An Indian software developers honest social media post has sparked again the argument about global mobility and the Indian passports limitations for a long time.
London, based techie Kunal Kushwaha recently stated that his Indian passport "no longer adds value" to his life, not as a political statement, but as a reflection of the everyday friction globally mobile professionals face.
An Indian passport no longer adds value to my life.
— Kunal Kushwaha (@kunalstwt) December 23, 2025
My best friend lives in Ireland. His birthday was recently. A normal thing would be to book a ticket and surprise him. Instead, I opened visa websites.
I was already in Berlin a few days ago. That single detail meant I…
His words were like a signal fire for many Indians who are working, studying, or traveling abroad.
Kushwaha explained his vexation by sharing a personal story. His best friend lives in Ireland, and his birthday was around Christmas, a time when many feel like traveling spontaneously.
However, for him, the procedure was not about booking a flight. It was about checking visa websites.
Just before the trip, Kushwaha went to Germany, but now he is stuck by Schengen visa regulations, which impose a limit on the number of days one can stay in the zone. That one trip to Berlin meant he didnt have enough days left to apply for another visa on time.
Therefore, he was unable to go and celebrate his friend's birthday in Dublin not due to lack of money or time, but because of visa restrictions.
In his post, Kushwaha talked about the very tiring and exhausting reality of visa paperwork, which is something indigenes of India that travel generally know very well.
He mentioned that while he was standing in long queues at the airport and watching other people move ahead effortlessly, he was also carrying folders of documents that had been submitted multiple times.
In his opinion, getting a Schengen visa is like doing a job for which you do not get paid, you have to provide bank statements, cover letters, travel bookings, and you have to explain over and over again what normal human travel is. He said that the mental and emotional cost is often not seen but the impact is very strong inside.
Kushwahas post was more than just visa troubles. He brought forward his point by listing several other systemic issues, which in his opinion, contribute to the everyday friction that people face.
Among other things, he talked about the falling value of the Indian rupee, worsening of the air quality, and what he termed as an old banking and KYC system.
The processes involved in banking in India, according to him, are like they require an enormous amount of paperwork, have long waiting hours, you have to keep track of each others progress.
And then, you have to repeatedly visit all of these making the experience one that is not in harmony with the world that is fast, paced and digital, first, especially for those who are professionals and work globally.
For cross, border workers, he explained, a passport that hinders movement is not only a travel limitation but also a waste of time, energy, and mental capacity. His last sentence got a lot of attention from people online: "National pride is not a substitute for global mobility."
