Monday, February 29, 2016

It’s good to be German: The world’s most powerful passports

If you want to travel the world, it pays to be German. This comes courtesy of a new survey that ranks countries around the world on the amount of “travel freedom” accorded to their citizens. Travel freedom is defined as the number of countries where citizens can travel without needing a visa, or where they will receive a visa upon arrival.

Germans have the most powerful passports in the world, offering visa-free access to 177 countries and territories out of a total of 218, according to the 2016 Visa Restrictions Index compiled by the London-based citizenship and immigration firm Henley & Partners. Germans have held this distinction since 2014. Swedes were close behind, with visa-free access to 176 countries.

France, Finland, Italy, Spain and the United Kingdom all tied for third place, with access to 175 countries. United States citizens can drop in visa-free on 174 countries, along with citizens of Belgium, Denmark and the Netherlands.

On the bottom of the list, with “the worst passports in the world,” are Somalia, Iraq, Pakistan and Afghanistan.

Henley & Partners
A country’s ability to obtain visa waivers reflects its diplomatic relations with other countries. Visa requirements are also shaped by “reciprocal visa arrangements, security risks, and the risks of visa and immigration rules violations,” according to Henley & Partners’ press release.

The report, published Feb. 24 and accompanied by an interactive graphic, notes a couple other big developments. Four countries made major strides in the rankings: Tonga, Palau, Colombia and the Southeast Asian nation of Timor-Leste. And Portugal, which began a“golden visa” initiative in 2012 that allows investors from outside the European Union to buy their way into residency, now has the world’s sixth-most powerful passports. Its citizens can travel to 172 countries without visas.
By Anne Quito, Quartz, February 28, 2016

1 comment:

  1. What is electronic Indian Visa (India e-Visa)?
    Government of India has launched electronic travel authorisation or eTA for India which allows citizens of 180 countries to travel to India without requiring a physical stamping on the passport. This new type of authorisation is called an eVisa India (or electronic India Visa). It is this electronic India Visa Online that allows foreign visitors to visit India for five major purposes, tourism / recreation short term courses, business, medical visit or conferences. There are further number of sub-categories under each visa type. All foreign travellers are required to hold an India eVisa (India Visa Online application process) or a regular/paper Visa prior to entry into the country as per Indian Government Immigration Authorities.
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