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The world’s most powerful passport Japan: Henley & Partners, global citizenship and residency consulting firm, released a quarterly report on the world’s most sought-after passport. A new report says that the gap in freedom of travel is the largest in decades, and the gap in access to vaccinations between countries may worsen the situation.
Since 2006, the Henry Passport Index has regularly monitored the world’s most travel-friendly passports. The index has released the latest rankings and analysis.
Since the index does not consider temporary restrictions, Japan has once again become a leader in the rankings, and its passport can provide visa-free or visa-free access to 193 destinations in the world.
Henley & Partners, the British citizenship consulting firm responsible for the index, said in a statement: “There are extensive travel restrictions around the world, and any level of international travel freedom is still theoretical.”
“It’s a bit of a contradiction that Japan is in the first place, but Japan has recently made a difficult decision to prevent outside audiences from rescheduling the 2020 Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics, which are now scheduled to start in July.”
Compared with Afghan citizens, Japanese passport holders can enter 167 destinations visa-free or visa-free, while Afghan citizens rank lower because they can only visit 26 places in advance without requiring an advance visa. Henley & Partners said this is the largest gap between countries since the index was established.
China and the United Arab Emirates are the two tallest climbers, Singapore ranked second (with 192 points), and South Korea tied for third with Germany (with 191 points). As usual, EU countries accounted for most of the remaining top ten.
The United Kingdom and the United States ranked first in 2014, but the strength of their passports steadily declined in the following years. They are currently ranked seventh together with Switzerland, Belgium and New Zealand.
Regarding freedom of travel, the main success stories of the past decade have been China and the United Arab Emirates. Since 2011, China’s ranking has risen from 90th to 68th, up 22 places; while the UAE has dropped from 65th to 15th. China’s work to strengthen diplomatic relations with the world means that it now allows its citizens to easily travel to 174 destinations a decade ago.
Henry said: “As some wealthy and developed economies (such as the European Union, the United Arab Emirates, the United Kingdom and the United States) implement comprehensive vaccination programs, global mobility will soon become a possibility for certain countries again.” & Partners.
“For citizens of developing countries and emerging economies, the speed of vaccine distribution there is much slower, and passports tend to give people less overall freedom of travel-the future prospects will definitely be more optimistic.”
“Allow moving around.”
Ugur Altundal and Omer Zarbli, political science researchers at the University of Syracuse and the University of Pittsburgh, respectively pointed out the risks of the vaccine passport model as a solution to reopening international travel in their reports.
“Given that people may need to be vaccinated every year, developed countries may seek to ensure the supply of vaccines for future use. Eventually, this epidemic may prolong and increase the risk of more mutations.”
“Countries that are able to vaccinate their populations relatively quickly will also facilitate the movement of their own citizens and attract tourists. In terms of business and leisure, countries facing conflicts and those facing conflicts) Professor Mahari Tade, Center for Immigration Policy Mahari Tadeli Maru, a researcher at the Institute for Comparative Regional Integration at the United Nations University in Belgium, said those who lack funds to ensure proper storage and effective deployment of vaccines will fall behind in easing restrictions on movement.
Over the past year, remote work visas have been a major trend, as the pandemic has forced companies around the world to adopt more flexible work arrangements.
“The destinations from Helsinki to Dubai are already developing plans and policies for loose talents whose employers allow roaming,” NewCities Director of Applied Research Greg Lindsay wrote in the report. He continued to warn: “Any global destination without a destination is in danger of being left behind when the world opens up again.”
Many countries in the world do not have a visa, worst passport.
Many countries/regions in the world provide visa-free or visa-free access to less than 40 countries/regions. These include:
102- North Korea (39 destinations)
103-Nepal (38).
104-Palestinian Territory (37)
105-Somalia (34)
106-Yemen (33).
107 Pakistan (32)
108-Syria (29).
109-Iraq (28).
110-Afghanistan (26).
The “Henry and Partners List” is one of several indicators created by financial companies to rank national citizens based on their accessibility to global passports.
The Henry Passport Index is based on data provided by the International Air Transport Association (IATA). Which covers 199 passports and 227 destinations. As the visa policy changes take effect, they will be updated in real-time throughout the year.
The Atton Capital Passport Index takes into account the passports of 193 UN member states and six territories: Republic of China, Taiwan, Macau (China), Hong Kong (China), Kosovo, Palestinian Territories and the Vatican. Excluding the territories of other countries.
In the index 2021, Germany, Finland, Spain and Switzerland ranked first with 1134 points for visa-free/visa-free.
Since 2017, Saba Ghani has been serving as the talented and dedicated chief content writer for Pakistan Tour and Travel & EMHI Solutions. With her exceptional writing skills and in-depth knowledge of the travel industry, she has been instrumental in crafting engaging and informative content that captivates the audience. You can catch her at [email protected] or Twitter
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