Gunnar Garfors: 17 Passports and 198 Countries

In my extensive travels, I’ve had the privilege of visiting approximately 40 countries. However, there exists an extraordinary individual, a 48-year-young citizen of Norway, who has not only journeyed all 198 countries but has accomplished this remarkable feat not once, but twice! Gunnar Garfors Passports Countries

Gunnar Garfors stands as the sole person to have achieved this astounding milestone. While a dozen astronauts have walked on the moon, it is awe-inspiring to note that only one person has circled our planet and explored all of its countries twice. But there are more astonishing achievements…

2012: He visits 5 continents in the same day
2014: 19 countries in 24 hrs
2018: Circumnavigated the world by plane in <57 hrs
2018 Dec: The first person to visit all 198 countries in the world – Twice!

These outstanding achievements generated two books.
>198: How I Ran Out of Countries is the first book he published, sharing his global travel experience
> Elsewhere: A journey to the world’s least-visited countries

Gunnar displayed exceptional kindness by offering insights from a unique perspective on his global travels, focusing on the less-explored topic of passport and visa-related details, which had not been covered in previous interviews.

How many passports do you have?

17 in total, and I could keep 15. One was an emergency passport I needed for a trip as my normal passport was in an embassy, and the border police refused to let me keep it. One is probably hiding somewhere in my mom’s loft.

I have two passports at times when I travel extensively. In Norway, you are allowed to have a so-called duplicate passport if needed for work reasons. This is however only valid for 2 years, as opposed to 10 for normal ones.

Do you always get the passport type with the most possible pages?

I wish! In Norway, all passports have 34 pages. I have however added extra pages to passports twice. Once border police in Laos did it with pages from an old Laos passport as there was enough space for their stamp. Another time I took unused pages from one of my old passports and added to my current ones. Never had any issues with this. That’s so cool. Unusual official Laos page extensions in a Norway passport. You already made passport history with this.

How many visas do you have in all the passports?

Loads… I am however traveling in Africa and I only have two passports here, so I cannot count. Most of my passports filled up before they expired.xx

Gunnar Garfors passport

What was the most difficult visa to get?

For my first time to visit every country, it was Eritrea. They put a post-it sticker on my passport saying “Hellow! Your Visa application rejected”, although they kept the money I had sent to the embassy. On my second applications, I wrote a handwritten letter explaining how much I wanted to visit Eritrea, and they then issued it after 5–6 weeks. The second time I had an issue with Pakistan. I actually landed in Islamabad, but was denied entry as my VOA hadn’t come through, and was sent back on the same plane. I eventually got it at the embassy in Oslo.

What is the rarest visa in your passports? Gunnar Garfors Passports Countries

Yemen or Nauru, the two least visited countries in the world – my book Elsewhere is about the 20th least visited countries in the world. I needed to use my press card to get into Yemen, as they didn’t issue tourist visas at the time.

Any memorable stories about visas or passport issues during travel, crossing borders?

Returning to Kazakhstan from Kyrgyzstan, the border police made my brother Øystein and myself aware that we should have registered in Bishkek. He commanded us into a room, waving a gun. Then he opens a book in Russian, points at it and says “straff!” which means punishment. In the book, someone had written $200 by pencil. Our full bus was waiting outside, so we were a bit stressed. I offered $5, which he refused. Another $20 luckily did the trick, though.

Do you keep your receipts of visa/passport fees?

No, I have no idea how much I have actually spent on my travels.

What was the most expensive visa?

Nigeria, I think. It was $250 or so, at the time. Wow, that’s quite a price for just a visa!

Tips to keep your passport safe at all times during travel? Ever lost one during travel? Gunnar Garfors Passports Countries

I always carry it on me, in an inside pocket. Once a passport fell out while I was dancing at a club in Berlin, but it was returned by mail a month or so later.

If you had a wish to Norway passport designer or visa designers, what would you want them to change?

The color of our new passports is awful. What’s wrong with the red color we used to have?

Great insights, and it is surely an advantage to hold one of the strongest passports, which Norway always had. I appreciate your time in responding to my questions, Gunnar. I’m aware that your time is valuable, and I’m grateful for your assistance. Wishing you always safe travels during your adventures and an ample supply of visa pages.

By the way, regarding the prospect of a new Norwegian passport design… Gunnar Garfors Passports Countries

I propose that your photograph be prominently featured on one of the visa pages. After all, who could serve as a more fitting brand ambassador for Norway than yourself? Typically, we reserve such pages for individuals who are no longer with us, but why not celebrate living legends like you instead? 😉

All pictures courtesy of Gunnar’s Instagram account @garfors.

Fridjof Nansen and the Nansen Passport

Tom Topol | Passport History Expert & Author.
Featured in media incl. CNN, BBC, Newsweek. Awarded by the U.S. Department of State.
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