Vatican passport

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The Vatican passport is issued to citizens of the Vatican City for international travel. Unlike other nations, the Vatican only issues diplomatic and official passports.[citation needed] These are held by mostly clergymen and others who represent the entity abroad.

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[edit] Availability

Citizenship of the Vatican City is granted iure officii, which means it is conferred upon some of those who have been appointed to work in certain capacities at the Vatican, and it is usually revoked upon the termination of their employment. During the period of employment citizenship may also be extended to a Vatican citizen's spouse (unless the marriage is annulled or dissolved, or if a conjugal separation is decreed) and children (until, if they are capable of working, they turn 25, or in the case of daughters, if they marry).[citation needed] Terms of citizenship are defined in the Lateran Treaty, and laws concerning the creation of the Vatican state in 1929 sought to restrict the number of people who could be granted Vatican citizenship. The only passports issued by the Vatican are diplomatic passports and service passports.[1]

As of 31 December 2005, there were 558 people with Vatican citizenship, of whom 246 are dual-citizens of other countries (the majority being Italian)[citation needed]. Article 9 of the Lateran Treaty provides that in the event a Vatican citizen has his or her original nationality revoked and also loses Vatican citizenship, he or she will be automatically granted Italian citizenship.[1]

Among the 558 were: [2]

[edit] Italy

Italy does not require passports for travel to Vatican City, and Vatican City does not require passports for travel to Italy. The only way to get to Vatican City is through Italy, inasmuch as Vatican City is surrounded by Rome, so Italian immigration requirements are de facto those of Vatican City. The Vatican issues its own passports to officials of the Roman Catholic Church who reside in or near the Vatican, and who work there. Each Pope is always given Vatican Passport No. 1.

[edit] Visa-free travel

The Vatican City is the only European microstate, which is not a member of the Visa Waiver Program. This may be due to the fact that the city-state does not issue regular passports for its citizenry[citation needed], just diplomatic and official passports. Although the entity is not a member of the Schengen zone, it has an open border with Italy, and it is also categorized as an annex II territory. This means that Vatican citizens do not need a visa to enter European countries which are members of the EU or EFTA.

[edit] Americas

[edit] Europe

[edit] See also

[edit] References

  1. ^ a b Lateran Treaty of 1929, Univerzita Karlova v Praze, <http://spcp.prf.cuni.cz/dokument/lateran.htm>. Retrieved on 23 May 2008 
  2. ^ Vatican citizenship. Holy See Press Office. Retrieved on 2006-12-03.
  3. ^ http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/visit/visas.asp
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