A camouflage passport is a passport issued in the name of a non-existent country that is intended to look like a real country’s passport.
Such passports are also often sold with several matching documents, including an international driver’s license and similar supporting identity papers.
Camouflage passports are generally issued in names of countries that no longer exist or have changed their name. Others use the names of places or political subdivisions that exist within a real country, but that have never issued and cannot issue passports. Still others are issued in the names of wholly fictitious countries but that typically have a plausible or familiar ring to their names.
Nansen passport is often confused with camouflage passport, but is actually a valid document.
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While sometimes referred to as “fantasy passports”, camouflage passports differ from fantasy passports in several ways. Camouflage passports are sold by businesses who sell passports in the names of many non-countries, none of whom they claim to represent, while fantasy passports are issued by an entity that is issuing a passport in their own name. Lastly, camouflage passports are calculated to appear to have been issued by an actual country. The identity of that nation is immaterial as long as it is assumed to be real by a person to whom the passport is lawfully exhibited. Fantasy passports also are “official looking”, but this is only to enhance the credibility of the issuing entity and bolster the holder’s own sense of membership therein. Of course, a camouflage passport might be used as a novelty, while a fantasy passport might be used as camouflage; there is, accordingly, some overlap.
Fantasy passports are usually issued both by and in the name of certain state-like or pseudo-state entities. These include putative micronations, non-territorial states or principalities, pseudo-states, and Indian Tribes.
The goal of a fantasy passport is sometimes to make a political statement or to denote membership in an organisation. For example, the Iroquois Confederacy has issued Iroquois passports for use by its lacrosse team when participating in international competitions.
Interest in fantasy passports can also be explained by their novelty appeal. Souvenir state passports, manufactured by United Passports, are a good example of fantasy passports. Although these passports do look very similar to actual US passports (in color and size) they are clearly marked and distributed as novelties, to avoid confusion.
Examples include:
On the other hand, both camouflage and fantasy passports are wholly different from second passports where a person, typically with dual citizenship, is issued two legitimate passports by different countries.
Whether a simple possession of a camouflage passport is illegal in countries depends on the legal specifics of the individual country, but ownership of a camouflage document may conceivably put the bearer under increased scrutiny from law enforcement and intelligence agencies. After 9/11, the US restricted the sale of camouflage passports, but they are still legal to possess in countries such as Australia, New Zealand, and all of the EU.
Some businesses, such as hotels, rental agencies, or internet cafes, request that patrons show or leave their passport with the business. A camouflage passport in theory could help protect a customer's privacy, however any business with legitimate concerns about fraud or theft (such as a rental car agency) would likely refuse to accept a fake passport.
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