Which country has the best ‘visa-free travel’ passport? It's not UK or USA

The EU referendum could change in how easily British citizens can travel within the rest of Europe without the need for a visa, however, Europeans were freely travelling around France, Spain and Germany for decades.

There has been a surge in Britons applying for Irish passports following the Brexit result in a bid to retain a link with the European Union. But according to a study, Germany has the world’s most powerful passport, with Sweden close behind.

German citizens hold the world’s most flexible and powerful visa-free passport as they can visit 177 countries without applying for a tourist visa, and US tourists can travel to 174. British travellers can currently enter 175, which could change in the next couple of years. 

With a possible score of 218, the visa restriction index by Henley & Partners, a citizenship and planning firm, ranks nations or territories based on the number of countries their citizens can travel to visa-free. The annual report is based on visa restrictions in place on 1 January.

Germany claimed sole possession of first spot this year after three more countries scrapped visa restrictions for Germans, edging Sweden into second place with visa-free access to 176 countries.

After three years in first place, the UK fell to third and was tied with Finland, France, Italy and Spain with a score of 175, up one from 174 last year, while the US shared fourth spot with Belgium, Denmark and the Netherlands.

Afghanistan found itself at the bottom of the table with visa-free access to just 25 countries.

Pakistan was in second-last place (29), just behind Iraq (30), Somalia (31) and Syria (32).

In a statement released earlier this year, Henley & Partners, which has offices around the world, including London and Melbourne, said only 21 of the 199 countries listed in this year’s study remained in the same rank as last year.

It said: ‘No country, however, dropped more than three positions, indicating that overall, visa-free access is improving around the world.

‘Somalia, Iraq, Pakistan and Afghanistan meanwhile, continue to hold the bottom four positions on the index, and thus have again been labelled the worst passports in the world.’

Timor-Leste, in Southeast Asia, had the biggest leap, climbing 33 spots to 57th place, followed by Colombia and Paula, which jumped 25 and 20 spots, respectively. Hungary is back in the top 10, while Malaysia was squeezed out.

Henley & Partners, which has produced an annual index in co-operation with the International Air Transport Association (IATA) since 2006, said: ‘There continues to be a huge disparity in the levels of travel freedom between countries, despite the world becoming more mobile and interdependent.

‘Generally, visa requirements reflect strongly on each country’s relationships with others, and will take into account diplomatic relationships between the countries, reciprocal visa arrangements, security risks and the risks of visa and immigration rules violations.’ 

The table illustrates the degree of restrictions citizens of poorer nations have when travelling, something we in the West take for granted. Due to the risk of overtsaying, applying for a visa to visit the UK or U.S. can be a monumental task for citizens of third world countries.

There have recently been a number of hoax articles claiming that the UK has given visa-free status to the Philippines and various African countries.

Full list of results countries:

1. Germany - 177

2. Sweden - 176

3. Finland, France, Italy, Spain, UK - 175

4. Belgium, Denmark, Netherlands, US - 174

5. Austria, Japan, Singapore - 173 

6. Canada, Ireland, Luxembourg, Norway, Portugal, South Korea, Switzerland - 172

7. Greece, New Zealand - 171 

8. Australia - 169

9. Malta - 168

10. Czech Republic, Hungary, Iceland - 167

11. Slovakia - 165

12. Liechtenstein, Malaysia, Slovenia - 164

13. Latvia - 163

14. Estonia, Lithuania - 162

15. Poland - 161

16. Monaco - 160

17. Cyprus - 159

18. San Marino - 156

19. Chile - 155

20. Hong Kong - 154

21. Brazil, Bulgaria, Romania - 153

22. Andorra, Argentina - 152

23. Brunei Darussalam - 151

24. Croatia - 149

25. Israel - 147

26. Barbados - 141

27. Bahamas - 140

28. Mexico - 139

29. Taiwan, Uruguay - 137

30. Antigua and Barbuda, Vatican City - 134

31. Seychelles - 133

32. St. Kitts and Nevis, Venezuela - 132

33. Costa Rica - 131

34. Trinidad and Tobago - 130

35. Mauritius - 128

36. Panama - 127

37. Paraguay, St Lucia, St Vincent and the Grenadines - 125

38. United Arab Emirates - 122

39. Grenada - 121

40. Macau - 120

41. Dominica, Honduras - 119

42. Guatemala - 116

43. El Salvador, Serbia - 115

44. Samoa - 112

45. Macedonia - 111

46. Nicaragua, Tonga, Vanuatu - 110

47. Montenegro - 107

48. Russia - 105

49. Palau - 104

50. Colombia - 10

51. Turkey - 102

52. Bosnia Herzegovina, Moldova - 101

53. Albania - 98

54. South Africa - 97  

55. Belize - 94

56. Peru, Solomon Islands - 86

57. Guyana, Kuwait, Timor-Leste, Tuvalu - 82

58. Ecuador, Fiji, Ukraine - 81

59. Maldives, Nauru - 80

60. Kiribati, Marshall Islands, Qatar - 79

61. Jamaica - 78

62. Papua New Guinea - 77

63. Micronesia - 75

64. Suriname - 74

65. Bahrain - 73

66. Bolivia, Botswana - 72

67. Oman, Thailand - 71

68. Namibia - 70

69. Lesotho, Saudi Arabia - 69

70. Kenya - 68

71. Belarus, Gambia, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Malawi, Swaziland - 67

72. Tanzania, Tunisia - 65

73. Ghana - 64

74. Zambia - 63

75. Azerbaijan - 62

76. Cape Verde, Philippines - 61

77. Uganda - 60

78. Benin, Cuba, Morocco, Zimbabwe - 59

79. Indonesia, Kyrgyzstan - 58

80. Armenia - 57

81. Burkina Faso, Ivory Coast, Mongolia - 56

82. Mauritania, Niger, Senegal, Togo - 55

83. Dominican Republic, Sao Tome, Principe - 54

84. Tajikistan - 53

85. India, Mali, Uzbekistan - 52

86. Bhutan, Guinea-Bissau, Mozambique, Sierra Leone - 51

87. Cambodia, China - 50

88. Chad, Egypt, Gabon, Turkmenistan - 49

89. Algeria, Central African Republic, Haiti, Madagascar, Rwanda - 48

90. Comoros, Jordan, Laos, Vietnam - 47 

91. Guinea - 46

92. Angola, Cameroon, Equatorial Guinea, Nigeria - 45

93. Congo (Republic of), Djibouti - 44

94. Liberia - 43

95. Burundi, North Korea, Myanmar - 42

96. Bangladesh, Congo (Democratic Republic of), Lebanon, Sri Lanka - 39

97. Kosovo, South Sudan, Yemen - 38

98. Eritrea, Ethiopia, Iran, Nepal, Palestinian Territory, Sudan - 37

99. Libya - 36

100. Syria - 32

101. Somalia - 31

102. Iraq - 30

103. Pakistan - 29

104. Afghanistan - 25 

Source: Henley & Partners.

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