Macedonian passport

Macedonian passport
The front cover of a contemporary Macedonian biometric passport.
First Page of the Macedonian biometric passport
Issued by	Macedonia
Type of document	Passport
Purpose	Identification
Eligibility requirements	Macedonian citizenship
Expiration	5 years for persons under the age of 27, and 10 years for those 27 years of age and older. 2 years or children under the age of 4.

The Macedonian passport (Macedonian: Македонски Пасош) is issued to citizens of the Republic of 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 under the age of 27, 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. Macedonian passports conform with recommended standards (i.e., size, composition, layout, technology) of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO). The latest Macedonian passport is a biometric passport.

In 1945-1991, when Macedonia was a constituent republic of Yugoslavia, Macedonians traveled with Yugoslav passports. Under the Yugoslav federal system, each republic had its own variety of passports; in particular, Yugoslav passports issued in Macedonia were printed in Macedonian and French, rather than in Serbo-Croatian.

The first Macedonian passports were issued in 1991 after the Republic of Macedonia declared its independence from Yugoslavia. Their design and contents changed over the years. The first passports issued were blue with silver color inscription without the Macedonian Coat of Arms. The second generation of Macedonian passports had a golden color inscription on the cover and the third generation had the Macedonian Coat of Arms added. The first three generations had only "Република Мaкедонија" and the English translation "Republic of Macedonia" inscription on the cover page. The latest, fourth generation passport has changed its color to red, also the "République de Macédoine" the French translation of the official country name was added on the cover as well as the "Passeport" beneath the Coat of Arms. It is a biometric passport which contains RFID. The purpose of chips is storage of biometric and other data, which are retrievable. An issued non-biometric will remain valid until its stated date of expiration.