A passport is a document required to enter Arstotzka. It is the primary identification document, and all entrants should carry one at all times. Passports carry information about the entrants such as name, sex, date of birth and nationality. The passport cover colors vary depending on their country of issue.
The passport is one of the four documents the inspector can stamp a denial or approval on. The other three are the temporary visa slip, the passport seizure slip and Jorji Costava’s fake passport.
If an entrant is missing a passport, highlight the Entrant must have a passport rule in the rulebook and the empty counter in front of the entrant to interrogate them.
Papers Please Passport
Papers Please has seven official passports of real in-game countries and a fake passport issued by “Cobrastan.” Passports differ from each other by color, ornaments and the layout of the data page. All passports contain the same information fields:
| Issuing country and cities | Notes | Data page | Cover |
|---|---|---|---|
Antegria
|
|
 |
 |
Arstotzka
|
|
 |
 |
Impor
|
|
 |
 |
Kolechia
|
|
 |
 |
Obristan
|
|
 |
 |
Republia
|
|
 |
 |
United Federation
|
|
 |
 |
Cobrastan
|
|
 |
 |
Papers Please Fake Passport
The fake passport is a passport presented by Jorji Costava to the inspector on day 4. It appears to be written by hand and states that the passport was issued in a city called Bestburg in Cobrastan, neither of which exist. It is later implied that Jorji might come from Obristan. A fake passport is also shown in Papers, Please – The Short Film.
Jorji is the eighth entrant on day 4. The fake passport is never valid, but if entry is approved, the inspector will be given the Obristan token and a consequential citation for violating the immigration protocol. The same token can be earned on day 11 without a citation, so there is no benefit in letting Jorji in with the fake passport.
Although not required, it is possible to highlight the fake passport with the All documents must be current rule, or the Entrant must have a passport rule in the rulebook to highlight the discrepancy.
Unlike when the inspector receives a citation for letting in someone without valid documents after the entrant has walked a certain distance from the booth, if the fake passport is approved and given back to Jorji, the citation immediately starts to print while Jorji is still in the booth.
The fake passport is one of the three non-passport documents in the game that can be stamped with entry approval and entry denial stamps.
Papers Please Passport Confiscation
Passport confiscation is a process where the inspectorseizes an entrant’s passport by order of the Ministry of Admission. A special drawer for confiscated passports is installed in the booth on day 24 when the confiscation order is first issued.
On day 24, the Ministry of Information requests help from the M.O.A. regarding suspicious activities by some Arstotzkan citizens. From that day on, the inspector is expected to confiscate all passports from Arstotzkans living in the Altan district and issue passport seizure slips to allow entry if the entrant is not violating any other rules.
On day 28, the Arstotzkan government takes stricter measures and expands the passport confiscation program. For the rest of the game, the inspector must confiscate all Arstotzkan passports from native entrants without exceptions.
Gameplay
Passports are confiscated by dragging them to the bottom of the screen near the handle of the drawer. The drawer will open automatically and an unstamped passport seizure slip will appear once the passport has been dropped into the drawer.
Although not explicitly stated, the inspector can confiscate any passport he encounters, not just those of Arstotzkans. However, a citation is issued for each unauthorized confiscation. The confiscation of passports plays a part in three storylines:
- On day 27, EZIC wants the inspector to confiscate the passport of a Kolechian diplomat in order to slip their own agent through.
- On day 30, a father wants to avenge the death of his daughter by using a passport confiscated from the man who killed her.
- If the inspector wants to flee to Obristan with his family near the end of the game, he needs to confiscate Obri passports for his family members. This opportunity is presented by Jorji Costava on day 29. See endings 16 and 18 for details. Confiscating Obri passports before day 29 will not count toward ending 18.
A confiscated passport can be removed from the drawer and returned to the entrant as long as the entrant is still in the booth and has not gotten all their other documents back. If the inspector has already returned all other documents to the entrant except for the passport and the seizure slip, the entrant will walk out after getting either of those back. If the inspector gives the entrant a passport seizure slip and the passport is not in the confiscation drawer, it is automatically moved there.
It is possible to give a stamped passport and a stamped seizure slip to the same entrant (as long as those two are not the last two documents to be returned). If either of those have a red stamp, the entrant is denied and will walk back to the West Grestin side.
If the inspector has already confiscated an entrant’s passport, but leaves it out when returning the documents back to the entrant, the passport will automatically be put back into the drawer and sealed, and the dialogue of the entrant asking for his or her passport back is skipped, which can be used to save the player time. This does not work when detaining, as the passport is swept off the desk with the other documents and a citation will be issued: the passport must be in the drawer before selecting the detention option.
