Visas between the wars

Between the wars the visa, not the ticket, was what stopped a journey. The League of Nations set the rules twice, in Paris in October 1920 and in Geneva in May 1926. They were recommendations: states followed them more or less, and waived visas between themselves one agreement at a time.

Bearer makes an investigator's papers for Call of Cthulhu and any 1920s or 1930s tabletop campaign: the passport a consul would have filled in, with the visas and frontier stamps a campaign leaves in it, and the permits, certificates and tickets of the period, to print or to share.

The two regimes

	Paris, 1920	Geneva, 1926
In force from	21 October 1920	18 May 1926
Entrance visa	valid one year on a two-year passport, as long as the passport on a single-journey one	valid two years, for any number of journeys, never past the passport's own expiry
Entrance visa, fee at most	10 gold francs	10 gold francs
Single journey, fee at most	not distinguished	5 gold francs
Transit visa	given at once on sight of the destination's entrance visa; no voluntary break of the journey	same; valid as long as the destination's visa
Transit visa, fee at most	1 gold francs	1 gold francs
Going ashore at a port of call	not provided for	allowed without a transit visa
Exit visa	abolished, except for a state's own nationals	total abolition "might be taken into consideration"
Where to apply	not said	the consulate of the applicant's domicile; in person only if the consul has doubts

The order of the errands

The consul of a country of transit wanted to see the visa of the country of destination before giving his own. So the traveller fetched the destination's visa first, then the transit visas in the order of the journey, each consulate looking at the ones before.

A transit visa covered a journey "of normal duration without voluntary interruption": stopping over on purpose broke it. From 1926 a passenger could go ashore at a port of call without one.

Fees followed reciprocity: a state that charged another's nationals less was charged less in return. They were never to depend on the itinerary or, from 1926, on the flag of the ship.

What a consul actually wrote

Who	What it printed
Germany, the blank forms of 1924	"Ein- und Wiederaus-Durchreise-Sichtvermerk", then: good for one entry into and exit from Germany over any authorised German frontier post; the purpose of the journey; valid for so many days from the day after the first crossing, but not beyond a date; the fee; the seal, the office and the signature.
Great Britain, Salonica, 1933	"Available for [the bearer] / Seen at the British Consulate General / Good For [Palestine]", the place and the date, and by hand "Valid for ONE single journey", signed by the Consul General over British consular revenue stamps.
Iraq, London, 1935	"Seen at the Iraq Legation, London, this 21 JUNE 1935. Good for single journey to IRAQ IN DIRECT TRANSIT within a period of Twelve Months, from the date hereon", and beside it: "BEARER SHOULD REGISTER WITH THE POLICE WITHIN 15 DAYS OF HIS ARRIVAL".
Italy, Peking, 1927	"R. Legazione d'Italia / Visto buono per recarsi in Italia e valido per un anno", the article of the consular tariff, and revenue stamps in gold lire, which is the League's gold franc seen from the counter.
Yugoslavia, London, 1935	The legation's name in Cyrillic over a form in Cyrillic, and a rubber stamp in French: "TRANSIT SANS FACULTÉ D'ARRÊT / VISA VALABLE 30 JOURS".
Egypt, London, 1935	"TRANSIT VISA. Visa good for one or more journeys THROUGH EGYPT within a period of twelve months from the date hereof provided this passport is valid", in English, signed by the Consul over an Egyptian revenue stamp in mills, with the round seal of the Royal Egyptian Consulate and "FEE PAID".
China, Vladivostok, 1920	Set in columns, right to left: the number, the bearer's nationality and destination, "seen at the Consulate-General", the Consul-General's signature, the date in the years of the Republic (民國九年, 1920) and the term; a red round seal with a legend in Latin letters.
Japan, Vancouver and Peking, 1929	A rubber stamp in English: "TRANSIT VISA / GOOD FOR ONE TRANSIT ONLY / The Validity of This Visa Shall Expire 12 Months From This Date. / The Consulate of Japan", the place and the date; at the legation, "NOTE: Date of Visa … ENTRANCE VISA is valid for one year after date". Beside it, in Japanese columns, 查證 (seen), the date of the Shōwa era (昭和四年, 1929), the consulate and the consul's name over his red seal.
The United States, at the port	A violet "ADMITTED" struck across the page beside a faded oval, about 1929.
Egypt and Greece, at the air port	"CAIRO CITY POLICE / PASSPORT CONTROL / ALMAZA AIR PORT / ARRIVAL" (or DEPARTURE), the aircraft and the date by hand; the Greek police's "ΑΣΤΥΝΟΜΙΚΟΣ ΕΛΕΓΧΟΣ ΔΙΑΒΑΤΗΡΙΩΝ", the place, 26. ΙΟΥΝ. 1935 and ΕΙΣΟΔΟΣ or ΕΞΟΔΟΣ.
France, at the frontier	A stamp of the "COMMISSARIAT SPÉCIAL" of the port or the air port, the date, and one word: DÉBARQUEMENT on the way in, EMBARQUEMENT on the way out.
British India, Bombay	A round violet stamp: "PERMITTED TO LAND".
Italy, at the frontier	"COMMISSARIATO DI P. S." over the station, the date followed by the year of the Fascist era in Roman numerals, and "V°".

Read off visas struck in real passports between 1920 and 1938. A consulate writes in its own language, whether or not the traveller reads it; it adds a line in French or in English where it expects a foreigner, and it sticks on a revenue stamp of its own currency and cancels it. Where a state's form has not been found, Bearer prints a plain block of its own instead, in the language that state's officials wrote.

How Bearer applies them

Between two states Bearer knows no agreement for, it applies the League's rule: a visa is required. An agreement is applied once it has been read, never guessed.

The visas of a colony, a protectorate or a mandate are taken to be those of the power it depends on. That rule is still to be confirmed.

Still to be confirmed

The visas of a colony, a protectorate or a mandate are taken to be those of the power it depends on. That rule is still to be confirmed.. What would settle it: a consular instruction or a dated visa showing who issued visas for a colony, a mandate and a dominion; the dominions ran their own immigration and are the likeliest exception.
the forms read are the blank models of June 1924, 8 by 14 cm at most. What would settle it: a German visa struck in a passport of the thirties.
the visa read is one for Palestine, issued at Salonica in 1933, with its immigration category. What would settle it: British visas of other years and other consulates.
the visa read is a transit visa of the legation in London, 1935; the words of an entrance visa are taken to be the same. What would settle it: an Iraqi entrance visa.
the visa read is one of the legation at Peking, 1927; the consular revenue stamps in gold lire that pay for it are not drawn. What would settle it: Italian visas of other consulates and years.
the consulate general at Vienna (1927, 1928) wrote "Visto, buono per recarsi nel Regno" and, on a single journey, "Vale per una sola volta"; the legation at Peking wrote the line Bearer prints. What would settle it: nothing: consulates worded it their own way.
the visa read is a transit visa of the legation in London, 1935, whose rubber stamp also reads "VISA VALABLE 30 JOURS" in French. What would settle it: Yugoslav visas of other years.
the entrance visa read is one of the legation at Warsaw, 1931, and the transit visa one of the consulate at Jaffa, 1938 (chVisa1938), given free ("Sans frais"); the transit visa's fee line is the entrance visa's. What would settle it: a Swiss transit visa that was paid for.
the number of entries is written "une" on the visa read; "plusieurs" for a visa good for several is ours. What would settle it: a Swiss visa good for several entries.
the lines the entrance visa leaves for the first place of stay, the length of stay and the reason for the journey are not asked for. What would settle it: a decision on whether an entry should carry them.
the visa read is one of the Hungarian legation at Vienna, 1928, for a single journey; the words of a visa for several are not known. What would settle it: a Hungarian visa good for several journeys.
the fee is written as the entry's gold francs with no unit, as the visa read wrote 7.50 without saying in what. What would settle it: a Hungarian visa whose fee names its currency.
the form read is of 1935; it is used for every year from Egypt's independence in 1922. What would settle it: an Egyptian visa of the twenties.
the visa read is a transit visa of the consulate in London, 1935; the heading and the sentence of an entrance or exit visa are ours, made on it. What would settle it: an Egyptian entrance visa.
the place and date are written under the sentence, where the visa read carries them in the consulate's round seal; the seal, with its crown, and the revenue stamp are not drawn. What would settle it: nothing: the emblems of states are not drawn.
the visa read is for Harbin, given at Vladivostok in 1920; the words for a visa to China at large (赴中國), for a transit (經過中國) and an exit (出中國) are ours. What would settle it: Chinese visas of the twenties and thirties, from other consulates.
every consulate is written 總領事館 (consulate-general), as at Vladivostok; the names of places and nationalities in Chinese are the usual ones in traditional characters, and a place without one is written in Latin letters across the column. What would settle it: visas of a consulate and of a legation.
the seal is a ring with a legend in Latin letters, the one read being half legible. What would settle it: a clear seal of a Chinese consulate.
the visas read are a transit visa of the consulate at Vancouver and an entrance visa of the legation at Peking, 1929; every consulate is taken to have struck the one or the other. What would settle it: Japanese visas of the thirties, and of a consulate in Europe.
the Japanese columns give the kind of visa, the date of the Shōwa era and the consulate; the consul's name and his red seal are not written, the city is in the usual Japanese name or in Latin letters. What would settle it: nothing: a consul's name is not invented.
the stamps read are those of a seaport and of the air port of Le Bourget-Dugny, 1936 and 1937; the words of a land frontier are taken to be the same. What would settle it: a French stamp of a frontier station.
the stamp read is that of the maritime station of Syracuse, 1930, struck on a passenger leaving for Tripoli. What would settle it: Italian stamps of a land frontier and of an air port.
a land frontier read on three stamps of 1927 and 1928 in an Austrian booklet: the police office at the Brenner (R. UFFICIO di P.S. BRENNERO … U., by rail), the gate of Coccau at Tarvisio (ENTRATA - USCITA) and the Carabinieri post at Passo Drava (ENTRATA REGNO / USCITA REGNO, dated Anno VI); an air port is still not found. What would settle it: an Italian stamp of an air port.
the stamp read is an entry at Bombay, 1936; the word of an exit stamp is ours. What would settle it: an Indian exit stamp.
the stamp read is an entry at Hegyeshalom, 4 January 1929, octagonal, in blue; the word of an exit stamp (KILÉPETT) is ours. What would settle it: a Hungarian exit stamp.
two Swiss stamps read, neither saying whether the traveller came or went: SUISSE at Brig (1931) and SCHWEIZ at Buchs (1928), each in the language of its post; Bearer prints SUISSE everywhere. What would settle it: a decision to name each post in its own language, and a Swiss exit stamp.
only the word ADMITTED has been read, struck across a page of an American passport about 1929 beside a faded oval; the office, the place and the shape are ours. What would settle it: a clear American entry stamp of the period.
no whole American frontier stamp of the period has been found: the stamp is set on the words of the Immigration Act of 1924 (an alien is admitted by an immigrant inspector at a port of entry); the United States kept no exit control, so a departure stamp is ours. What would settle it: an American entry stamp of 1920 to 1939, read.
no British frontier stamp of the period has been found: the stamp is set on the words of the Aliens Order, 1920 (an immigration officer grants an alien leave to land at an approved port); the words of a departure stamp are ours. What would settle it: a British entry or departure stamp of 1920 to 1939, read.
the stamps read are the Cairo City Police's at Almaza air port, 1935; a seaport's or a land post's are taken to be the same, with the place's name. What would settle it: an Egyptian stamp of Alexandria or Port Said.
the stamps read are the police's at the aerodrome of Tatoi, June 1935; the months other than June (ΙΟΥΝ.) are cut the way we think a Greek stamp was. What would settle it: Greek stamps of other months.
the place is printed in Latin letters, the office holding no Greek names of places (the stamp read says ΤΑΤΟΪΟΝ). What would settle it: Greek names for the places of Greece.
no Kenyan frontier stamp of the period has been found: the stamp is set on the handbook of 1924 (an Immigration Officer boards every ship and interviews every intending immigrant before allowing him to land, and may first ask a deposit of £37 10s. of one who cannot show visible means of support); the words of both stamps are ours. What would settle it: a Kenyan entry or departure stamp of 1920 to 1939, read.
Where a state's form has not been found, Bearer prints a plain block of its own instead, in the language that state's officials wrote.. What would settle it: a visa of that state, read; until then the shape is ours, in the language the officials of that state wrote (engine handOf).

Sources

League of Nations, Advisory and Technical Committee for Communications and Transit, Resolution adopted by the Conference on Passports, Customs Formalities and Through Tickets in Paris on October 21st, 1920 (Passport Conference, Preparatory Documents II), C.641.M.230.1925.VIII (read directly)
League of Nations, Passport Conference held at Geneva from May 12th to 18th, 1926: Final Act, C.320.M.119.1926.VIII, Official Journal, August 1926, pp. 1088-1097 (read directly)
Department of External Affairs, Irish Free State, League of Nations Passport Conference, instructions to the delegate, Documents on Irish Foreign Policy, vol. 3, no. 726 (read directly)
Deutsches Reich, reproduced on Wikimedia Commons, Entry, transit and re-entry visa, and exit and re-entry visa: the blank German Reich forms of the 1924 pattern, the two printed models, 8 by 14 cm at most, one to be issued outside the Reich and one inside it; blank forms, so no one's particulars are read from them (read directly)
photograph on Wikimedia Commons, British visa for Palestine, issued by the Consulate General at Salonica on 10 August 1933, in a Greek passport, the consular stamp and its British 'CONSULAR SERVICE' revenue stamps, cancelled by the consulate's seal (read directly)
photograph on Wikimedia Commons, Iraqi transit visa, issued by the Royal Iraqi Legation in London on 21 June 1935, in a British passport, the visa, the order to register with the police within fifteen days, and the Iraqi revenue stamps cancelled by the legation's seal; the same passport carries the Arabic entry and exit stamps of the air harbour of Baghdad (read directly)
photograph on Wikimedia Commons, Italian visa, issued by the Royal Legation at Peking on 24 February 1927, in an American passport, the visa, the article of the consular tariff, and the consular revenue stamps in gold lire, cancelled by hand; the date is followed by the year of the Fascist era (read directly)
photograph on Wikimedia Commons, Yugoslav transit visa, issued by the Royal Legation in London on 22 June 1935, in a British passport, the rubber stamp 'TRANSIT SANS FACULTE D'ARRET / VISA VALABLE 30 JOURS' in French and Serbo-Croat, the form in Cyrillic with its tariff number, and the legation's seal in French (read directly)
photographs on Wikimedia Commons, French frontier stamps of 1936 and 1937 in a British passport: embarkation and disembarkation, 'COMMISSARIAT SPECIAL' over the post (the air port of Le Bourget-Dugny, a seaport), the date, and one word: EMBARQUEMENT or DEBARQUEMENT (read directly)
photograph on Wikimedia Commons, Italian frontier stamp of the maritime station of Syracuse, 14 April 1930, in a Polish passport, 'COMMISSARIATO DI P. S. / SCALO MARITTIMO SIRACUSA', the date followed by the year of the Fascist era in Roman numerals, 'V per Tripoli', and a five-lire revenue stamp of the Italian colonies (read directly)
photograph on Wikimedia Commons, Frontier stamp of British India, Bombay, 23 November 1936, in a British passport, the round violet stamp 'PERMITTED TO LAND / BOMBAY' and the date (read directly)

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