Philippine Passport Named One of the Most Aesthetic in the World
We'll take what we can get.
(SPOT.ph) The Philippine passport may not get you far without a visa, but at least it looks good. Contemporary culture website Hypebeast just named the Philippine passport one of the world’s best-looking passports.
In a recent Instagram post on March 25, Hypebeast showed off the "iconic Philippine eagle" artwork inside our little official travel booklet. Other countries that made the cut include Norway, Canada, Hong Kong, Japan, Finland, New Zealand, Hungary and Belgium. Not a bad crowd to be part of.
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As expected, Filipinos flocked to the comments section of Hybebeast's post to say: “Uy, Pilipins!”
Hypebeast is a global lifestyle and culture platform known for spotlighting trends in fashion, design, and contemporary aesthetics. Founded in 2005, the Hong Kong-based site has grown to become a major tastemaker, with 10 million Instagram followers who look to it for what's cool and cutting-edge. Also: they’re the ones who popularized the term hypebeast in streetwear culture.
Also read: Online Passport Application Is Coming Soon on DFA's Website
The Philippine passport
The current passport design was rolled out by the Department of Foreign Affairs in 2016, along with new security features. Each page of the 44-page booklet features Filipino cultural elements—from artifacts to historic sites, tourist destinations, and even lyrics of the national anthem written in Baybayin script.
For all the striking visuals, the Philippine passport doesn’t rank high in terms of the number of countries it can get you to. According to the 2024 Henley Passport Index, its rank has dropped to 75th place in the world order, with Filipinos able to enter just 67 destinations without needing a visa in advance. That’s well behind regional neighbors like Singapore which remains the most powerful, with access to 194 countries.
But at least we’ve got a pretty passport, right?
Also read: Philippine Passport Drops to 75th in Henley's Global Ranking 2025