Enforced during World War I, perfected by modern surveillance: The story of passports and visas

Like many “extraordinary measures” implemented in times of crisis – often under the guise of security – the supposedly temporary restrictions on free movement at the start of the First World War became permanent features hindering migration.

From that time onwards, a growing number of countries required identity documents, passports and visas for travel. When the war ended, negotiations failed to re-open borders. Despite Japanese, Chinese and Indian demands for the free movement of labour, the new League of Nations failed to abolish the new passport system or liberalise controls on international migration.

Passports and citizen identification soon became hallmarks of the modern nation state. By the time decolonisation took place in the mid-20th century, passports and visas were widespread. New states followed the example of established ones. All of a sudden, people could no longer cross a border without a document that included their photograph, birthplace and nationality.

War, nationalism and state-building required large and elaborate bureaucracies, which were tasked with regulating migration flows. Quotas as well as passports and other new forms of border control were introduced to restrict how many people entered a country, where they come from, and what rights and resources they could access.

Political ideas of national security, culture,...

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