7th weakest globally: Why Bangladesh’s green passport raises red flags

This October, Jasmima Sabatina was one of just 12 youths from around the world selected for the prestigious ICIMOD and Arctic Circle Fellowship.

The programme focuses on the Himalayan glaciers — a crucial issue for climate-vulnerable countries like Bangladesh. Jasmima was supposed to represent Bangladesh and the Global South in a space where their voices are rarely heard.

But all her dreams shattered when her visa was rejected.

"Not for lacking documents. Not for lacking funds. But for being an unmarried student from Bangladesh. Sometimes it feels like being a young, unmarried student from Bangladesh itself is a visa disqualification," she wrote on Facebook.

"How can we even be visionary enough to believe that our youth will become global leaders? We don't get funds when opportunities come, and when we finally do get the funds, we don't get the visa. When will this endless circle finally end? When will Bangladesh strengthen its passport's position?" a frustrated Jasmima asked.

However, this is not an isolated incident. It is not just the new travellers who are facing this — even those who hold multiple visas are now being rejected, simply for having a Bangladeshi passport. 

Take popular travel filmmaker Nadir Nibras (Nadir On The Go) for example. He has travelled to so many countries that his passport is considered one of the strongest among ordinary Bangladeshis. 

Yet, in a video posted two months ago, he said that in the past year, he applied for visas to 17 countries — and seven of them rejected him. He also mentioned that three of those countries had given him visas before but denied them this time.

Statistics depict the same story. In the 2025 Henley Passport Index, Bangladesh holds the 100th position out of 106 — the seventh weakest globally. It ranks above Nepal and Pakistan in South Asia and shares its position with the hermit nation of North Korea.

It is not much of a surprise since we have consistently either moved up or down this index by only a few places over the last few years. In 2024, Bangladesh was ranked 97th.

But what exactly makes the Bangladeshi passport so weak, and why does it seem to be getting weaker by the day? What causes the country's green passport to raise red flags on the global stage?

First of all, one needs to understand how this index is measured, for context. 

The Henley Passport Index measures the strength of a passport based on the number of destinations its holders can visit without a prior visa. According to the latest Henley Passport Index, a Bangladeshi passport allows visa-free or visa-on-arrival access to 38 destinations.

The index is often criticised for being a limited and somewhat misleading measure of global mobility. It only counts how many countries a passport holder can visit without a visa or with a visa on arrival, but it ignores how easy or difficult it is to actually travel. 

It does not consider things like how long someone can stay, what kind of work or study rights they have, or whether travellers face extra checks or discrimination. It also treats all countries equally, even though travelling to a developed country is not the same as visiting a small island nation. The index shows a narrow picture of travel freedom and does not reflect the real value of a passport in everyday life.

In South Asia, Maldives holds the highest position, ranking 56th with visa-free access to 94 destinations. It is followed by India, which ranks 85th with access to 57 countries, Bhutan at 92nd with 50 destinations, and Sri Lanka at 98th with 41. Nepal and Pakistan are placed below Bangladesh, at 101st and 103rd, with visa-free access to 36 and 31 countries respectively.

In his video, Nadir says that one of the main reasons for visa rejections is that Bangladeshis are staying illegally in various countries and not returning home. As a result, those countries view them as a threat to their immigration policies.

However, blaming illegal migration solely is not fair, because a country's passport becomes weak due to its overall image on the global stage.

After the July Uprising, Bangladesh's political crisis made its passport rank even lower. Ongoing protests and violence show signs of weak governance and insecurity to the world. Because of this instability, many countries tighten visa rules, fearing illegal migration or asylum seekers. 

Migration expert Mohammad Jalal Uddin Sikder, an associate professor at North South University, agrees that the political instability in the country is at play here.

"Internally, you have no democratic processes; mobs are forming across the country, workers have no rights, and there is no safety for women. Considering all this, how do you expect your ranking to improve? Until you fix these issues, the passport ranking will continue to deteriorate," he said.

The issue, therefore, is not merely bureaucratic — it is deeply structural. When Bangladesh's governance, democracy, and rule of law come under question, the world interprets that as a sign of instability. This mistrust is what translates into visa hesitations and rejections.

Economic factors play a major role too, experts say. 

A country's income level and employment opportunities determine whether its citizens are perceived as potential immigrants or tourists. In Bangladesh's case, the intense youth unemployment reinforces a perception that its citizens are more likely to overstay abroad than return home.

According to labour force surveys by Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS), the youth unemployment rate in 2023 was about 10.9%. In 2024 the rate increased to around 11.46%. For 2025, the International Labour Organization (ILO) estimates a much higher rate of 16.8%.

Take, for example, Denmark's recently declared visa restrictions on Bangladeshi students. In a notice issued on 19 September this year, Denmark's Ministry of Immigration and Integration stated that the government is "launching initiatives to prevent abuse of study stays".

According to the ministry, the new policies and initiatives will make it significantly more difficult for citizens from countries like Bangladesh and Nepal to be admitted to universities in Denmark if they lack the right academic qualifications. 

As part of these measures, the government will also limit international students' ability to bring family members or dependents and cut the post-study work permit from three years to just one.

"Unfortunately, the curriculum has been exploited as a backdoor to the Danish labour market. We are now taking action against this. We have seen a huge increase in recent years in students and accompanying families from Bangladesh and Nepal in particular," read a statement by Denmark's then Minister of Immigration and Integration Kaare Dybvad Bek.

"We know that students from these two countries have a higher dropout rate than other foreigners, and that there are challenges with their academic and language levels. At the same time, they work more than other foreign students, and to a much greater extent, this is unskilled work. When you come to Denmark on a curriculum, the main purpose should of course be to study," it further read.

Lack of diplomatic outreach is another missing link. Despite hosting millions of migrant workers globally, Bangladesh's foreign missions have done little to negotiate reciprocal visa arrangements or expand bilateral mobility agreements. Meanwhile, smaller countries like Maldives have leveraged tourism and diplomatic relations to improve their passport ranking.

To change the whole scenario, Bangladesh must not only focus on numbers but rebuild trust. Restoring political stability, ensuring human rights, empowering women, and enhancing global engagement through diplomacy could gradually lift the passport's status. 

The "green" in Bangladesh's passport should ideally symbolise opportunity and freedom — not barriers and red flags.