passport privilege
English
Etymology
Noun
passport privilege (uncountable)
- (neologism) the ability of a person to travel internationally without visas, additional scrutiny and other hindrances, based on their nationality (represented by their passport); in particular, the collective advantage granted to citizens of wealthy, Western countries to do so.
- 2020 January 1, Hannah Ajala, “What does it mean to be a black traveller?”, in BBC[1]:
- She (Jessica Nabongo) has fulfilled her dream of visiting every country in the world, becoming the first Black woman to do so. "Passport privilege is a thing, and having a US passport helped me, but having a Ugandan passport helped as well," she told the BBC.
- 2023 November 29, B.A. Parker, Christina Cala, Leah Donnella, “Travel is supposed to expand your horizons...but it's complicated”, in Code Switch[2], NPR:
- Which means that people with "passport privilege" — AKA, the ability to travel freely from country to country — may end up feeling like the stars of some massive international adventure, while people whose travel is more restricted feel like perpetual interlopers.
- 2025 March 7, Racheal Ayodele, “Nigerian travel creator Alma Asinobi eyes world record, to visit all continents in 70 hours”, in Daily Post:
- Alma Asinobi explained that she is embarking on the challenge with her Nigerian passport to highlight the issues surrounding passport privilege for Africans.