Does the letter need to have a name other than an authority letter? Some years ago I was travelling overseas for a few days to a country that most would consider to be a somewhat dictatorial 3rd world destination to take part in a Government sponsored conference, English was one of two official languages When attempting to check in in on the final leg of the journey I was refused on the basis that my passport (with appropriate Visa for the country issued just a week before) expired in 5 months and 28 days time and the new law there said I needed a passport with 6 months validity on it still before entry was permitted. No amount of telephone persuation would budge the Immigration officials at the country to relent before the plane departed and I returned to the hotel to ring the Conference organiser and advise that I would not be speaking at the conference the next morning.
Within an hour I had a very very similarly worded letter faxed to me. It included the following words verbatim "To all to whom these presents shall come, Greetings: I, the undersigned, Minister of Immigration for XXX do hereby request all whom it may concern to permit .. " I had not realised that there was clearly a standard international wording therefore for such an authority letter until I saw your post below. The only significant wording change was a) in describing me as a NZ citizen it referenced my NZ Passport number and b) in my case it stated "'... safely and freely to pass and in case of need to give him SOME Aid and Protection..." Instead of "ALL LAWFUL" Aid and protection..". Clearly they still didnt want io make it too easy for me , just enough to get there and maybe it didnt have to be lawful. :-) It was sufficient to ensure I was speaking at the conference the next morning In my case the authority letter was an adjunct to my passport whereas in your quoted case it appears to be in lieu of a passport where that could not be issued in time. Unless it included a photograph I would not class it as a Passport though. cheers Stan ------ Original Message ------ From: "Jenny M Benson" <[email protected]> To: [email protected] Sent: 25/09/2015 10:19:03 a.m. Subject: Re: [LegacyUG] What is this source? >On 24/09/2015 21:02, Heeren wrote: >> I have an original document from 1913, given by the USA Department of >> State, that is 11.5" X 17". >> >> It says: >> >> United State of America Department of State >> >> To all to whom these presents shall come, Greeting: >> >> I, the undersigned, Secretary of State of the United States of >>America >> do hereby request all whom it may concern to permit _Hugo Kreitzberg_ >>a >> Citizen of the United States safely and freely to pass and in case of >> need to give _him_ all lawful Aid and Protection. >> >> It then goes on the give the date & the signature of the Secretary of >> State as well as a description of Hugo Kreitzberg, the number of the >> form (10701) and the message at the top that it is good for two years >> from date given. >> >> There is an official seal impressed on it. >> >> But...nowhere does it say what this form is...I have searched for >> "visa", "safe passage", "travel document" using the date, the form >> number and anything else I can think of...what is this form called? >> >> He applied for a passport on the same day. >> >> Has anyone come across one of these before & if so, how did you >>source it? >> >Sounds like a Passport to me. > > >-- >Jenny M Benson > > > > >Legacy User Group guidelines: > >http://www.LegacyFamilyTree.com/Etiquette.asp > >Archived messages after Nov. 21 2009: > >http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]/ > >Archived messages from old mail server - before Nov. 21 2009: > >http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]/ > >Online technical support: http://support.legacyfamilytree.com > >Follow Legacy on Facebook (http://www.facebook.com/LegacyFamilyTree) >and on our blog (http://news.LegacyFamilyTree.com). > >To unsubscribe: http://www.LegacyFamilyTree.com/LegacyLists.asp > Legacy User Group guidelines: http://www.LegacyFamilyTree.com/Etiquette.asp Archived messages after Nov. 21 2009: http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]/ Archived messages from old mail server - before Nov. 21 2009: http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]/ Online technical support: http://support.legacyfamilytree.com Follow Legacy on Facebook (http://www.facebook.com/LegacyFamilyTree) and on our blog (http://news.LegacyFamilyTree.com). To unsubscribe: http://www.LegacyFamilyTree.com/LegacyLists.asp
