The precipitating event for the Nansen passport was the 1921 announcement by the new government of the Soviet Union revoking the citizenship of Russians living abroad, including some 800,000 refugees from the Russian civil war.
Nansen passports, originally and officially stateless persons passports, were internationally recognized refugee travel documents from 1922 to 1938, first issued by the League of Nations to stateless refugees.
The first Nansen passports were issued following an international agreement reached at the Intergovernmental Conference on Identity Certificates for Russian Refugees, convened by Fridtjof Nansen in Geneva from July 3, 1922, to July 5, 1922, in his role as High Commissioner for Refugees for the League of Nations.
At that point the passport no longer included a reference to the 1922 conference, but were issued in the name of the League.
Approximately 450,000 Nansen passports were provided to stateless people and refugees who needed travel documents but could not obtain one from a national authority. Following Nansen's death in 1930, the passport was handled by the Nansen International Office for Refugees within the League of Nations.
By 1942, they were honoured by governments in 52 countries. In 1933, the Nansen arrangement was broadened to also include Armenian, Assyrian, and Turkish refugees.
Nansen passports, originally and officially stateless persons passports, were internationally recognized refugee travel documents from 1922 to 1938, first issued by the League of Nations to stateless refugees.
By 1942, they were honoured by governments in 52 countries. In 1933, the Nansen arrangement was broadened to also include Armenian, Assyrian, and Turkish refugees.
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