It’s not a secret that the Philippines passport is one of the weakest in the world – and even in Southeast Asia. However, it’s undeniable that Filipinos are one of the top nationalities of people you’ll meet across the world.
Whether you’re in a hospital in the UK or the US, an airport hub in the Middle East, or enjoying a cruise – you will meet Filipinos. Clearly, we love moving abroad and travelling.
In this article, I want to show something else. I want to share how to make your passport strong so that when it comes to immigration officers and visa applications, you will feel more confident.
TIPS ON HOW TO MAKE YOUR PASSPORT STRONG
After travelling to over 30 countries across 5 continents, one thing I know that will truly help you strengthen your Philippines passport is if you collect stamps and travel visas.
I also know that it’s harder than it sounds! It will be an expensive investment and a long journey. But one thing you should remember is that you’re not just collecting stamps – you’re travelling.
Take advantage of the visa-free options
Although there are only 30+ visa-free countries for Filipinos, it is an amazing place to start. Not only will you not spend money on visa fees, but you will also collect really impressive visa stamps and grow your travel history.
Here’s a complete and updated list of visa-free countries for Philippines passport holders (plus evisa/voa).
Hello ASEAN
Doesn’t have too much travel budget? Well, take advantage of the ASEAN – which is an alliance of countries in Southeast Asia. There are 10 members of the ASEAN, and each of these members offers Filipinos free visa access.
This means you’re looking at 10 countries to travel to without paying a visa fee, while the flight tickets are less than 5 hours and cost no more than 10,000 PHP.
Apply for evisas or visa-on-arrival
Instead of targeting visas for Europe or the US, it’s better to put your money on evisas or visa on arrival – which are cheaper and a lot easier to get.
Here, you’re not gambling your money and a record of “denied visa”. Do you know that every visa you get denied is added to your record?
What I mean there is, that whenever you apply for a US, Australia, Canada, or Schengen visa, you will be asked if you have been denied a visa before. Then you will have to check or answer yes and proceed to explain why.
This answer is not the end of the world, but it diminishes or stains your current application. So, it’s better to build your passport portfolio first.
Evisas that I recommend are India, Nepal, Georgia, Turkey, Kenya, and even South Africa.
These countries even provide an actual visa sticker and not just a stamp. See our guide on South Africa visa for Filipinos. I use this site when applying for an evisa or visa or arrival; it’s fast, reliable, and competitively priced.
Travel solo and with other people
How to make your passport strong? Well, a mixture of travelling alone and with other people. Travelling solo is great, but can also be a red flag, especially for Filipinos because we’re not really known as a backpacker or people who travel for leisure compared to Europeans, Japanese, or North Americans.
However, you should still travel alone once in a while to showcase that this is part of your hobby and that it’s not your first time travelling alone especially when you plan to travel to visa-strict countries such as the US or Australia.
On the other hand, you also want to put on the record that you have experience travelling with family and friends. Those who travel with companions showcase that you are less likely to overstay in the country that you are visiting.
Let’s say you’re applying for a US tourist visa with a friend. The consul will ask “who are you travelling with” and you will say with a friend. You can follow your answer with “I’ve travelling with this friend in other countries too such as Japan, South Korea, and Vietnam”.
This proves that you and your friend have a history of travelling together and that this is an activity you often take together.
Time for the Schengen visa
Now that you have travelled to ASEAN countries, and expanded your experience with evisa and visa on arrival by visiting India and Kenya, it’s now time to up your game and go for a Schengen visa.
First things first, of course, you don’t have to wait this long. My first visa was for Europe, but it was a temporary residence and not a tourist – it was less complicated.
Schengen or Europe as your first trip out of the Philippines can really be seen as a red flag. At the same time, there are people who got their Schengen visa on their first attempt as first-time overseas travellers.
But what we’re doing here is building a strong, reliable, and impressive passport – and most importantly, minimising the risk of getting visa refusals.
When applying for a Schengen visa, don’t request for more than a month validity stay. Unless you are a retired person, planning to visit and spend a lot of time with your child and grandchildren in Europe.
You have to be realistic here. You have a full-time job, usually, full-time workers in the Philippines get 2-3 weeks off, so request something close to that. Check our compilation of Schengen visa applications.
Line up the UK visa, Canada, or Australia
Personally, I would say that these three are about the same in terms of “difficulty to get”. What I love about applying for these visas is that they are now all online and don’t require any face-to-face interview.
You will have to go to the Embassy or a third-party partner to send your biometric collection.
In terms of visa fees, all these three are about the same. But, Australia and the UK come out to be the most expensive, because the maximum validity you can get is one year or six months for about the same visa fee cost.
We also have a step-by-step guide for Australian visa application.
| UK | CANADA | AUSTRALIA | USA |
|---|---|---|---|
| 6 months (US$151) | 10 years (CA$100) | 1 year (AU$190) | 10 years (US$180) |
| 2 years (US$525) | |||
| 5 years (US$1010) | |||
| $10 years (US$1,261) |
Shoot for stars and aim for the US visa
Personally, and honestly I’m pretty sure I could be wrong, but a US tourist visa is one of the most stressful, demanding, and hardest visas I applied for.
First, you go through a long application form online, then you pay for the visa fee, and you book the interview appointment. Usually, the appointment slots are booked up months in advance.
So, if you plan to visit the US in December, you probably want to start your application in June.
The interview is what cracked my nerves the most. Basically, all applicants have 2-3 minutes to defend themselves and prove that their sole purpose for visiting the US is for tourism/a family or friend visit/a quick business meeting and not to immigrate or stay there illegally.
And once you get denied a tourist visa in the US, it really gets into your record. On your next application, the consul will have access to the notes about why you were refused before.
If possible, it would be more impressive if you get all the UK, Canada, and Australia visas before applying for the US. Having all these could make your passport so impressive and give you a boost of 90% chance of getting your US tourist visa approved.
Of course, it’s never a guarantee. The main thing the US consul is looking for is for you to prove that you are coming back to the Philippines (you have strong ties in the Philippines).
Sometimes, a job is not enough. A job with tenure is better or a job where you’ve been there at least five years and were recently promoted.
Sometimes, a thriving business is not enough, because maybe this business can be managed while abroad, so that’s another thing to think about.
Sometimes, land or other real estate is not enough. But if you can prove that you have an ongoing construction happening on that land, that adds another “ties to the Philippines”.
And sometimes, luck is just not on your side. You might end up in the interview window of a consul who didn’t sleep well or is in a bad mood – and this is something you have no control over.
DOES WORK VISA MAKE PHILIPPINES PASSPORT STRONG
It depends. For example, in the US, they normally discount work visas. Let’s say that you’re a seafarer.
When the US consulate asks you during your interview about the countries you have visited, you can mention the places you went to as part of your work, but they will surely ask you about the countries you went to as tourist or non-work related trips.
FINAL TIPS
But not all is lost. Remember, you worked on this for years. You built the passport that anyone who looks at it could easily say that “this person travels a lot and never overstayed in any country one bit, obviously experienced traveller and low-risk”.
You got this. As long as you know what your reason for travelling and applying for that tourist visa, that’s already a big upvote on your side.
I hope that this answers your question “how to improve the Philippines passport”. If you have other tips or questions, leave us a comment or join our Facebook group.