The upheaval resulted in many people being without passports, or even nations to issue them, which prevented much international travel, often trapping refugees.

[2] The first Nansen passports were issued following an international agreement reached at the Intergovernmental Conference on Identity Certificates for Russian Refugees, convened by Fridtjof Nansen in Geneva from July 3, 1922, to July 5, 1922,[3] in his role as High Commissioner for Refugees for the League of Nations.

In 1924, the Nansen arrangement was broadened to also include Armenian, and in 1928 to Assyrian, Bulgarian, and Turkish refugees.

[5] Approximately 450,000 Nansen passports were provided[6] to stateless people and refugees who needed travel documents, but could not obtain one from a national authority.

[9][10] While Nansen passports are no longer issued, existing national and supranational authorities, including the United Nations, issue travel documents for stateless people and refugees, including certificates of identity (or "alien's passports") and refugee travel documents.