Diplomatic Passports

[sulasno]

are they are real?

[kash]

they are all fakes.

[Mid]

Diplomatic Passports are issued to Diplomats and diplomatic representatives of a home country, or can be issued for any state employees who serve on long-term (resident) duty, and in other cases official passport holders may be granted visa-free entry, while normal passport holders are required to get a visa.

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[Thanyaburi Mac]

Diplomatic Passports are issued to Diplomats and diplomatic representatives of a home country, or can be issued for any state employees who serve on long-term (resident) duty, and in other cases official passport holders may be granted visa-free entry, while normal passport holders are required to get a visa.

cite

What brought on this question?  Sure, they're real, I've had a couple of them, log expired now.  See attached.

In the the note above, ... official passport holders may be granted visa-free entry,..." the word "may" is the operative one.  For many countries just passing through for short visit(s) no visa required.  However I was going to the Philippines once and found out that if travelling on a dip passport, I needed a visa, on a regular U.S. tourist type, none required.  Guess they just wanted to keep track of who was coming to their country.  Also, 1986 I was motoring from D.C. area up to Quebec for a weekend visit to a friend there.  Canadian immigration at the border had a bunch of Qs for me as to why I was travelling on a dip passport rather than a tourist one.  Not really a problem, he let me pass, but was sort of strange, I thought.

Mac

[the scouser]

.....and a British one

Scouse.

[farangsay]

.....and a British one

Scouse.

Got any pix of the inside pages ?

Chap on KSR asked me.

[samran]

They let you keep yours scouse? Australians make you give them back....

But I digress.

In your best South African accent say:

"Oi 'av diplowmadtic emunity Mista Riggs" (with apologies to the writers of Lethal Weapon 2).

[the scouser]

They let you keep yours scouse?

Shhhh, they forgot to ask.

Scouse.

[Florin]

Canadian immigration at the border had a bunch of Qs for me as to why I was travelling on a dip passport rather than a tourist one. Not really a problem, he let me pass, but was sort of strange, I thought.

Well, diplomatic passport holders are actually supposed to use them when on somehow work-related travel...it is generally frowned upon when they're used for tourism.

As you very correctly said, "may" is the operative concept regarding visas - had a similar experience when trying to get from HK to Macau...HK immigration had no issue in letting me into the country, but they absolutely refused to let me out to Macau, saying that it needed a visa (this was in 1998).