Nearly 20 years ago, on an average, people could only travel visa-free to 58 nations, while today the number has reached 111 countries.
For an international traveller, the importance of a passport is never underestimated. Because, this one thing decides in how many destinations, a tourist can roam around without any visa. All credit goes to the Henley Passport Index (HPI) for preparing the strength of passport based on International Air Transport Authority (IATA) data.
India, although being regarded as World's fastest growing economy by International Monetary Fund (IMF), has lost its strength in the passport index published recently. Indian travellers can only visit upto 58 nations without Visa. What are those countries with maximum allowance of visa-free travel? Ever wondered what it takes to become a nation with strong passport value? What are those common things among top countries in HPI? Let's find out one by one.
The first position is occupied by Singapore with 195 countries of visa-free travel for citizens. France, Germany, Italy, Japan, and Spain are holding the 2nd spot with 194. In the 3rd position, there are 7 countries; Austria, Finland, Ireland, Luxembourg, Netherlands, South Korea, and Sweden. Belgium, Denmark, and United Kingdom are at 4th position. The 5th position is held by Norway, Portugal, and Switzerland. Other countries within top 10 are USA, Dubai, Australia, Greece, Malta, New Zealand, Latvia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Canada, Czechia, Hungary, Poland, and so on.
Along with famous names, there are some not so common countries, right? It's because of the following reasons.
International Relations: The above-mentioned nations always maintain strong diplomatic network as well as International agreements to provide their citizens travel across the globe seamlessly.
High Quality of Life: Take any of these nations listed among top 10, you can realise one simple thing, that is, high standards of living. They have an effective human rights report as well focus on social services.
Happy Countries Get More Benefits: Heard about the happiness index that determines how happy the citizens are in a country? Have a closer look at happiness and passport index! It's almost aligned with each other.
Stable Government: What exactly meant by having a stable government? According to United States Institute of Peace, “Stable governance is the mechanism through which the basic human needs of the population are largely met, and conflicts are managed peacefully through inclusive political processes.” It's not surprising that all those countries with strong passport are “Developed” nations with stable government structure.
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“The reality of having visa-free access to just 58 destinations is just one of the reasons driving the significant increase in awareness of and demand for global investment migration opportunities among Indian high-net-worth families,” mentioned by Rohit Bhardwaj, Director Private Clients and Country Head India at Henley & Partners.
From ordinary citizens to wealthy investors, passport strength plays a crucial role. Bhardwaj added: “In addition to having a contingency plan in place and enhancing their visa-free travel, among the key reasons Indian families consider alternative residence and/or citizenship is ease of access to excellent higher education institutions for their children. India’s affluent are not just looking to protect their wealth — they are strategically investing in countries that offer a robust educational infrastructure. For this reason, the programs attracting the most attention in terms of enquiries are those offered by Australia, Austria, Canada, Portugal, and the USA.”
The equation is pretty simple. The stronger the country’s passport is, the more prestigious or authoritative it becomes. So, the level of authenticity or trust is strongly linked to it. Passport is also an economic tool to drive growth by attracting foreign investment.
