The South African passport makes it difficult for tourists to apply for an international travel visa

Alex, a South African living in Singapore, often goes abroad for business and travel. However, her passport is a big barrier for her during independent trips, to the point that she is willing to change to another passport if possible.

“If someone gave me or my child another passport, I would take it immediately,” Alex said. In this sharing post, Alex asked to only be given his first name, instead of his full name, to ensure privacy.

The South African passport ranks 51st in the Henley Passport Index (HPI), placing it in the middle of the global ranking based on the number of destinations the holder can enter without a visa.

According to Alex, people who own powerful passports, including her friends, often don’t understand the cost, time and frustration of having to travel with a passport that is not in the top group.

“Why do I have to upload every page of my passport from 10 years ago just to go on holiday to Australia? If you go on a business trip, what you have to go through, it’s crazy,” she said.

A recent trip to Europe with his partner required Alex to apply for a visa to the Schengen area as well as the UK. This process takes up to 6 weeks. “We had to be very careful with the timelines,” she said. Because she had to surrender her passport to apply for a visa, she could not go anywhere during that time. For someone like Alex who travels often for work, this is a big problem.

Preparing a thick stack of documents can also be a frustrating experience. Alex said that a previous application for a European visa required a financial statement with a bank stamp – details she only learned when she arrived at the visa application center. Unfortunately, she couldn’t find any bank branches willing to provide this service. After many refusals, one place agreed to print a watermark for $10 per page.

In addition to those hassles, each visit to the visa application center costs an additional 50 USD. “I think it cost us about $600-700, if not more, just to get a visa to go to Italy for six days,” she said.

To avoid such problems, Alex now prioritizes visiting visa-free destinations. “It’s a big difference if you go on vacation for a week and have to spend $1,000 in visa fees,” she said.

“It’s an unequal system,” said Lily, a Chinese tourist. She once faced “arrogant” consular officers who asked many questions that made her feel hurt like “do you intend to overstay your visa?”. She was also required to submit a criminal record card or certificate of no criminal record, causing the procedure to take more time and cost.

According to Alex, having to endure so many travel restrictions brings a feeling of being overlooked. People with low-power passports may be well-educated citizens with decent status in society, but they still have to go through interviews and overcome many barriers to travel. Meanwhile, others can enter the country easily if their government has a visa-free agreement.

Lily once encountered travel-related difficulties while studying abroad. This prevented her from applying for positions that required frequent international travel. “It’s not just the lack of respect when applying for a visa, but also the way you are treated at the border,” she added. Lily thinks that if her passport was from a European country, like England, things might be easier.

When asked if people understood the hardships of low-power passport holders, she likened it to asking a man to understand “how difficult it is to have children”.

Her strenuous travel experiences even made her consider applying for a Hong Kong passport, even though the condition was to live and work there for 7 years. Lily agreed with Alex, saying that although she loved her country, she still “wanted to change her passport”.

Pantha Roy, an Indian businessman living in Singapore, said traveling as an Indian citizen costs him more money, time and effort, especially when having to learn about the “meticulous to every detail” requirements of each country.

He describes having to plan very early when backpacking in South America. Some countries require you to accurately declare your entry point and means of transportation.

Having to learn the details of these requirements takes away from the fun of the trip. “You can’t be arbitrary,” he said.

When traveling to Europe, Roy recalls how his friends could travel freely and book cheap flights departing within the week, but he could not. Even for short trips, “you need to plan about three months in advance” to ensure there is enough time to make an appointment and wait for visa approval. Too bothered by the procedure, Roy decided to go somewhere else instead of Europe.

However, unlike Alex and Lily, Roy said he has no intention of changing his passport even though he finds it annoying: “I like having an Indian passport. I won’t give it up.”