laissez-passer

[ les-ey-pa-sey; French le-sey-pah-sey ]

noun

, plural lais·sez-pas·sers, French lais·sez-pas·ser.

1. a permit; pass, especially one issued in lieu of a passport.

laissez passer

/ lese pase /

noun

1. a document granting unrestricted access or movement to its holder

Word History and Origins

Origin of laissez-passer¹

< French: literally, allow to pass

Word History and Origins

Origin of laissez-passer¹

literally: let pass

Example Sentences

Rather than obtaining a valid Cameroonian passport, ICE officials have issued Cameroonian deportees “laissez-passer” travel documents that are invalid, or even signed by individuals in the United States purporting to be Cameroonian officials, according to the October complaint.

From Los Angeles Times

But in September, ICE presented a “laissez-passer” to Pauline Binam, a Cameroonian woman whom the agency attempted to deport as she spoke out against a Georgia gynecologist who she said had removed her fallopian tube without her consent.

From Los Angeles Times

The Swiss only needed to know our dates of travel, before providing a laissez-passer for us to present on the border.

From New York Times

He carried a laissez-passer from the Eritrean government, allowing him a one-time entry into the country.

From New York Times

In previous weeks, the island authorities had given refugees a laissez-passer to the mainland within a couple of days of arrival.

From The Guardian