Passport system in the Soviet Union was highly restrictive of any travel external to the Eastern Bloc, and often required approval by the KGB.
[12] By the early 1950s, the Soviet approach to controlling national movement was emulated by most of the rest of the Eastern Bloc (along with China, Mongolia and North Korea).
A propaganda booklet published by the Socialist Unity Party of Germany (SED) in 1955 for the use of party agitators outlined the seriousness of 'flight from the republic', stating "leaving the GDR is an act of political and moral backwardness and depravity", and "workers throughout Germany will demand punishment for those who today leave the German Democratic Republic, the strong bastion of the fight for peace, to serve the deadly enemy of the German people, the imperialists and militarists".
Undersecretary General Arkady Shevchenko, chess grand master Viktor Korchnoi, ballet stars Mikhail Baryshnikov, Natalia Makarova and Alexander Godunov.
This immigration law eliminates the need for an exit permit but increased passport costs to 100 CUC, the equivalent of 5 months of average salary.
[25][26] It is illegal for an Iranian woman to leave Iran alone without written permission from her husband, or male relative if she is not married.
She had to escape to Turkey aided by smugglers because she would not have legally been allowed to leave Iran without first obtaining a divorce from her husband, who would have gained full custody of their daughter, Mahtob Mahmoody.
This has caused a huge number of Iranian students and the young population to leave the country through illegal channels.
[27] According to Human Rights Watch, the government of Myanmar has tightly restricted the number of Muslims allowed to travel to Mecca for the Haj pilgrimage.
[28] In Tunisia per 2001, authorities continued to deny passports to less prominent critics as well as to family members of political prisoners and expatriate activists.