Diplomatic Passports

If/when the employing agency requests it, the Special Issuance Agency (SIA) issues diplomatic passports to civil service employees permanently assigned abroad, i.e. Permanent Chance of Station (PCS) orders, not TDY (generally 12 months or more, the FTR goes into PCS in great detail) and when they are under the authority of a Chief of Mission (not a Geographic Combatant Commander and not when seconded to the staff of an International Organization) and only if the employing agency requests it. Note that this applies only to permanent change of station assignments. In almost all circumstances, civil service employees assigned to domestic duty stations should use official passports for temporary duty travel.

The following should be included with the applications for diplomatic passports:

1. The authorization must be on agency letterhead or an Agency standard form, which should be signed in blue ink by the by the direct-hire employee of the agency headquarters administrative office who is the authorizing official. The authorization should containing the following information:
2. Name and location of the organization abroad to which the employee has been assigned.
   • Position Title abroad
   • Start and end dates of the assignment abroad
   • Type of position (e.g., Competitive Service/Foreign Service/Senior Executive Service/etc.)
   • Pay plan and grade (e.g., GS-14/FP-2/etc.)
   • Tenure (e.g., Permanent/Conditional/Indefinite). If tenure is anything other than permanent, provide details including Not To Exceed date, if any.
   • Verify that the diplomatic passport will be reclaimed and returned to SIA for cancelation or destruction when the employee completes the assignment abroad.
   • The name and title of the authorizing official must be identified on the form along with the authorizing official's own signature.
3. Attach the original plus one copy. Applications for accompanying family members applying at the same time as the employee may attach two copies.
4. Per 7 FAM 1395.1.a.6.b, all applications for diplomatic passports based on an employee's assignment abroad to a position under Chief of Mission authority must include a copy of the employee's travel orders, listing the post of assignment and any eligible family members accompanying the employee.

Note: USG personnel are not authorized to have both official and diplomatic passports at the same time, so if they already have an official passport it must be submitted with the application for the diplomatic passport.  The official passport will be canceled and returned.  However, if the Permanent Chance of Station (PCS) assignment is for a short duration (1 to 2 years) and the official passport has significant validity beyond that, the agency can request SIA to file the official passport.  When employee’s assignment abroad ends, the employing agency is responsible for retrieving the diplomatic passport and returning it to SIA for cancelation or destruction. If there is an official passport on file, it may be retrieved then.  Use form DS-4085 to request filing and retrieval of official and diplomatic passports.