematic attempts to introduce border controls in modern national countries, strategies adopted by Canada, Australia and the United States at the end of the 19th and early 20th centuries can be included to limit the entry of certain groups.[1]. Against Chinese workers doing physical work, these provisions aimed at limiting Asian immigration to white settlement states.
However, even though specified solutions were introduced, universal control of global borders remained comparatively uncommon until the mid-20th century. The closing process of decolonising African, South and Central America and the mediate East revealed at the same time the effects of the multi-annual drainage of subordinate states which were not able to make jobs and administrative structures for their citizens in the short term. At the same time, after 2 planet wars, Europe needed inexpensive labour. The UK strategy, which, in order to prevent low labour supply, invited citizens and citizens of the alleged Western Indies to come and settle in the country, can service as an example of the migration measures taken at this time. Adopted in 1948 by the British Citizenship Act[2] opened the door to the citizens of the colony. This moment, is treated by many as the symbolic beginning of the past of the Black Britain, as it coincided in time with the first berth of a passenger ship SS Empire Widrush at the banks of Essex on 22 June of the same year, from which the first citizens and citizens of Jamaica or Trinidad departed[3]. It is estimated that by 1971, 0.5 million Caribbean citizens of the erstwhile British Empire arrived in the country. In spite of their open invitations, they frequently faced discrimination. How large it must have been to surprise the ruling elite and the public that people working in the UK besides wanted to live there, start families, send their children to schools, and usage the wellness and social care system. A continuation of an unskillably conducted migration policy was proposed in 1962 by immigration laws prohibiting migrants from entering the country without work permits. In 2018, the alleged Windrush scandal occurred, in which British citizens of Caribbean descent were requested to present papers confirming their rights of residence. Persons who were incapable to produce applicable papers (among whom many came to the British Isles as wards of mothers with colonial passports) were to be deported. Meanwhile, their parents were citizens of the British Empire, even before Caribbean independence, frequently in the 1960s. The authorities followed those who did not have passports, although no 1 required this paper from them erstwhile they sought work or made taxation returns throughout the years of their lives in the country.
[3]https://www.bbc.co.uk/newsround/43793769, accessed 25.01.2025
Since 2015 a passport ranking has been published[3]where we can test the mobility opportunities of national citizens.[4] In 2025 Poland was promoted by 5 seats and presently ranked 4th in the ranking. This means that we can only enter 177 countries with a passport, while only 22 countries require Polish and Polish entry visas. Among them are Afghanistan and Syria, which, together with Iraq, Somalia and Pakistan, have been switching places for years in the last ten. What is the link between the countries in the ranking tail? respective factors – low GDP per capita, interior instability characterised by a advanced level of force measured on the basis of the number of cultural conflicts; the number of internally displaced persons, terrorist attacks or legitimacy levels. Democracy as a origin does not in itself play a key role, geopolitics and business agreements between countries are more important. Looking at the ranking from the end and looking at it from a somewhat different point of view, it can be concluded that it is simply a circumstantial list of passports of losers – countries which, as a consequence of a badly conducted process of decolonization and then neocolonialism, cold war, fighting for influence of post-war hegemons, fighting for oil and another precious resources, had no chance to build their own democratic state structures that would let citizens to live in abundance. Can it be said, then, that this is reflected in the directions of migration and the places that people in circumstantial areas can choose? Absolutely. As a result, a paper whose first intent was to evidence border crossings became a paper discriminating people in terms of origin, a paper dividing people into “tourists” or “expats”[5] (the alleged Global North countries) and "economic migrants" and "refugees" (the alleged Global South countries).
[6] The passport index is simply a promotional component of the activities of the global company Arton Company, which mediated the establishment and legalization of the companies of the wealthiest people, in any place in the world. He advertises his services with an enigmatic slogan “Discover how being a citizen of the planet can fulfill your dreams” and invites people whose financial assets scope from $1 million to $1.6 million. On the company's website, it is vain to look for criteria concerning respect for human rights or civilian rights, as evidenced by the first place in the United arabian Emirates passport index - a country where human rights violations are very well documented
Universal Declaration of Human Rights[7] Articles 13 – 15 formalise human-state relations, indicating the right to decision between countries, search refuge in another country and the anticipation of returning to their homeland. In practice, however, the issue of migration has become politicised since the adoption of the Declaration in 1948, and many countries have put a mark on equality between interior crises and migration crises. Migration has been instrumentalized – it has become a tool for exerting political influence, thus depriving those seeking better places to live. This is perfectly illustrated by the situation on the Polish-Belarusian border, where the most frequently asked for aid from activists of the Border Group in 2023[8] Syrian citizens and citizens, Yemen, Somalia and Afghanistan, usually referred to as "illegal migrants" or "battles recruited and prepared by Russia". Do they have another choice? In most cases, no.
It is estimated that 850 million people worldwide do not have any proof of identity (passport, identity card or even birth certificate)[9] more than 4.4 million are stateless people who, for various reasons, have not been granted citizenship, although most people with specified position live in the place of birth[10]. These 2 groups mostly come from regions of Sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia. specified persons will surely not receive a passport due to the deficiency of verification of their data. Even if there were a possibility, they might encounter another barriers. In countries where armed conflicts are taking place, the state administration is going into war mode, and civilian affairs are coming to the last stage. The deficiency of access to universal services for the majority of the population can lead to corruption, thus excluding the poorest, including those surviving in the state and internally displaced. There are besides identity issues, specified as religion, nationality, sexual orientation or sex (until women in 22 countries receive a passport on a different basis than men)[11]. The specified possession of a passport in countries ranked in the second half of the ranking (mainly in countries of the Global South) means nothing. Persons holding a passport from the last 5 have the right to enter 9-12 countries. Where can legitimate Syrian citizens go? To Palestine, Dominican Republic, Iran, Haiti, Malaysia or Micronesia[12], to the another 189 countries, a visa is required, the receipt of which involves an average cost of nearly $100 and the presentation of papers certifying the possession of travel insurance, financial means for the period of stay and return ticket, and another papers certifying that the traveller intends to return to the country, specified as the deed of the property or the employment certificate[13]. The question of the anticipation of entry for tourism, work or education is not transparent. Depending on political relations, economical interest or historical relations, states make their own systems that can give or take certain privileges. An excellent example are the long-standing efforts of the Polish government to abolish entry visas for Poles and Poles going to the United States and to add Poland to the list of countries belonging to the government's Visaless Movement Programme.[14]. This yet happened in 2019, and earlier for nearly 30 years it was a bargaining chip in Poland's relations with the United States[15]. The validity of the passport in the context of the right of movement in cases where the interests of the host State are not active illustrates the situation of applicants for global protection. erstwhile making a request, specified persons shall be obliged to surrender their document. In return, they receive the Temporary Certificate of Identity of the Foreigner, which is late a plastic card resembling ID card, but the copies issued at the Border defender station inactive match a green part of paper that does not frequently let to receive a registered letter, not to mention buying a ticket or establishing an account in a bank.
It cannot so be said that there are equal rights in travel. In practice, the most deprived people have no choice but to usage illegal practices which are in themselves costly, dangerous and exposure them to human trafficking, disappearance or death[16].
Why do migrants not legally cross borders? due to the fact that they do not have specified an opportunity, both from the point of view of their physical overrun and the procedures they must fulfil. On the 418-kilometre section of the Polish-Belarusian border 1 border crossing for passenger traffic is opened[17]. The authorities of countries building border walls topped with barbed wire usage the argument that irregular migration, smuggling and trafficking in human beings, threats to borders or terrorism must be reduced, but this is an argument masking the deficiency of strategies for the integration of foreigners and prejudice against people from another cultural circle. In many countries, political crises (crisis in labour and housing markets, safety crises, wellness sector crisis) are identified as a migration crisis. For populist governments, the work of those with experience of migration is an easy excuse that does not precisely match the truth. Only 1 out of 30 people in the planet are migrants/immigrants, and the vast majority of people leaving their country choose neighbouring countries due to their fast return. This applies both to voluntary decisions (such as migration motivated by education, professional improvement or household life) and to forced decisions erstwhile applying for global protection. It may be easier for both groups to know the language and to have cultural backgrounds in the form of people who came to Europe during (post)colonial times and after the Cold War, erstwhile migrants and migrants were gladly welcomed to drive the crisis economy. Gastarbeiters in Germany[18], Italian Americans[19], contemporary Poles who left for the Scandinavian countries after 2004 or people from Ukraine (voluntary migrants and refugees after 2014 and in peculiar after 2022 in connection with the escalation of war activities) are examples of the same migration process, which differs only by legal regulations. France, which is frequently cited as an example of a country losing its European identity, is home to only 10 to 11% of migrants and migrants, while 48% of the full come from African countries (mainly Algeria, Morocco, Tunisia)[20] – erstwhile French colonies utilized and drained by France for many years.
By shifting the burden of debate to the real causes of emigration, we can see to what degree the state The Norths are liable for the deepening armed conflicts, climate disaster and exploitation of the Global South countries. It will turn out that our motivations, ambitions and opportunities are not based on our individual abilities, but on the privilege of being born in a country benefiting from unfair division of power in the world.
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- Chinese Examination Act of 1882 in the US and Chinese Immigration Act of 1885
- British Nationality Act 1948 - Wikipedia, accessed 25.01.2025.
- https://www.bbc.co.uk/newsround/43793769, accessed 25.01.2025
- The passport index is simply a promotional component of the activities of the global company Arton Company, which mediated the establishment and legalization of the companies of the wealthiest people, in any place in the world. He advertises his services with an enigmatic slogan “Discover how being a citizen of the planet can fulfill your dreams” and invites people whose financial assets scope from $1 million to $1.6 million. On the company's website, it is vain to look for criteria concerning respect for human rights or civilian rights, as evidenced by the first place in the United arabian Emirates passport index - a country where human rights violations are very well documented
- https://www.passportindex.org/ , accessed 25.01.2025
, accessed: 13.01.2024
- https://www.unesco.pl/fileadmin/user_upload/pdf/Universal_Declaration_Rights_People.pdf
- https://wearemonitoring.org.pl/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/report-WAM-ONLINE_2023.pdfp. 24
- https://blogs.worldbank.org/en/digital-development 850-million-people-globally-dont-have-id-why-matters-and-what-we-can-do-about#:~text=With%20this%20new%20individual-level%20data%2C%20as%20well%20as,described%20in%20the%20ID4D%20Global%20Coverage%20Estimate%20report%29
- https://www.unhcr.org/about-unhcr/who-we-protection/stateless-people
- https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/women-can-apply-passport-same-as-men?region=Oceania
- https://www.passportindex.org/passport/syria/
- Visa requirements based on Poland: https://www.gov.pl/web/graduate/visa
- https://estausa.pl/
- https://news.onet.pl/country/end-vis-to-us-history-fight-about-resolution-vis/b9xdhzl
- More on human trafficking statistics: https://www.ctdatacollaborative.org/map
- https://www.gov.pl/web/bialorus/information-for-traveling
- Gastarbeiter - Wikipedia
- Italian Americans - Wikipedia
- 32% were born in Europe and 14% in Asia (mainly Turkey) https://www.insee.fr/en/statistiques?debut=0&theme=5