A red passport generally means one of three things about the country that issued it: the country is a member (or aspiring member) of the European Union and follows the bloc’s burgundy cover standard, the country has a communist or post-communist heritage where red carries political meaning, or the country simply took its passport color from its national flag or a regional agreement. Red is the most common passport color in the world, used by roughly 67 countries, and no international rule assigns it — each government picks its own shade.
The EU Burgundy Standard
The largest single reason so many passports are red is a 1981 resolution by the member states of the European Communities, which specified “burgundy red” as the cover color for a uniform passport design and set a target of January 1, 1985 for member states to begin issuing it.1EUR-Lex. Resolution of the Representatives of the Governments of the Member States, 23 June 1981 The resolution was never legally binding, but nearly every member state adopted it, and today most EU passports carry a burgundy cover with “European Union” printed at the top and the national emblem below.2GOV.UK. Types of British Passports
Countries that hope to join the EU have adopted the color as a visible signal of that ambition. Turkey, Albania, and North Macedonia all issue burgundy passports despite not yet being members. If you see a burgundy cover, EU membership or candidacy is the most likely explanation.
Communist and Post-Communist Heritage
Outside the EU, red passports cluster among countries with communist or socialist pasts. China, Russia, Serbia, Georgia, Romania, Latvia, and Slovenia all issue red passports. The color traces back to the revolutionary symbolism of red in Marxist-Leninist iconography, where it stood for workers’ struggle and collective strength.
China’s passport has been red since the founding of the People’s Republic in 1949, and Russia’s has stayed red through the Soviet era and its post-Soviet redesigns. Some post-communist countries — Latvia, Slovenia, and Romania among them — are now EU members, so their burgundy covers fit both traditions at once.
National Flags and Regional Blocs
Not every red passport traces back to Brussels or Moscow. Switzerland issues a bright red passport that matches its national flag. Switzerland is not an EU member and has never been a communist state; the choice is straightforwardly patriotic.
In South America, Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, and Peru all issue red passports. These four countries are members of the Andean Community, a regional trade bloc, and their shared cover color reflects that alignment in much the same way the EU’s does. Cambodia, the Philippines, Qatar, Bahrain, and Andorra also issue red passports, for reasons that vary from cultural to administrative.
Red as a Special-Issuance Color
Within a single country, passport color often depends on the type of document. Most countries issue an ordinary passport to regular citizens and separate passports to government officials, and the covers usually differ so border agents can identify the holder’s status quickly.
The United States is the clearest example. The standard tourist passport is blue. The official passport, issued to government employees traveling on duty, is maroon — a dark shade of red.3Travel.State.Gov. Steps to Apply for a Special Issuance Passport The diplomatic passport, reserved for Foreign Service officers and others with diplomatic status, is black. Special-issuance passports carry no fee, but they cannot be used for personal travel beyond entering or leaving the country of assignment.4Travel.State.Gov. After You Get Your Special Issuance Passport Military personnel may receive one when a destination country requires a passport rather than military ID and travel orders.
So when an American says they hold a red passport, they are almost certainly a government employee carrying a maroon official passport — a document most U.S. citizens will never see.
What the Color Does Not Tell You
Passport color has no effect on how freely you can travel. Visa-free access, visa-on-arrival arrangements, and entry requirements are determined by the nationality of the holder and the bilateral agreements between countries, not by the cover.
The gap between two red passports can be enormous. As of 2026, burgundy passports from France, Germany, Italy, Spain, and the Netherlands grant visa-free or visa-on-arrival access to 185 destinations, and Sweden’s reaches 186 — among the most powerful travel documents in the world. China’s red passport, in the same color family, provides access to far fewer destinations without a visa.
EU citizens do get one practical benefit worth flagging: they are exempt from the European Travel Information and Authorisation System (ETIAS), which begins operations in late 2026 and will require travelers from visa-exempt non-EU countries to obtain pre-travel authorization.5European Union. Who Should Apply – ETIAS That exemption comes from EU citizenship, not from the color of the booklet.