Internal passport Guide, Meaning , Facts, Information and Description
An internal passport is an identification document issued for the purpose of allowing or restricting the movment of citizens within their country. Examples of countries that used or use internal passports include the former Soviet Union (see propiska) and, currently, North Korea.Internal passports were used by the Soviets to control where a citizen could live, work or receive medical treatment. All residents were required by law to record their address on the document, and to report any changes to the relevant Ministry (e.g., by the age of 45, a person has to have three photographs of himself in the passport due to the effects of aging, taken an the age of 16 (when it is issued), 25 and 45). In the Ukraine, these laws were struck down by its Constitutional Court in 2001 on the grounds of unconstitutionality. In Russia, similar cases have so far failed, and the system remains in place, although largely reduced.
In China, for Hong Kong residents to enter mainland China, they need a permit issued by the Guangdong Public Security Bureau. The system is retained after Hong Kong reunion with China in 1997. The Chinese government often deny the application of permits from democracy advocates in Hong Kong.
Some civil liberties campaigners in western democracies have likened some planned counter-terrorism measures as a akin to the introduction of an internal passport. For instance, Tim Lott, writing in London's Evening Standard in December 2002 said that the proposed British ID card was a possible pre-cursor to an "internal passport".
Similar ardent privacy advocates in the United States, such as Bill Scannell of dontspyon.us, called the CAPPS II plan to colour-code air passengers by their potential terrorist status as a prelude to an internal passport. The phrase has not however gained wide currency with the respect to these measures.
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