You're sitting in that cold, cramped booth. The wind is howling outside the Grestin border checkpoint. It's November 23, 1982. The first day of your new life as an inspector for the glorious state of Arstotzka. You expect a line of people with passports, permits, and entry visas. Instead, the first person walks up, looks you in the eye, and gives you nothing. Literally nothing. When a Papers Please entrant has no documents, it’s not just a gameplay mechanic; it is the ultimate "welcome to the job" slap in the face.
It feels broken, right? You click the desk. You check the inspection mode. You’re looking for a passport to stamp, but the counter is bare. This is the moment most players realize Lucas Pope isn't just making a puzzle game—he’s making a stress simulator.
The Grestin Checkpoint Reality Check
Most people jumping into Papers, Please for the first time expect a tutorial that holds their hand. That’s not what Arstotzka does. On Day 1, the rules are incredibly simple: only Arstotzkan citizens are allowed entry. Everyone else is turned away. Because of this specific narrative setup, you will encounter the "no document" scenario almost immediately.
It’s a deliberate design choice.
The game wants you to feel that specific brand of confusion. If a Papers Please entrant has no documents, you can't just ignore them. You have to engage with the mechanics of the "interrogation" system. This is the first time the game forces you to use the red exclamation mark—the discrepancy tool. You click the blank table where the passport should be, then you click the rulebook or the person's statement.
Honestly, it’s kinda brilliant. By stripping away all the paperwork, the game teaches you how to handle the most complex part of the UI before the screen gets cluttered with work passes and polio vaccine certificates.
Why Is This Happening?
Is it a glitch? No. Well, usually not. There are a few reasons why an entrant arrives empty-handed.
First off, Day 1 is restricted. Foreigners know they aren't getting in, but some try anyway. They might be desperate refugees, or they might just be testing the new guard (that’s you). In the game’s logic, if they don’t have a passport, they aren't even "entrants" in the legal sense—they're just bodies in the way of your next five credits.
Secondly, some characters are scripted. Take the recurring character Sergiu or even the early interactions with the mysterious organization EZIC. While they usually have something, there are moments where people show up just to talk. If someone walks up and the table is empty, you're usually looking at a scripted narrative beat or a test of your speed.
Time is money. In Papers, Please, time is literally your family's heat and food. If you spend forty seconds staring at a guy who has no papers, your son is going to get sick. You’ve gotta learn to "Dismiss" or "Deny" at lightning speed.
How to Handle an Entrant With Zero Papers
Don't panic. If the table is empty, follow the internal logic of the booth.
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- Enter Inspection Mode (the magnifying glass or the spacebar).
- Highlight the empty desk space where the passport should be.
- Highlight the Rulebook entry that says "Entrant must have a passport" (or similar daily directive).
- This triggers the interrogation.
The entrant will usually give you some excuse. "I lost it," or "I didn't know I needed one." In Arstotzka, excuses don't pay the rent. Once the discrepancy is highlighted and they’ve given their dialogue, the Deny stamp becomes available. Stamp it. Move them out. Glory to Arstotzka.
Misconceptions About the "Missing" Documents
I've seen people on Reddit and Steam forums swearing their game is bugged because a Papers Please entrant has no documents and the "Deny" stamp isn't appearing. Usually, this is because they haven't finished the dialogue. You have to click the text bubble.
Also, later in the game, specifically around Day 4 or 5, you’ll start seeing people who have a passport but are missing their Entry Ticket. That’s a different beast. If they have nothing at all, it’s almost always a Day 1 or Day 2 occurrence designed to teach you the basics of highlighting discrepancies.
The Psychological Toll of the Empty Desk
There is something uniquely haunting about the people who show up with nothing. Later in the game, you’ll meet characters like the "Old Man" (M. Vonel or Jorji Costava). Jorji is the perfect example. Early on, he shows up with a hand-drawn passport. It’s hilarious, sure, but it’s also a mechanic. He technically has a document, but it's invalid.
But those who have nothing? They represent the true bottom of the barrel in the world of Papers, Please. They are the people so disenfranchised by the wars between Kolechia and Arstotzka that they don't even have an identity.
Processing them quickly feels cold. It is cold. But if you want to see the end of the game, you have to treat them like a math problem. If (Papers = 0) then (Entry = Denied).
Technical Hiccups and Performance
On the off chance you are actually experiencing a technical bug, it usually stems from a resolution error where the "items" on the desk are rendered off-screen. This was a common issue in the early mobile ports and some Linux builds. If you see the person’s shadow and hear the "thump" of papers but the desk is clear, try toggling your "Letterbox" mode in the settings.
But 99% of the time? It’s just the game being the game.
What You Should Do Next
If you’re stuck on a "no documents" NPC, here is your immediate checklist to get the line moving again:
- Trigger the Discrepancy: Open the rulebook to the Basic Rules page. Click the "Entrant must have a passport" line and then click the empty tabletop.
- Listen to the Excuse: Wait for the dialogue box to finish. You can’t stamp anything while they are talking.
- Check the Audio: Sometimes the "thud" of a document happens, but it’s hidden under the rulebook. Drag your rulebook to the side. You might find a tiny slip of paper hiding there.
- Don't Overthink: If they don't have it, they aren't getting in. Don't waste time trying to find a way to let them through. Your "Rent" and "Food" meters don't care about your pity.
The faster you can identify a document-less entrant, the more people you can process in a day. Higher throughput means more money. More money means your daughter gets her crayons and your wife doesn't freeze. It’s a grim cycle, but that’s the life of a border inspector.
Focus on the desk. Ignore the faces. Glory to Arstotzka.