Passport bro
Man who travels abroad to date foreign women.
Meaning
It denotes Western men who travel abroad mainly to date or marry foreign women. The tone is critical or mocking and it is used by commentators and on TikTok. People say it about others, rarely about themselves.
Origin
The term spread through TikTok clips where men described this lifestyle. It became widely used around 2022 to 2023. The exact first video or account is disputed. The Korean Wikipedia entry describes it as a social-media-driven label for this movement.
How it's used
People use it in debates about dating, travel and gender expectations. It functions as a countable noun with plural passport bros and sometimes appears as a modifier in passport bro movement. It does not inflect as a verb.
Example
He called himself a passport bro after booking a one-way ticket to Manila.
Variants & related
Spelling variants include passport bro, passport bros and passport-bro. Related labels include sex tourist and cross-border dating discourse, while replies often contrast it with dating at home. The opposite framing is often passport sis.
Common misunderstandings
Outsiders wrongly treat it as a neutral travel term when it usually carries judgment. It is also confused with ordinary sex tourism, though some uses stress long-term partners. Using it sincerely as self-praise can sound ironic to listeners.