Chronicles of a traveler with a very weak passport
Those of you who already follow me here on Medium, know me as a GIS enthusiast who shares insights from his professional life. Today, however, marks a departure from the norm. As I pen this story from the bustling confines of Hamad International Airport in Doha, amidst the echo of announcements and the murmur of travelers, I find myself writing about the passion that has always fueled my soul: traveling. This narrative unfolds during an unexpected turn of events — a 9-hour layover turned standstill, as I grapple with the reality of being denied entry into the country. A tale of anticipation, reflection, and the unforeseen journey that lies ahead.
As I waited for my connecting flight, I decided to start writing my experiences of traveling with my Pakistani passport which is ranked as the 4th worst in the world. This is not a rant against other countries as I have no complaints from the countries that have made it harder for us to be there because I understand their point of view since many Pakistanis have become economic refugees all over the world.
This is just a compilation of my experiences at immigration at different airports. If you have a strong passport, this will show you how traveling is an uphill battle for people with weaker passports, and if you have a weak passport like me, the stories will have some dos and don'ts. I plan to keep adding to it in the future as I plan to travel (or try to travel) more to other locations.
How did it all start?
First, I want to give a little intro as to how I became a traveler. I always wanted to explore but couldn’t afford it earlier. In 2017 I started as a freelance GIS developer and in the middle of 2019 I started travelling locally. At the same time, my work grew a bit, I decided to create a team and open an office. In December 2019, I opened an office in Islamabad but then the world was hit by the COVID-19 pandemic, and in March 2020, I had to leave the office and went fully remote.
It was under these circumstances that I created a team and it was completely remote due to the pandemic. And I never again thought about opening an office because working remotely became a norm for me and the world as well. This enabled me to travel without having to leave work and helped me greatly.
At the end of 2022, on the advice of a well-wishing friend, I moved my startup from Pakistan to Dubai due to the ease of doing business in the UAE and the dwindling economic situation of Pakistan amidst the political chaos. And this is how and why I set foot outside of my country for the first time at the age of 27.
How traveling is with such a passport?
The visa
The first thing with such a passport is that you need a visa to visit almost any country. My first attempt to go abroad was to visit Spain to sign a partnership with a client but my visa application was rejected so I could never go there. The reason given was “you are not likely to come back” which meant that they feared that I’d also become an economic refugee.
This was the first time I experienced how bad it was. Here are a few things that we are supposed to submit with a visa application:
- Arrival and return tickets
- The full itinerary (down to every day)
- Hotel reservations for each day of the itinerary
- Proof of funds (yes you need to show a good amount in your bank account to prove that you have the means to travel)
- Details of the assets you own back home (the more, the better, because then they’ll think that you’re likely to return)
- Details about spouse if you have one (having a spouse increases the chances of getting visa approval because that is supposed to show that you’re going to return)
And these are only the general items, different countries might ask for other documents as well depending upon their requirements.
The immigration counter at the airport
The second set of challenges starts at the immigration counter of airports. This is where you very frequently get those “completely random” background checks. Here, I will list my experiences at the immigration counters of the countries I have been to so far in chronological order. I will keep updating this part as I travel more.
United Arab Emirates:
On my first-ever international trip, I went to Dubai and it was the smoothest experience I’ve had so far. Maybe because I had a work visa from my startup and not a visit visa as in other cases. But whatever the case, I didn’t get any questions and the immigration officials were as welcoming as they could get.
Georgia:
This was the first time I was solo backpacking. I arrived at the Tbilisi airport and showed my passport to the immigration officer. He looked at the passport from the outside, read the name of the country, and returned it to me. He pointed me to a room where I went and found 3 policemen who went on to interview me. I was followed by Jordanian and Egyptian families who were also sent to the same room but since I was the first one to be shown the room so I was also the first one to be interviewed.
They asked me about my return flight, my hotel stays, if I had any money (I had taken a good amount on someone’s advice because you need to look “rich” to be accepted) and what my profession was. My profession (which they confirmed from my Emirates ID) and the cash I was carrying convinced them to allow me in.
One of the policemen walked me back to another immigration officer who earlier sent me there, said something to him in Georgian language, and handed him my passport. That officer gave me a death stare for a good 10 seconds and then stamped my passport and I was finally allowed to enter Georgia.
Thailand:
In Thailand, it was fairly simple, the country seemed a lot more welcoming of tourists. The only thing I was asked about was the return flight which other tourists weren’t asked. I wasn’t asked about anything else.
Malaysia:
Malaysia was a bit tougher than Thailand, I was asked about my return ticket as well as hotel accommodation. The immigration officer was nice enough to guide me about the Malaysia Arrival Card that every tourist is supposed to fill out within 3 days before arrival.
Singapore:
Singapore was even easier than Thailand and had the politest immigration officers I have met so far. The only thing I was asked about was return ticket. This was still a lot more than other tourists who didn’t even have to interact with an immigration officer and could just scan their passports at the smart gate and were able to go.
Another issue with Singapore was getting a visa because I needed an official invitation letter from a local to be able to visit Singapore. I was able to get it from a tourism company in Singapore but had to pay them 218 USD for that.
Qatar:
Qatar wasn’t originally on my list at this time but I added it as a stopover. I on purpose took a stopover of 9 hours there (which cost me 136 USD extra) and booked a 3-hour excursion to Doha with Discover Qatar (which cost me 32 USD). I did that because I read online that Pakistanis are eligible to get up to a 30-day visa on arrival in Qatar.
When I reached, I found out additional rules for Pakistanis (and also Indians and Ukrainians) that make them eligible for visa on arrival only if the time of stay is more than 24 hours and there’s a paid hotel booking of at least 2 nights. So other people who booked the excursion were allowed to go but I was stopped by the immigration.
It is safe to say that Qatar will probably never again be on my travel list because I can take the blame for not knowing the details and not researching thoroughly enough before showing up here but being treated like a criminal at the hands of immigration officials and being told “don’t speak too much” at my first sentence was never on my travel bingo list.
Dos and Don’ts:
If you are a weak passport holder like me then you must read this section because after all these travels, I have some tips for you guys:
- Look rich: just appear rich, have good amounts of cash with you, wear an expensive watch, or be creative to just appear rich. This matters a lot
- Don’t be the first or the last one to reach the immigration counter: Be somewhere in the middle of the queue, don’t be at the start or the end.
- Never be aggressive: Even if you feel that you’re being wronged or you’re facing racism, don’t show even the slightest aggression. The immigration officer has a lot of power and they can just deport you using this as a pretext. And once you get a deported stamp on your passport, future visas are going to become a lot more difficult
- Print out your stuff: If you have e-visas, print them. Also, print the return tickets and hotel bookings. Sometimes you won’t have internet and sometimes, the immigration officer won’t be interested in looking at your phone. So having a print of your documents for the safe side can help
As I reflect on the journey that has taken me from the remote terminals of airports around the world to the quiet solitude of writing this narrative, I’m reminded that the essence of travel transcends mere movement from one place to another. It’s about the encounters that challenge us, the barriers we strive to overcome, and the shared humanity we discover along the way. For those of us navigating the world with a ‘weak’ passport, each stamp is not just permission to enter but a testament to resilience, hope, and the relentless pursuit of dreams. I invite you, my readers, to share your own stories of travel triumphs and trials. Let’s use our collective voices to illuminate the disparities in global mobility and foster a world where the freedom to explore is not limited by the power of a passport. Together, we can advocate for change, support each other’s journeys, and celebrate the indomitable spirit of the traveler in each of us.
