The rarest passport in the world has been named

The Order of Malta document was considered the most difficult to obtain

The Sovereign Military Order of Malta is not just a knightly religious order of the Roman Catholic Church with almost a thousand years of history. But it is also a multimillion-dollar humanitarian aid organization with operations including refugee camps and disaster relief programs in some 120 countries around the world. Documents confirming your “membership” in the order have become the rarest and most difficult to obtain.

The Order of Malta is a sovereign state with observer status at the United Nations and its own constitution, but, unusually, without any land. The Order issues car license plates – with no roads to drive on – and its own stamps, currency and passports.

The organization originated as a knightly order in Jerusalem around 1099 and was gifted to the Maltese archipelago in 1530 by the King of Spain. Napoleon Bonaparte drove the Knights from Malta during the French invasion in 1798, and the order’s headquarters are today in Rome. The order’s Malta-based president, Daniel de Petri Testaferrata, tells CNN that only about 100 of the 13,500 knights, dames and chaplains now scattered around the world live in the Maltese archipelago.

The first passports were issued by the Order of Malta in the 1300s, when its diplomats traveled to other states with documents confirming their role as ambassadors. After World War II, the use of the diplomatic passport acquired characteristics of documents used in other countries. Today there are only about 500 diplomatic passports in circulation, making it the rarest passport in the world.

The crimson passport of the order is intended for members of the Sovereign Council, heads of diplomatic missions and members of their families. It is decorated in gold letters with the name of the organization in French “Military Order of Malta” and the coat of arms.

“The Order issues passports to members of its government for the duration of their term of office,” says de Petri Testaferrata. Grand Masters’ passports are valid for the longest period as they are elected for 10 years, can serve two terms and must retire at the age of 85. Other passports are valid for four years and are used only for diplomatic missions. The passports have 44 pages with the Maltese cross watermark.

The order’s former communications director, Eugenio Airoldi di Robbiate, told CNN that it is funny to see the reaction of customs officers when they see a passport.

“They’ve probably never seen him before. One day, when I arrived at Bangkok airport, a crowd of passport control operators wanted to see my rare passport and take a selfie with it,” says Airoldi di Robbiate.

According to De Petri Testaferrata, two-thirds of Schengen countries recognize the diplomatic passport, and the Order works closely with many countries that do not have formal diplomatic relations, such as France, Great Britain and the United States.

“We quickly provide medical and humanitarian assistance to victims of conflicts or natural disasters. We manage hospitals, ambulances, medical centers, homes for the elderly and disabled, soup kitchens and first aid stations,” explains Daniel de Petri Testaferrata.