Put a few passports side by side and the covers can look like a compact design collection: burgundy, navy, green, black, bright red and many shades between them. The colours invite interpretation, but they do not form a universal code that tells you everything about a country—or a traveller.

Red, blue, green and black are commonly used colour families. Calling them the only four permitted colours turns a broad observation into a rule it does not establish.

The cover of an older burgundy British passport
The cover of an older burgundy British passport. Historical British passport design. Original image credit: Matt Cardy / Getty Images.

A cover can carry several kinds of meaning

National identity, administrative tradition and a shared regional design can all influence a passport’s appearance. Different types of documents issued by the same country may also use different designs. A diplomatic or service passport is not necessarily identical to an ordinary passport.

The colour therefore needs context. It cannot, by itself, tell you the holder’s religion, political views, personal background or reasons for travelling. Nor is it a reliable way to decide which entry privileges apply.

Designs change over time

The United Kingdom provides a clear example. The government announced the return of blue passports in 2020. Older articles describing burgundy as the current British design were written in a different period.

A change in the design being issued does not mean every traveller immediately holds the new version. Documents already issued can remain in circulation according to their validity. This is why a photograph of one cover is a poor substitute for checking the actual document and the relevant travel requirements.

Look inside the question, not just the cover

For a trip, the important details include the issuing authority, document type, expiry date, condition and the rules of the destination and transit countries. Requirements can differ by nationality and route, so use official guidance for your own situation rather than a colour chart.

Check these matters early enough to resolve a problem. A passport that is valid on the day you leave may still fail a destination’s remaining-validity requirement. The name used for a booking should also match the document under the carrier’s rules.

Enjoy the design without exposing your details

If you are making a travel photograph, keep the identity page, document number and machine-readable zone out of view. A cover, luggage label without personal data or a notebook can tell the story of departure without publishing sensitive information.

Our boarding-pass privacy guide explores the same habit with another familiar travel document.

Passport design is an interesting meeting of identity and function. Enjoy the colours as part of that story, then let the document’s real details guide the practical decisions.

Air travel also produces unusual images, such as the falcons photographed in a passenger cabin; the context is more useful than assumptions drawn from the picture alone.