Legality / Usage of World Documents


The de jure (official) and de facto (case-by-case) acceptance of the WSA passport is the world customary law basis for the passport. The customary law validity derives from the acceptance or recognition of the passport by governmental entities.

Yet even if no nation-state had ever recognized the validity of the passport, the WSA passport still would be valid based on Article 13, Sections (1) and (2), of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which the United Nations adopted and proclaimed on December 10, 1948. Article 13(1) of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights states: "Everyone has the right to freedom of movement and residence within the borders of each state," and Article 13(2) states: "Everyone has the right to leave any country, including [one's] own, and to return to [one's] country." The passport also derives its world human rights law basis from documents that further support the right to freedom of travel such as the 1951 Convention and the 1967 Protocol Relating to the Status of Refugees, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, as well as other regional and multilateral agreements.

Hundreds of thousands of people throughout the world have used their WSA passport to claim their right to travel and for identification. Whether or not a consular official at an embassy recognizes your WSA passport does not determine the validity of the document. The fact that the WSA passport has been accepted de jure (officially) by 6 countries (Burkina Faso, Ecuador, Mauritania, Tanzania, Togo, and Zambia) and has been accepted on a de facto (case-by- case) basis by more than 150 countries establishes the validity of the World Service Authority passport.

It must be understood that, simply because a country has granted de facto recognition in the past, there is no guarantee that you will get a visa from said country. The particular national official (whose nation-state one is trying to enter) often has sole discretion regarding whether or not a visa is granted. Therefore, because national immigration and border controls are arbitrary and discriminatory and, thereby, in violation of the UDHR, you must assertively demand that governments recognize your rights.

The WSA passport differs from national passports because the WSA passport identifies the bearer as a human being rather than as a national subject. Despite the fact that all Member-States of the United Nations are obligated to uphold and respect human rights (Articles 55 & 56, UN Charter), all violate them in practice by virtue of their national exclusivity. Therefore, although everyone has the right to travel anywhere in the world, there is no guarantee that the nation-states will uphold this right. Thus, the WSA passport is a tool to help facilitate the realization of human rights -- specifically, the right to travel. The WSA focuses on the right to travel because it is often the basis for the attainment of other rights, such as freedom from torture, persecution, arbitrary imprisonment, and discrimination, as well as the right to due process.

It is our advice to all WSA passport holders that, instead of first trying to get visas from difficult-to-enter countries such as the United States, you first try to obtain a visa from a country that has granted de jure (official) acceptance: Burkina Faso, Ecuador, Mauritania, Tanzania, Togo or Zambia. Obtaining a visa does not obligate you to visit that country. However, the fact that you have obtained visas from any country gives immediate credibility to the passport in the eyes of officials from other more difficult-to-enter countries.

PLEASE NOTE: You must obtain national visas yourself before traveling. The WSA, the WJC, and WSA Legal CANNOT obtain visas for you.

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