The way for a country to move from a weak passport to a strong passport is actually quite simple.
- Crack down on corruption
- Improve your country’s human rights record
- Have a strong economy
- Visa reciprocity
- Low visa overstay rate
That’s really it. There are no other steps. With these five changes your country will almost certainly be granted visa-free status to the Schengen Area.
It’s not discrimination, it’s a matter of safety. The EU and United States cannot grant passports to countries which are not trustworthy.
Let’s say you have visa-free travel to Europe and you have a golden passport scheme which is being granted to Russian oligarchs. If your country does not crack down on corruption first and you were granted visa-free travel to the European Union you would immediately become the favorite destination for corrupt oligarchs to get a second passport. This is a national security risk.
There also is a lag between when your country democratizes and when you will start to see your passport become more powerful. This is because countries which are targets of criminals (especially the US and the EU) need to ensure the country will not regress after being granted more travel freedom.
I do not believe eVisas are necessary between low-corruption democracies no matter the cost.
The EU and the USA also want to ensure your economy is wealthy enough to reduce the likelihood of visa fraud so people will likely go back home when their visa-free period is up, and not commit tax fraud by working without paying taxes.
So for a few case studies let’s look at the Philippines. The Philippines has a very low GDP per capita and consistently has voted for right-wing oligarchs like their current president Marcos and their former president Duterte. This is despite the fact that Leni Robredo was running on an anti-corruption platform which is a time tested way to gain visa-free access to Europe.
Georgia and Ukraine saw the election of anti-corruption leaders similar to Leni Robredo in the 2000s and 2010s, leading to both countries being granted visa-free entry to the European Union. Corruption was reduced, economies improved, and democracy improved. As a result they were granted visa-free entry to the European Union.
We find the same thing in Colombia which has seen a reduction in cartel violence and corruption.
So the lesson is clear. If the Philippines wants to gain visa-free entry to the European Union they need to stop voting in right wing demagogues.
But honestly, that’s what I thought entering this thought experiment, but the reality is that citizens from the United Arab Emirates and Brunei are able to travel to the European Union visa-free. So it sounds like it is more of an OR function as opposed to an AND function.
But this does not explain it either. There are still countries missing from European Union visa-free travel which clearly should have it, including South Africa, Cape Verde, and more.
Cape Verde does not have visa free travel to the EU because they lack visa reciprocity. Jamaica does not have full visa reciprocity with the Schengen Area.
The unfortunate reality is that visa-free access to the Schengen Area is mostly determined by region rather than any factor countries can control. If you are from Asia or Africa you can only really get visa-free waivers if your country is extremely democratic or wealthy. If you are from the Americas, you likely already have visa-free travel to the Schengen Area.
Every wealthy democratic country has visa-free travel to the Schengen Area.
So if you want visa-free travel to the Schengen Area you should improve your economy and remain democratic. This is why Filipinos need a visa to travel to the Schengen Area. Their economy has stayed weak and they continue to vote for right-wing demagogues. Reverse this trend and Filipinos will likely receive visa-free access to the Schengen Area.