What's the difference between an official passport and an ordinary passport?

The difference between official passport and ordinary passport is as follows:

1. different recipients: official passports are mainly issued to officials at or above the deputy division level and diplomatic missions abroad; Ordinary passports are issued to ordinary citizens;

2. Different passport styles: official passports and ordinary passports are different in appearance design;

3. Different issuing units: official passports are issued by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs or other authorized agencies, and ordinary passports are issued by the Exit-Entry Administration of the Ministry of Public Security or the Exit-Entry Administration of authorized local public security organs;

4. Different application procedures: The application procedures for official passports involve many steps, such as soliciting the opinions of the Foreign Affairs Office and handling the notification of going abroad, while the application procedures for ordinary passports are relatively simple.

Advantages of official passport:

1, visa convenience: official passport holders can usually enjoy more visa convenience, such as visa exemption or simplified visa procedures;

2. Identity symbol: the official passport represents the identity of a government official or official, so it has a certain symbolic significance in international exchanges;

3. Special treatment: In some countries and regions, official passport holders can enjoy special customs clearance treatment or other diplomatic courtesy;

4. Conditions for issuance: There are usually strict conditions for issuing official passports, and only government officials or civil servants who meet specific qualifications can apply.

To sum up, there are differences between official passports and ordinary passports in terms of issuing objects, passport styles, issuing units and application procedures. The advantages of official passports lie in visa convenience, status symbol, special treatment and restrictions on issuing conditions.

Legal basis:

Passport Law of the People's Republic of China

Article 9

The registration items of diplomatic passports and official passports include: the name, gender, date and place of birth of the passport holder, date of issuance, validity period and issuing authority of the passport. The scope, methods, validity and specific categories of diplomatic passports and official passports shall be stipulated by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.