Countries with Powerful Passports in the World
Your passport is not just a piece of paper that allows you to travel to different countries. A passport is much more than that. It is an identity proof; it is your access to more job study opportunities, etc.
According to Global Passport Index’s report for 2019, United Arab Emirates has the most powerful passport in the planet. Global Passport Index includes 199 countries. The calculation for this is being done based on total number of countries (MS), which are Visa Free (VF) or Visa On Arrival(VOA) for that passport.
MS = VF + VOA
The passport with maximum MS will have the most powerful passport. The average MS for all 199 countries is 104 and average rank is 44.
Benefits of having a Powerful Passport
Powerful passports have many advantages. Holding a powerful passport can give you access to many countries with multiple opportunities. A few of them can be –
Ease of Travel –The first and the most popular benefit is ease of travelling. You can travel to most of the countries visa free or with visa on arrival option, if you have a powerful passport. The most powerful passport will have access to maximum countries without a visa.
Less Fees – Having a powerful passport is money saving as well. You can save money on your foreign tours because you are required to pay less fees if you carry a powerful passport. Because most of the countries are visa free, you save on visa expenses, plus the other fee charges are also less for powerful passport holders.
More Employment Options – Employment options are more for population having powerful passports. You have options to get good job opportunities in foreign lands. If your passport is powerful enough, you can travel to various countries visa free and can search for good employment option that can help in boosting your career.
Study Opportunities –With more employment options, you get more study opportunities as well. You can apply to universities in other countries and because the fees for visa and related stuff is less, it can be economically beneficial as well.
Oversea Trading –A powerful passport allows you to do business and trading with other countries.It will also be helpful in opening your branches in new countries or making new business partnerships.
Top Powerful Passports in the World
In the list of top passports in the world, UAE steals the top spot, as per Global Passport Index Report 2019, with highest MS of 176. UAE passport holders have access to 176 countries. 118 out of these are visa free and 58 are with visa on arrival.There are only 22 countries that require a visa from a UAE passport holder. The citizens of UAE have easy access to more than 85% of the world.
The second position in the list is shared by three countries collectively. These are Finland, Luxembourg and Spain, with MS value 168. Finland and Luxembourg are visa free for 127 countries, while on the other hand, Spain has access 125 visa free countries. All the three have only 30 countries with visa requirements.
Third place is shared with 11 countries namely – Austria,Denmark, Germany, Italy, Ireland, Japan, Netherlands, Portugal, Switzerland,South Korea, United States of America with MS 167. The citizens of all these countries need visa for 31 countries only. USA’s passport is visa free for 117 countries and has access with visa on arrival for 50 countries.
Afghanistan is the bottom of the list with MS value 30.Afghanistan has visa free access to only 5 countries and visa on arrival for 25 countries. A person with Afghanistan’s passport needs visa to travel to rest 168 countries.
Passports eliminates the border barriers not only between two countries but also bridges the gap between two cultures, languages,lifestyles, cuisines, etc.