# Would you exchange your passport for one from another country? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [March 19, 2021, 10:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-exchange-your-passport-for-one-from-another-country/938262 "2021-03-19T22:41:11Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![EastUmpqua](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eastumpqua/32/6025_2.png) [@EastUmpqua](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EastUmpqua)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2021, 9:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-exchange-your-passport-for-one-from-another-country/938262/21 "2021-03-20T21:56:41Z")
> [@Colibri](#): > > Let’s move this over to IMHO from GQ. Am I the one that’s supposed to move it? Because I don’t know how. ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2021, 10:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-exchange-your-passport-for-one-from-another-country/938262/22 "2021-03-20T22:56:27Z")
> [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](#): > > I’ll ride a bike as long as I don’t have to do steep uphill sections That makes the Netherlands ideal for me! I’ve got a bigger hill on my farm than I saw during my 10 days in the oude natie. And I’m tired of climbing my hill. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2021, 11:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-exchange-your-passport-for-one-from-another-country/938262/23 "2021-03-20T23:00:34Z")
> [@EastUmpqua](#): > > Am I the one that’s supposed to move it? Because I don’t know how. I already moved it. ---
**Author:** ![asahi](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asahi/32/8693_2.png) [@asahi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/asahi)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2021, 11:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-exchange-your-passport-for-one-from-another-country/938262/24 "2021-03-20T23:06:29Z")
Unless it’s an American passport, right? ---
**Author:** ![Hypnagogic\_Jerk](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hypnagogic_jerk/32/4252_2.png) [@Hypnagogic\_Jerk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hypnagogic_Jerk)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2021, 11:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-exchange-your-passport-for-one-from-another-country/938262/25 "2021-03-20T23:09:13Z")
I’d like to have an EU passport. I’d probably be willing to exchange my Canadian passport for let’s say a French one, or one from some other EU country, but I’d also need to be able to find a job over there. ---
**Author:** ![EinsteinsHund](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/einsteinshund/32/8400_2.png) [@EinsteinsHund](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EinsteinsHund)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2021, 11:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-exchange-your-passport-for-one-from-another-country/938262/26 "2021-03-20T23:23:05Z")
> [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](#): > > That makes the Netherlands ideal for me! I’ve got a bigger hill on my farm than I saw during my 10 days in the oude natie. And I’m tired of climbing my hill. The [highest mountain](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vaalserberg#:~:text=The%20Vaalserberg%20is%20a%20mountain,after%20which%20it%20is%20named) of the Netherlands is 322 meters high. That’s about the height I have to climb when I do the 15 minutes walk from the train station to my home in my little village. It isn’t called the Netherlands for nothing. ---
**Author:** ![elbows](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/b3f665/32.png) [@elbows](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elbows)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2021, 11:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-exchange-your-passport-for-one-from-another-country/938262/27 "2021-03-20T23:26:14Z")
Ha Ha Ha! That’s hilarious. Trade for a US one? Hubs won’t even transit through the US when we fly to Asia. Even if it’s cheaper, and the man loves a bargain. (I actually could get a British passport, as my Dad was born there. But, nah, it’s not tempting, even a little.) ---
**Author:** ![EastUmpqua](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eastumpqua/32/6025_2.png) [@EastUmpqua](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EastUmpqua)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2021, 11:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-exchange-your-passport-for-one-from-another-country/938262/28 "2021-03-20T23:29:01Z")
> [@Colibri](#): > > I already moved it. Ok I’m embarrassed… ---
**Author:** ![romansperson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/romansperson/32/17100_2.png) [@romansperson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/romansperson)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2021, 12:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-exchange-your-passport-for-one-from-another-country/938262/29 "2021-03-21T00:21:06Z")
Sure. I’d trade for Canada, Australia, or a fair number of EU countries. ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2021, 5:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-exchange-your-passport-for-one-from-another-country/938262/30 "2021-03-21T05:04:29Z")
Never. While I have enjoyed my times living abroad and expect to do it again, my US passport, and citizenship, is too valuable to me. ---
**Author:** ![mordecaiB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mordecaib/32/7725_2.png) [@mordecaiB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mordecaiB)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2021, 5:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-exchange-your-passport-for-one-from-another-country/938262/31 "2021-03-21T05:27:23Z")
I think most people wouldn’t trade their passport for another country, unless they happened to live in a country that really limits your travel possibilities, like North Korea. The difference in the number of countries you can visit without a visa doesn’t really matter unless you often drop what you are doing and fly off to Peoples Republic of Slobbovia for a quick weekend. Visas, in my experience, are pretty painless to get, it’s just that they are not a same day thing. ---
**Author:** ![Isamu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/7c8e57/32.png) [@Isamu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Isamu)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2021, 6:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-exchange-your-passport-for-one-from-another-country/938262/32 "2021-03-21T06:27:54Z")
> [@Dewey\_Finn](#): > > By that measure, a Japanese passport, with 191 visa-free countries, is ranked number one. Unless you look Japanese AND speak Japanese you won’t be treated the same as a Japanese. There is no point in getting a Japanese passport for most westerners. It would be really frustrating to have Japanese citizenship and yet be treated like a foreigner every single day. ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2021, 10:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-exchange-your-passport-for-one-from-another-country/938262/33 "2021-03-21T10:38:54Z")
In a heartbeat. My South African citizenship is not a big deal to me, and getting a passport that did away with all our visa restrictions would be great. Not all visas are “painless” to get when you come from an African country. If I was able to exchange, it would be for some place like New Zealand, Canada or a big Schengen country like Germany or France. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2021, 2:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-exchange-your-passport-for-one-from-another-country/938262/34 "2021-03-21T14:30:28Z")
> [@EastUmpqua](#): > > > [@Dewey\_Finn](#): > > > > Certainly the OP is free to come back and clarify. Or they could have been clear in the first place. > > My sister has a Canada passport, I have a US passport. She told me she is treated better in Europe and Latin America with a Canada passport than with her old US one. I was slightly hurt, and told her I’d rather have an Iceland passport. I’ll keep my US citizenship and deal with the French politely. How often are those you’re interacting with even aware that you hold a US passport or that your sister holds a Canadian passport? Certainly when you enter the country and perhaps when you check into a hotel (don’t they ask to see your passport?). But most of the people who are treating your sister well don’t know that. I doubt they can even tell someone is Canadian but instead just assume they’re American. ---
**Author:** ![Kimera757](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kimera757/32/3765_2.png) [@Kimera757](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimera757)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2021, 2:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-exchange-your-passport-for-one-from-another-country/938262/35 "2021-03-21T14:49:11Z")
Are you allowed to go to Iceland and ask for a passport, if you’re not an Icelander? ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2021, 2:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-exchange-your-passport-for-one-from-another-country/938262/36 "2021-03-21T14:59:29Z")
There are a small number of refugees from Syria and other countries who have settled in Iceland. ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2021, 3:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-exchange-your-passport-for-one-from-another-country/938262/37 "2021-03-21T15:41:31Z")
> [@Dewey\_Finn](#): > > I doubt they can even tell someone is Canadian There are times when I’ve made a small effort to “pass” as Canadian when traveling internationally. I’d trade for Canadian citizenship if i could. (I’m too old, they don’t want me.) I’d consider trading for German, Netherlands, Danish, Irish, Icelandic, probably other EU nations, Australia, New Zealand. But I’m really bad at learning languages. If i could learn, for example, Portuguese i might like to live there, but i don’t think i could do that. ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2021, 4:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-exchange-your-passport-for-one-from-another-country/938262/38 "2021-03-21T16:06:57Z")
I don’t foresee being able to afford to travel for pleasure much anytime soon so it doesn’t much matter. ---
**Author:** ![Fretful\_Porpentine](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fretful_porpentine/32/2873_2.png) [@Fretful\_Porpentine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fretful_Porpentine)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2021, 5:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-exchange-your-passport-for-one-from-another-country/938262/39 "2021-03-21T17:09:06Z")
Now? Not unless I can somehow keep my job here in the US with a foreign passport, which seems unlikely. In my twenties I would definitely have swapped for any EU country in a heartbeat, and probably Australia / NZ / Canada as well. I might be willing to make that trade again after I retire, but right now it’s not worth it. ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2021, 5:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-exchange-your-passport-for-one-from-another-country/938262/40 "2021-03-21T17:37:46Z")
It’s relevant to my answer that i am close to retiring. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-exchange-your-passport-for-one-from-another-country/938262.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-exchange-your-passport-for-one-from-another-country/938262.md?page=3)