Bangladesh passport reform: A necessity for 21st Century

Today, I saw on social media that Indonesia is introducing a new passport design for its citizens from 17 August 2025. The passport will be red, giving the country a strong and sophisticated look. This marks the third time Indonesia has changed the design and colour of its passport in the past 15 years.

Prior to 2014, ordinary Indonesian passports had a dark green cover (similar to ours). Then, in 2014, a turquoise-coloured passport was introduced as the country transitioned to biometric e-passports. Arguably, Indonesia's passport strength has also improved significantly during this period, currently ranking 68th in the world.

After seeing this update, as a Bangladeshi expatriate, I was filled with disappointment — the same disappointment that recurs every year when the global passport rankings are released.

What have we been doing? Why is our passport still one of the weakest in the world in 2025? Why are most other developing nations improving their mobility while we are left behind? What is our government doing about this? These questions flood my mind — and there seem to be no answers.

According to Henley & Partners back in 2006, the Bangladeshi passport ranked 68th in the world — a respectable position for a country whose GDP at the time was under $100 billion. Fast forward to 2025, and our passport is now the 10th worst in the world in terms of freedom of mobility — even behind African nations such as Uganda, Kenya, Tanzania, and Nigeria — while our economy approaches the $500 billion GDP mark.

We should be ashamed. Many of us living abroad are ashamed, because all our international friends possess more powerful passports. Nearly every country in the world has improved its passport strength over the years — even some of the poorest. Yet, ours remains stuck in the bottom ten, ranked alongside war-torn and conflict-ridden nations.
We do not deserve this. And naturally, there are several contributing factors behind this unfortunate situation — as well as pathways for reform.

According to the Henley & Partners Passport Index, global mobility (or freedom of mobility) refers to the number of countries a citizen can enter without a visa. Forget about Western or developed countries — even many developing (or so-called "third world") nations now impose strict travel restrictions on Bangladeshis. Yes, passport discrimination is very real.
But do we leave it at that? Of course not. It is the responsibility of our government to build mutually beneficial relationships with other countries. The strength of a passport is determined by numerous factors, including a country's socioeconomic development, employment opportunities, diplomatic relations, visa arrangements, cultural or historical ties, and trends in irregular migration.

Unfortunately, our diplomatic relations — particularly those that would result in visa-free travel for ordinary citizens — remain among the weakest in the world. In the past decade, dozens of visa-waiver agreements have been signed, but almost exclusively for government officials and diplomats. Ordinary citizens remain forgotten, neglected, and sidelined.
In 2006, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) had visa-free access to just about 35 countries. Today, the UAE holds the 8th most powerful passport in the world, ranking alongside Western nations. So despite our impressive economic growth and the introduction of e-passports, why has our passport continued to decline?

A lack of diplomatic initiative, coupled with Bangladesh's negative global image, is the core issue. But other factors include high youth unemployment, irregular migration, deep-rooted biases, flaws in our foreign policy, high visa rejection and overstay rates, as well as low tourism inflows and outflows.

This lack of freedom of mobility puts Bangladeshis at a major disadvantage in today's competitive, fast-paced, globalised world. It is not only a barrier to social mobility (such as travel, tourism, cultural exchange, and global networking) but also a serious obstacle to economic mobility (including business trips, international conferences, trade exhibitions, and educational opportunities).

Isn't it time the government seriously considered and took steps to improve our passport's strength and global mobility?

We urgently need passport reforms. Even our e-passport system needs a complete overhaul. While our green booklet may have entered the 21st century technologically, its design, layout, and security features still leave much to be desired. Bangladesh is the only country in the world where the passport's cover does not feature the national emblem but instead uses the government seal.

A well-designed passport reflects a country's image and values to the world. Perhaps we could consider switching to a red-hued cover, and more importantly, replacing the government seal with the national emblem. Security features such as heat-resistant and flexible covers, special ink, UV light verification, and holographic technologies should also be integrated.

We also need to radically strengthen our diplomatic outreach — especially with countries in the Global South — to build stronger bilateral relationships and sign visa-waiver agreements for all citizens, not just government officials. At the same time, domestic policy reforms are required to ensure better employment prospects for our youth, reducing the pressure to emigrate irregularly.

For our migrant workers, comprehensive training — not only vocational but also cultural and legal — should be introduced to minimise incidents of overstay and misuse of visas. In this regard, we can learn valuable lessons from our Asian peers such as Indonesia, Vietnam, and the Philippines.

It is also the duty of our government and embassies abroad to rebrand and promote Bangladesh in a positive light.
And under the current leadership of our Honourable Chief Adviser, Dr Yunus, there is no better time to implement serious reforms to our passport and visa policies. Let's be honest — our previously elected governments never prioritised this issue, as long as they themselves enjoyed all the privileges.

Passport reform must begin at home before we can expect international recognition or mobility. And it must begin now, in 2025 — or we risk falling even further behind.

Manazir Islam is an urban planner, traveller, and photographer living abroad since 2003.

Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions and views of The Business Standard.