North Macedonian passport (Macedonian: Пасош на Северна Македонија, Albanian: Pasaporta e Maqedonisë së Veriut) are issued to citizens of North Macedonia for the purpose of international travel. Responsibility for their issuance lies with the Ministry of the Interior. The validity of the passport is 5 years for persons 4 to 27 years of age and 10 years for those 27 years of age and older. For children ages four and under, the validity of the passport is limited to two years. The passports conform to the recommended standards (size, composition, layout, technology) of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), and are biometric passports.
| North Macedonian passport | |
|---|---|
Front covers of the five North Macedonian biometric passport types
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Integrated biodata card of a pre-2019 biometric passport
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| Type | Passport |
| Issued by |  North Macedonia |
| Purpose | Identification |
| Eligibility | North Macedonian citizenship |
| Expiration | 5 years for persons 4 years of age to 27 10 years for those 27 years of age and older 2 years for children under the age of 4. |
From 1945 to 1991, when present-day North Macedonia was a constituent republicofYugoslavia, citizens traveled with Yugoslav passports. Under the Yugoslav federal system, each republic had its own variety of passport; in particular, Yugoslav passports issued in SR Macedonia were printed in Macedonian and French, rather than in Serbo-Croatian.[1]
The first post-independence passports were issued in 1991. The design and contents have changed over the years. The first generation passports were blue with a silver color inscription without an emblem. The second generation of passports had a golden inscription on the cover and the third generation had the national coat of arms added. The first three generations had only『Република Мaкедонија』and the English translation "Republic of Macedonia" inscribed on the front cover. The fourth generation passport became red with the French translation of the official country name,『République de Macédoine,』added above and "Passeport" below the coat of arms. It was a biometric passport which contained a RFID chip, enabling the storage of biometric and other retrievable data. Previously issued, non-biometric passports remain valid until their stated dates of expiration.
Effective 16 November 2009, the five-pointed red star that had been part of the national coat of arms was removed from the emblem.
After the Prespa Agreement ending the naming dispute with Greece come into effect in February 2019, passports were stamped with the country's new name as an interim measure before new passports were issued. The trilingual stamp states “This passport is property of the Republic of North Macedonia” in English, French, and Macedonian.[2] The authorities began issuing the passports with the new country name starting from 1 July 2021[3] (postponed from September 2020). Old name passports remained valid until 12 February 2024.[4][5]
North Macedonian passports are burgundy in colour with the national coat of arms emblazoned in the centre of the front cover. The Macedonian words "Република Северна Македонија", optionally followed by the Albanian version『Republika e Maqedonisë së Veriut,』the Turkish version "Kuzey Makedonya Cumhuriyeti," or any other recognized minority languages, as well as the English "Republic of North Macedonia" and the French『République de Macédoine du Nord』are inscribed above the coat of arms. The words『ПАСОШ,』"PASAPORTË," "PASAPORT", "PASSPORT," and "PASSEPORT" are inscribed below. The passports have the standard biometric symbol at the bottom of the front cover. They contain 32 pages, with the critical information both printed on the data page and stored in the chip.
Each passport has an integrated biodata card. An integrated biodata card has a visual zone and a machine-readable zone. The visual zone has a digitized photograph of the passport holder, data about the passport, and data about the passport holder:
The integrated biodata card has a line for the signature of a passport holder. The non-biometric passports of the first three generations were not valid until they were signed by the holder. If a holder was unable to sign, it was to be signed by a person who had the legal authority to sign on their behalf. The new biometric passports only require a signature made with a digital pen on a tablet on the day of application, after which, the image of the signature is printed on the first page along with the other data and cannot be altered thereafter.
At the bottom of an integrated biodata card is the machine-readable zone, which can be read both visually and by an optical scanner. The machine-readable zone consists of two lines. There are no blank spaces in either line. A space which does not contain a letter or a number is filled with a "<". The first line of a machine-readable zone of a passport contains a letter to denote the type of travel document ("P" for passport), the code for the issuing state (e.g., "MKD" for North Macedonia), and the name (surname first, then name) of the passport holder.
The second line of the machine-readable zone contains the passport number, supplemented by a check digit; the code of the nationality of the passport holder ("MKD" for North Macedonia); the date of birth of the passport holder (two digit year, two digit month, two digit day i.e. 800509), supplemented by a check digit; the sex of the passport holder ("M" or "F"); the date of expiry of the passport, supplemented by a check digit; the holder’s personal number, supplemented by a check digit; and, at the end of the line, an overall check digit.
The following documents are required to obtain a passport:
As of November 2022,[update] North Macedonian citizens had visa-free or visa on arrival access (including eTAs) to 127 countries and territories, ranking the North Macedonian passport 39th in the world in terms of travel freedom according to the [1].
