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By Maureen O’Hare, CNN
The global gap in travel freedoms has never been wider, according to the latest report from London-based citizenship and global residency consultancy Henley & Partners.
The firm Henley Passport Index, based on proprietary data provided by the International Air Transport Association (IATA), has been monitoring the world’s most user-friendly passports regularly since 2006.
It says the growing barriers to travel that were introduced in the last 18 months of the Covid pandemic have resulted in the largest global mobility gap in the index’s 16-year history.
The index does not take into account temporary restrictions, so leaving aside current access to travel, passport holders at the top of its rankings – Japan and Singapore – can, in theory, travel visa-free to 192 destinations.
That’s 166 more destinations than Afghan nationals, which sit at the bottom of the 199 passport index, and can only access 26 countries without needing a visa in advance.
Europe dominates
Further down the top 10, the ranking remains virtually unchanged as we move into the final quarter of 2021. South Korea is tied with Germany in second (with a score of 190) and Finland, l Italy, Luxembourg and Spain are all together in third place. (with a score of 189).
EU countries dominate as usual at the top of the list, with Austria and Denmark in fourth place and France, Ireland, the Netherlands, Portugal and Sweden in fifth place.
New Zealand, which announced this week that it was moving away from its Covid-19 elimination strategy in favor of a vaccine certificate system, is in sixth place alongside Belgium and Switzerland .
The United States and the United Kingdom, which together held first place in 2014, now occupy a smaller place in the rankings. They are at No.7, alongside the Czech Republic, Greece, Malta and Norway, with visa-free or visa-on-demand access to 185 destinations.
Australia and Canada are in eighth place, Hungary in ninth and Lithuania, Poland and Slovakia together climbed to 10th place, with a score of 182.
“Growing inequalities”
The Henley & Partners report points to “growing inequalities” and suggests that “restrictive policies initially introduced to contain the spread of Covid-19 are now practically applied to contain mobility from the south of the world”.
Mehari Taddele Maru, Fellow of the United Nations Academic Institute on Comparative Regional Integration Studies, comments in the report that “the Global North has been pursuing aggressive migration containment strategies for some time now through rigid enforcement. border controls, undermining the movement of people in various ways.
“Travel restrictions associated with Covid-19 are new additions to the toolbox of migration containment instruments used by the Global North to curb mobility from the Global South. “
Christian H. Kaelin, president of Henley & Partners and creator of the passport index concept, says these decisions could have far-reaching consequences.
“If we are to restart the global economy, it is essential that developed countries encourage inbound migration flows, instead of persisting with outdated restrictions,” he said. “Resourceful countries must sustain their economies by attracting and welcoming the next generation. “
The best passports to hold in 2021 are:
1. Japan, Singapore (192 destinations)
2. Germany, South Korea (190)
3. Finland, Italy, Luxembourg, Spain (189)
4. Austria, Denmark (188)
5. France, Ireland, Netherlands, Portugal, Sweden (187)
6. Belgium, New Zealand, Switzerland (186)
7. Czech Republic, Greece, Malta, Norway, United Kingdom, United States (185)
8. Australia, Canada (184)
9. Hungary (183)
10. Lithuania, Poland, Slovakia (182)
The worst passports to hold
Several countries in the world have visa-free or visa-on-arrival access to less than 40 countries. These include:
109. North Korea (39 destinations)
110. Nepal and Palestinian territories (37)
111. Somalia (34)
112. Yemen (33)
113. Pakistan (31)
114. Syria (29)
115. Iraq (28)
116. Afghanistan (26)
Other clues
The Henley & Partner List is one of several indexes created by financial companies to rank global passports based on the access they provide to their citizens.
The Henley Passport Index covers 227 travel destinations. It is updated in real time throughout the year as visa policy changes come into effect.
Arton Capital Passport index takes into consideration the passports of 193 United Nations member countries and six territories – ROC Taiwan, Macao (SAR of China), Hong Kong (SAR of China), Kosovo, Palestinian Territory and Vatican. Territories annexed to other countries are excluded.
Its index at the end of 2021 puts the United Arab Emirates in the lead, with a visa-free / visa-on-arrival score of 152.
The-CNN-Wire
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