History
The first Albanian passports were issued in the 1920s, when the consolidation of the Albanian state began. During the communist period from 1945 until 1991, Albania did not allow foreign travel of its citizens and therefore did not issue ordinary passports for foreign travel, only diplomatic and service passports in limited number. Since the change of Albania's political system in 1991-1992, the authorities have issued passports to all Albanian citizens who request it.
- From 1991 until 1996 the passport was red and did not contain any safety element if not a dry stamp on the photo. The data were written by hand. It still had the Albanian communist Coat of Arms.
- From 1996 until 2002 the passport was brown and had the first security elements as the data page and the photo was laminated. The data were written by machine. It was manufactured by a Canadian company.
- From 2002 until 2009 the passport was red and had safety standards and anti counterfeiting similar to the biometric passport except the microchip. It was manufactured by the German firm Bundesdruckerei.
- Since 2009 the biometric passport is burgundy coloured, similar to those of the European Union. It is manufactured by the French company Sagem Sécurité.
Read more about this topic: Albanian Passport
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