Papua New Guinea vs Solomon Islands Passport Comparison

Papua New Guinea and Solomon Islands passports solve different travel problems, even when the headline comparison looks simple. The Papua New Guinean passport is practical but uneven in 2026: useful on some routes, more paperwork-heavy on others, and ranked 54th globally. The rank has edged up from 56th place in 2006. Access has widened meaningfully, from 41 destinations then to 84 now. The smoother routes are limited, so online visa processing matters here: 36 destinations support e-visa or visa-online options, including Azerbaijan, Benin, and Ethiopia. Alongside that, Papua New Guinean passport holders have 49 visa-free destinations, 30 visa-on-arrival options, and 6 eTA routes. The practical advice is simple: check the visa route early and keep the 6-month validity buffer in mind before booking. Visa and validity rules can change quickly; confirm the current requirement with the official embassy or government source before booking around it. As of 2026, for Oceania, the Solomon Islander passport has a genuinely useful mobility profile: 32nd worldwide and 132 accessible destinations. Oceania passports can look deceptively small on the map but useful on Pacific and Commonwealth routes. That is up from 44th place in 2006. The access count tells the bigger story, jumping from 54 to 132 destinations. Its global and openness scores sit at 61 and 42, respectively. The useful part is the visa-free base: 98 destinations, including Andorra, Anguilla, and Antigua and Barbuda. Visa on arrival adds another 28 options, with examples like Madagascar, Papua New Guinea, and Bangladesh. The caveat is the usual one: even strong passports still run into airline and border checks, so the 6-month validity buffer matters. Visa and validity rules can change quickly; confirm the current requirement with the official embassy or government source before booking around it. Reading those profiles together gives better context than a one-line winner label, because passport strength depends on where you travel, how often rules change, and whether the passport creates practical friction at borders, airlines, or visa portals.