Travel document

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Laissez-passer issued to International Civil Servants of the United Nations

A travel document is an identity document issued by a government or international treaty organization to facilitate the movement of individuals or small groups of persons across international boundaries. Travel documents usually assure other governments that the bearer or bearers may return to the issuing country and are issued in booklet form to allow other governments to place visas as well as entry and exit stamps in them. One of the most common travel documents is a passport, which usually identifies the bearer as a citizen or national of the issuing country. Currently international travel documents are issued under the United Nations Convention Travel Document (UNCTD).

The Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe has also adopted the new Travel Document Security Programme which seeks to "aim to comply fully with the minimum security standards for the handling and issuance of passports and other travel documents elaborated by ICAO".^[1]

A United States travel document may also be used as a:^[2]

Reentry Permit - A reentry permit allows a permanent resident or conditional resident to apply for admission to the United States upon return from abroad during the permit's validity, without having to obtain a returning Resident Visa from a U.S. embassy or consulate.
Refugee Travel Document - A refugee travel document is issued to a person classified as a refugee or asylee, or to a permanent resident who obtained such status as a result of being a refugee or asylee in the United States. Persons who hold such status must have a refugee travel document to return to the United States after temporary travel abroad unless he or she is in possession of a valid Advance Parole Document. A refugee travel document is issued by the CIS to implement Article 28 of the United Nations Convention of July 28, 1951.
Advance Parole Document - An advance parole document is issued solely to authorize the temporary parole of a person into the United States. The document may be accepted by a transportation company in lieu of a visa as an authorization for the holder to travel to the United States. An advance parole document is not issued to serve in place of any required passport. A permanent resident whose travel is on the order of the United States government, other than an exclusion, deportation, removal or rescission order.

For information on applying for a United States travel document see here.

[edit] Other types of travel documents

1951 Convention travel documents are passport-like booklets issued by national governments to refugees under the 1951 Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees.
1954 Convention travel documents are similar documents issued to stateless persons under the 1954 Convention Relating to the Status of Stateless Persons.
Alien's passports and certificates of identity are passport-like booklets issued by national governments to resident foreigners, other than those issued under the 1951 and 1954 conventions mentioned above. However, some governments issue certificates of identity to their own nationals as emergency passports.
Laissez-passers are issued by national governments and international treaty organizations for various purposes.