Most of us open a passport to check the expiration date or find room for another stamp. At Regula, we also get distracted by the artwork. An occupational hazard, perhaps.
We asked the team who curates our identity document database to pick the world’s most beautiful passports. And of course, there was some debate.
Below are their favorites, with close-ups and ultraviolet images to help you see what won them over. You’re welcome to disagree with our choices. We’ve already disagreed with each other.
Get posts like this in your inbox with the bi-weekly Regula Blog Digest!
Bahraini passport: Pearls, oil, and a little astronomy
Pearl divers and oil derricks share the pages of Bahrain’s passport, telling the story of two industries that shaped the country. A galloping horse and a falcon appear alongside them, while the central spread features Bab Al Bahrain, the gateway to Manama’s souq (marketplace).
Bahrain’s pearl-trading past and oil industry meet on the passport’s pages.
But the detail that won us over takes a UV lamp to see. Under ultraviolet light, constellations appear across the visa pages, including Aquarius and Pisces. You could easily carry this passport for years without knowing there was a little astronomy tucked between your stamps.
Aquarius and Pisces appear under UV light, adding a night sky to the Bahraini passport.
Belgian passport: Traveling with Tintin
Belgium’s passport was a unanimous pick. Its pages feature Belgian comic-strip characters, including Tintin, the Smurfs, Lucky Luke, and Spirou and Fantasio. If you grew up reading their adventures, you’ll have some familiar company on your next trip.
These illustrations also make the passport harder to counterfeit: the intricate details are difficult to reproduce accurately. Under UV light, more details and visual jokes appear around the characters. Practical considerations aside, who doesn’t like Smurfs?
The illustrations are worth a close look in ordinary light, but a UV lamp gives you another reason to linger.
The Belgian Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ video takes you through the full booklet. See how many characters you recognize.
Brazilian passport: Clues in the colors
Under UV light, green stands out across the Brazilian passport’s pages, illuminating scenes of the country’s flora and fauna. Hidden words identify the landscapes: “LITORAL” marks the coastal scene on page one, while “CERRADO” on page four refers to Brazil’s tropical savanna.
The design celebrates the country’s stunning land and sea landscapes.
Some pages display vivid images of national symbols and famous landmarks under incident light, while under UV light, the outline of Brazil’s map appears.
UV light reveals the outline of Brazil’s map alongside the illustrated scenes.
Estonian passport: A walk in the woods
Estonia’s passport makes a good case for taking the scenic route. Wolves, swallows, and oak trees fill its pages, with forests and lakes appearing under UV light.
We decided to include the Estonian passport on our list of the most beautiful passports because it not only demonstrates its national symbols, but does so with good taste. Every element is in harmony with the others, creating a full-fledged work of art among passports.
Hidden forests and lakes visible under UV light.
The official video below suits the design beautifully. Sound on for this one.
Dominican passport: A brighter shade of green
The Dominican Republic’s 2026 passport pairs palm fronds and flowers with landmarks from the country’s history. Soft green and sandy yellow backgrounds leave room for the finely drawn illustrations.
Among the palm fronds is the Bayahíbe rose, the country’s national flower. Despite the name and those delicate petals, it belongs to the cactus family.
Under UV light, the palette becomes much bolder, with vivid green catching the eye.
We liked both versions: the gentle colors you see when leafing through the booklet and the brighter details usually reserved for a document examiner.
Palm fronds frame the floral illustrations against soft green and sandy yellow backgrounds.
The visa pages also feature the monument to Antonio de Montesinos in Santo Domingo. The friar, remembered for speaking out against the mistreatment of the Indigenous Taíno people, is shown with a hand raised to his mouth.
The monument to Antonio de Montesinos appears on a visa page.
Finnish passport: The seal won us over
Finland’s passport earned its place on our list with a small animated seal. Flip through the pages, and it moves. We’d like to say the selection process was more complicated than that.
A seal becomes a small flip-book animation as you turn the pages.
The rest of the booklet gives you plenty of reasons to slow down. Inspired by Finland’s Archipelago Sea, the illustrations show islands and coastal waters through the changing seasons. The seal has a rather lovely place to live.
Pristine islands, serene waters, and the changing seasons.
Hong Kong passport: Fusion of tradition & modernity
The Tsing Ma Bridge features on the data page.
Hong Kong's passport reflects the city's unique blend of old-world traditions and futuristic skyline, with bridges and buildings sharing the view with bauhinia flowers and butterflies.
We liked how the designers brought these elements together in colorful, full-page panoramas. Under UV light, there’s a change of scenery: the Great Wall gives way to a view of northern Hong Kong Island.
The Great Wall in ordinary light and northern Hong Kong Island under UV.
Latvian passport: Through a photographer’s lens
Latvia’s passport draws on photographs by nature photographer Andris Eglītis. His images of the country’s landscapes give each page its own scene. We liked that there’s a particular person’s eye behind the artwork: someone had to find those views before they could become passport pages.
Cranes are a recurring motif, linking the scenes through the idea of departure and return. Migratory birds feel especially at home in a travel document.
The newest edition of the Latvian passport marks a remarkable transformation from its forerunner, which paid homage to the revered Nationwide Latvian Song and Dance Festival.
Macanese passport: East-meets-West elegance
Macao’s Chinese and Portuguese architectural influences give its passport plenty to draw on. Landmarks fill the pages in colorful panoramas, with additional details visible under UV light.
While the Macanese passport shares some visual elements with the Hong Kong passport, Macao's document transforms them into colorful, distinctly Macanese panoramas, thus earning its place on our list of the most beautiful passports.
One detail to look for is the Guia Lighthouse, part of Macao’s UNESCO-listed historic center.
Architectural landmarks fill the passport’s panoramic scenes.
New Zealand passport: The spirit of explorers
New Zealand’s passport has a fitting preoccupation for a travel document: navigation. Its pages trace a journey from the country’s northern reaches to its southern landscapes, with Māori patterns and fern motifs woven into the artwork.
Landscapes and navigation themes share the pages of New Zealand’s passport.
The passport also features a chronological progression of navigation tools used throughout the ages. From the early sextants to the latest cutting-edge instruments, they serve as a reminder of the country's rich history of exploration and discovery.
Under UV light, one of our favorite features becomes visible: a star map. In a passport devoted to exploration, the night sky feels right at home.
The details give you a reason to linger over each page, even before you switch on a UV lamp.
Seychelles passport: A seaside walk
Birds, palm trees, and sunsets fill the pages of the Seychelles passport. The illustrations make generous use of color, giving this small booklet some of the warmth of the islands themselves.
Birds and tropical plants stand out in the passport’s colorful UV artwork.
Page three reveals a key element of the local worldview: the national anthem "Koste Seselwa" ("Join Together All Seychellois"). Its lyrics — "our only motherland / where we live in harmony / happiness, love, and peace" — appear under UV light, written in Seychellois Creole, one of the country’s official languages. It's a reminder that these islands are someone’s home, as well as someone else’s dream vacation.
The national anthem’s lyrics become visible under ultraviolet light.
Swedish passport: Following the birds
Migratory birds lead the way through Sweden’s passport, linking illustrations of the country’s landscapes. Their journeys give the booklet a theme well suited to its purpose: the fundamental human right of free movement.
The restrained design earns its place among the brighter passports in this collection. We liked the uncluttered compositions and the way the birds carry your eye across the pages. There’s room to appreciate the individual illustrations without everything competing for attention.
For anyone who grew up with The Wonderful Adventures of Nils, the combination of birds and Swedish scenery may feel familiar. We can’t claim it’s an intentional reference, but it’s a pleasant association.
Swiss passport: Alpine aesthetics
Let us confess: we discussed the idea of not mentioning the new Swiss passport only to see how many people were outraged in the comments because of this fact.
Jokes aside, their new design is stunning, making the Swiss travel document one of the most beautiful passports!
Inspired by rural scenes, it offers us a virtual journey, from the towering Alpine peaks to the tranquil valleys below. Water and mountains, the passport's two main design themes, symbolize the dual forces that shape Switzerland's picturesque terrain.
Compared with the Nordic passports in this collection, the Swiss design is much bolder in its colors and visual elements. Under UV light, the colors become especially vivid, bringing out details that deserve more than a quick glance at passport control.
Turkish passport: A closer look at the architecture
Turkey’s passport gives architecture lovers plenty to examine. Its pages feature landmarks such as Hagia Sophia and the Habib-i Neccar Mosque, with intricate patterns framing the buildings.
Besides historical monuments, the Turkish passport features many flowers that can be found in the country.
Under UV light, the pale architectural scenes become vivid.
US passport: An ode to the nation
Historical quotations and iconic landmarks fill the American passport’s pages. Inside, historical quotes and iconic landmarks serve as a reminder of the country’s journey and values, making it more than just an identification document but a tribute to the American spirit.
We appreciated how the personal data page design became simpler and cleaner after the recent update. The thing is that a colorful background may create challenges for OCR engines. Now the data is easier to read, while the passport still looks great.
The artwork draws on the country’s history, with additional details visible under UV light.
Worth a closer look
We hope this collection gives you a reason to leaf through your own passport before your next trip. There may be a detail you’ve carried around for years without noticing.
For Regula’s document experts, studying those details is part of the job. Choosing the prettiest examples is a much less scientific exercise, so we expect the debate to continue as countries release new designs.
Curious about what makes these documents tricky to read or authenticate? Explore our Top-Notch collection for a country-by-country look at real documents and the challenges of processing them. Even the plainest passport can have a few surprises.
Now, we’d like to hear from you.
Which passport design did you like most? Which passport would you add to the list? Let us know on Regula’s LinkedIn page.
