Why are some countries’ passports stronger than others?

About the blog

Travel, Blogs, Immigration, Culinary, History & Art
16 Jan 2026
8 mins
Out of Town Blog
Melo Villareal

Author: Melo Villareal

Traveling with a Weaker Passport: How Visas Shape the Journey I’ve stood in many immigration lines around the world. Some were breezy, barely a pause between a friendly stamp and the sliding doors to baggage claim. Others were tense, long, and uncertain—my documents scrutinized, bank statements unwillingly revealed, my intentions questioned, my stay measured in […]

Out of Town Blog

Why are some countries’ passports stronger than others?

Traveling with a Weaker Passport: How Visas Shape the Journey

I’ve stood in many immigration lines around the world. Some were breezy, barely a pause between a friendly stamp and the sliding doors to baggage claim. Others were tense, long, and uncertain—my documents scrutinized, bank statements unwillingly revealed, my intentions questioned, my stay measured in days rather than dreams.

As a Philippine passport holder, I’ve learned over the years that travel is not experienced equally. For many travelers, the biggest obstacle isn’t cost, language, or even distance—it’s the passport they hold.

A “weaker” passport doesn’t mean it’s poorly made or less official. It means its holder needs visas for many destinations, often involving lengthy paperwork, high fees, interviews, proof of funds, invitation letters, hotel bookings, and sometimes humiliating rejections.

Fortunately, I never had the experience of having a visa application rejected, but with the long process of gathering documents, visa application, and waiting for the result, I had to postpone some of my important trips just to spend time on the visa application.

For travelers with stronger passports, borders feel like open doors. For those with weaker ones, they often feel like walls.

What Makes a Passport “Strong” or “Weak”?

Passport strength is typically measured by the number of countries a holder can enter without a visa or with a visa on arrival. For example, citizens of Japan, Germany, Singapore, and South Korea can travel to more than 190 countries with relative ease. By contrast, passports from countries such as Afghanistan, Iraq, and Somalia allow visa-free access to fewer than 30.

This disparity is no accident. It reflects a complex web of politics, economics, history, and global trust.

Trust Is the Real Currency

At its core, visa policy is about trust.

When a country allows visa-free entry to another country’s citizens, it is making a bet: that visitors will respect the rules, not overstay, not work illegally, and not pose security risks.

I can’t blame the United States for implementing strict visa rules; they were due to overstaying tourists hiding in the country, chasing the American dream.

Countries with strong economies, stable governments, low emigration pressure, and strong diplomatic ties tend to be trusted more. Their citizens are statistically less likely to overstay visas, seek asylum, or work without authorization.

On the other hand, citizens from countries facing war, political instability, economic hardship, or weak governance are often treated with suspicion. Immigration officers are concerned that travelers may not return home, regardless of their stated intentions.

This creates a painful irony: the people who most want to explore the world, find opportunity, or simply experience the freedom to move are often the ones most restricted.

The Economic Divide

Wealth is a major factor in passport strength. Citizens of first-world countries are especially welcomed thanks to their higher spending power, which makes them more attractive to host countries.

Rich countries can negotiate reciprocal visa-free agreements. They also have leverage: trade deals, investment flows, tourism exchanges, and political alliances.

Poorer nations don’t have the same bargaining power.

There’s also a class divide within countries with weaker passports. If you’ve ever applied for a visa, you know the drill: bank statements, proof of employment, property ownership, tax documents. These requirements favor the wealthy and punish the young, the freelance, and the poor.

Travel becomes a privilege layered on top of another privilege.

Colonial History Still Matters

Many visa regimes today reflect old colonial relationships. Citizens of former colonies often face stricter requirements when entering countries that once ruled them.

Take the UK, France, or Spain—citizens of former colonies often assume there will be special access. In reality, it’s often the opposite. Borders that were once open during colonial times are now heavily guarded.

Meanwhile, some former colonial powers still retain broad access to global markets, benefiting from the political and economic dominance they established centuries ago.

History, it seems, never quite lets go.

The Emotional Cost of a Weak Passport

Visa restrictions don’t just affect where you can go—they affect how you feel.

I’ve met travelers who plan trips around embassies rather than attractions. They budget hundreds of dollars for visa fees before even booking a flight. They live with the anxiety of rejection, knowing that no explanation is required.

There’s a quiet humiliation in proving you won’t disappear into another country. In explaining your life to a stranger behind bulletproof glass. In watching others breeze past immigration while you’re pulled aside for “additional screening.”

Over time, this creates a sense of invisibility and exclusion. A feeling that the world is open—but not to you.

Why Some Countries Want Strong Passports

A strong passport isn’t just a convenience—it’s a soft power tool.

When your citizens can travel easily, they spread your culture, language, food, and ideas. Tourism becomes smoother. Business expands. Diplomacy becomes friendlier.

Countries actively work to improve their passport strength by:

Strengthening border controls
Reducing illegal migration
Improving international relations
Signing bilateral agreements
Stabilizing their economies

But these changes take decades. Not everyone has the luxury of waiting.

The Myth of “Illegal Intent”

One of the most problematic assumptions behind strict visa policies is the belief that travelers from countries with weaker passports are always potential migrants—people presumed to be looking for a way to stay rather than simply visit.

Yet most people just want to travel. To feel the sharp chill of winter and see snow drift from the sky for the first time. To wander through ancient ruins, tracing the grooves in stones polished by centuries of hands and footsteps. To stand in front of a food stall in some distant city, breathing in the smoke and spices of street food cooked to order. To lose themselves in crowded markets, in unfamiliar languages, in the glow of foreign skylines at dusk. To fall in love with places they may never see again, but that will linger in their memories for the rest of their lives.

When we reduce this restless, wondering human curiosity to risk scores and security categories, we strip travel of its soul and turn it into a problem to be managed instead of a world to be discovered.

Toward a Fairer Future

Some regions have made meaningful progress. The Schengen Area, ASEAN, and parts of Latin America now enable freer cross-border movement. At the same time, digital nomad visas and remote work permits are reshaping traditional ideas of migration.

Yet, on a global scale, the passport hierarchy remains stubbornly rigid.

Ultimately, true travel freedom will not come from adding more layers of paperwork, but from reducing inequality, stabilizing fragile states, and redefining what we mean by trust.

Final Thoughts from the Road

Travel is frequently marketed as a universal experience, yet for millions, the reality is very different.

The strength of your passport can determine whether your trip begins with excitement or with anxiety, whether your journey is spontaneous or bureaucratic, whether the world feels open—or locked.

As a travel writer, I believe stories matter. One of the most important travel stories of our time is not about destinations but about access.

The restrictions that come with having a weak passport reveal that travel is, in many ways, a privilege. Long before we picture ourselves on sandy beaches, wandering through vibrant city streets, or chasing distant horizons, we’re forced to face a more unsettling question: who is truly allowed to cross borders and take flight in the first place?