A regular passport nowadays usually has 32 pages. ICAO defines this standard (recommendations), and so is the standardized passport size of 125mm x 88mm defined. But there were and still are exceptions as we can find travel documents with more but also fewer pages…
United States of America
The world record for the thickest passport is with Eric Oborski, a US citizen with a 331-page passport. He amassed this number of pages by adding official extension pages. This possibility was only with US passport holders but since 2016 no longer in practice due to security reasons.
Singapore
On 1 April 2005 Singapore ceased to issue the 96-page passport with a maximum validity of 11 years and began to issue another passport with 64 pages and a maximum validity of 6 years.
Thailand
Thailand has the thickest passport nowadays with 66 pages in its standard passport booklet. Altogether, Thailand passport holders can enter 80 destinations—either without a visa, through a visa on arrival, or via an eTA. As a result, the Thailand passport ranks 66 in the world.
CSSR (Czechoslovak Socialist Republic)
During the 1950s a diplomatic passport type with 124 pages was in use!
Romania
Romania also had a diplomatic passport version with 80 pages during the 1940s.
United Kingdom
A 94-page passport was introduced on 1 May 1973 to accommodate the needs of business persons and other frequent travelers. The last of these were issued by FCO posts in 1993. According to a former passport office chief, these were quite popular, but I never found one for my collection. Probably, the bearers kept them very safe as a memento.
Kings and Queens Messenger passports were huge foldout passports with extension pages given to messengers on duty for the King or Queen of England/United Kingdom.
Snapshot of a huge fold-out Queens Messenger Passport 1950s. You can watch the full video here
Imagine, just 100 years ago, a passport was often still just a single page of paper. Passport pictures were only widely introduced in 1915.
Silesia passport 1922
Source:
Reprinted with permission from www.passport-collector.com
<!– Tom, Popol –>
Tom Topol is a renowned passport expert, author, and editor of passport-collector.com . He consults with museums, foundations, media, and collectors globally, offering expertise on passport history, current passport topics, border security, biometrics, and travel. He provides expert writing services and can be reached through his website, which features a comprehensive reference list.
