Belgium Introduces Passport Redesign That’s Filled With Wonderful Comic Gems

By Mikelle Leow, 28 Jan 2022

Video screenshot via Ministry of Foreign Affairs Belgium

Art and comic book aficionados would love to fill in the pages of Belgium’s new international passport debuting on February 7. Paying homage to its enduring impact on pop culture, the passport is packed with Easter eggs referencing homegrown comic books.

Holders of the document would soon be able to travel with icons of their childhood. As the land of favorites such as The Adventures of Tintin, The Smurfs, Willy and Wanda, and more, Belgium is embracing its cultural core by splashing comic characters and styles across the passport’s pages.

The complex illustrations might lend a hand in making the Belgian passport trickier to copy, as suggested in a launch video.

Video screenshot via Ministry of Foreign Affairs Belgium

The 34-page passport will “be recognizable thanks to its original design, which honors one of the jewels of our culture: the heroines and heroes of comic strips,” details the country’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs in a statement.

Video screenshot via Ministry of Foreign Affairs Belgium

Foreign Affairs Minister Sophie Wilmès said at a press conference on Thursday that this passage to the world is “an opportunity to highlight the ninth art, the comic strip, which is a central element of our culture and our influence abroad,” as reported by the Brussels Times.

The Belgian passport offers citizens access to 149 countries, with 110 of these nations not requiring a visa.

In addition to featuring a roster of nostalgic artworks, the updated version has been reinforced with security features to fend counterfeiters.

A temporary exhibition dedicated to the evolution of the Belgian passport has also been installed at Brussels’ Comics Art Museum to celebrate the makeover.