The value of the UAE passport has showed an upward trend. In fact, it is climbing towards the top of the Henley Passport Index.
To be more precise, the UAE passport has gained five places over the past three months. On the list of the most powerful passports in the world, the UAE passport is 15th. It means that Emiratis can travel to 172 destinations without a prior visa. In addition, they can have visa-free access to African countries such as South Africa.
The remarkable progress of the Emirati passport on the Henley index has several reasons. The nation’s determination to this position is the most prominent factor.
According to Henley and Partners, the top positions belong to Japan and Singapore. The two nations are able to travel to 190 destinations out of a maximum 227. To be more precise, their travel is with either visa-free or visa on arrival.
Over the course of the index’s 14-year history, the top position has been always held by the USA or a European country. Surprisingly, since a dramatic shift in 2018, the Asian countries are world leaders. In fact, according to the index, the position depends on two factors; global mobility and global economic activity. Also, it should be said that the index is mainly based on an exclusive data from International Air Transport Association (IATA).
The visa-free/visa-on-arrival score for Germany, Finland and South Korea is 188. This score places these countries in the 2nd place. The 3rd place belongs to Luxembourg, Italy and Denmark. Citizens of these countries can access to 187 destinations in the world. They do not need a prior visa. The UK and the US gained the score 184. Both of these countries sit in 6th place. It is interesting to note that since 2010, it has been the lowest position for these two countries.
The visa-free/visa-on-arrival scores for Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan are only 29, 27 and 25 respectively. These scores keep these countries at the bottom of the list.
The passport of India was ranked 82nd. It means the position of India’s passport has improved by 4 places. The status of Pakistani passport also has become better from 106th to 104th.
Another index called Passport Index also ranks the passports of different countries. According to this index, the passport of the UAE is the strongest passport in the world with 177 points. After the UAE, the strongest passports belong to Finland, Luxembourg, Germany and Spain all sitting in the second place. The score of passports of these countries is 170 points.
Therefore, according to what has been discussed above, the Emirati passport is among the strongest passports in the world. The UAE will be the leader in any aspect in the world soon.
*The information brought is this article is based on the recent report of Khaleej Times Website.