For the busiest business travelers, who are frequently requested to fly to several of nations quickly, current knowledge of which nations want visas or electronic travel authorizations (eTAs) is crucial.
Passport Indexes play a role in this. The Henley Passport Index and Arton Capital's Passport Index are two competing indexes that assess the relative influence of passports based on the number of nations their holders can enter without a visa or with one on demand.
According to Arton Capital's ranking, the United Arab Emirates is currently the world's most powerful nation, whereas Henley, which employs a different methodology, places Japan in first place.
The nations with the most open doors, at least in terms of visas, are on the other hand. These are quantified by Arton Capital in its Welcoming Countries Rank, and its 2022 list offers some fascinating insights on the state of global mobility at the moment. Every time a new visa waiver or adjustment is made, the ranking is immediately updated.
According to Gallup research released on December 7, Canadians routinely rank among the people in the world who are most likely to believe that their communities make suitable places for immigrants to live.
The Canadian government recently stated its intention to welcome 1.5 million immigrants by 2025 in order to fill the economic gap brought by by an aging population. Canada also tops Gallup's Migrant Acceptance Index.
Canada ranks a modest No. 71 on the Welcoming Countries Rank, which examines 199 nations and only evaluates them based on the number of passports they accept visa-free, with visa on arrival, or with eTA. There is easy access for 54 nations to the Great White North. That places it just above Australia, which allows 46 countries to do so, and the United States, which allows 45.
One notable ASEAN nation is represented in that top-ranked scrum: Cambodia. East Timor is among the top 23 nations, however it is less frequently regarded as a member of ASEAN proper and is instead more frequently included with the geographical region of "Southeast Asia."
Malaysia, on the other hand, is the only nation to occupy the fourth tier.
Malaysia receives very good marks for being a "welcoming" nation, at least in terms of the nationalities that are given access with ease. It is rather amazing that Malaysia allows passport holders from 195 different nations to enter reasonably freely.
These rankings are based on how many passports each nation recognizes as valid for visa-free travel, visa on arrival, or electronic travel authorisation. However, Malaysia is presently recognized as having the ninth-strongest passport in the world, surpassing nations like Turkey, Qatar, China, and more.
On the Welcoming Countries Rank, Singapore is ranked No. 16, closely followed by a few other Asian nations that support the reciprocity model: Hong Kong is ranked No. 21 and South Korea is ranked No. 33. There are 23 countries in the top spot, all of which allow travelers from 198 out of 199 countries easy access.
"You know what, we want to have tourists and be bilateral, Singapore says. They can go to 170 countries without a visa and [162 nationalities] can enter their country without one, so they believe in reciprocity "Founder of Arton Capital Armand Arton told CNN Travel.
Elsewhere in Asia region:
- Laos (169)
- Philippines (159)
- India (152)
- Taiwan (90)
- Vietnam (88)
- Indonesia (86)
- Thailand (82)
- Japan (67)
- Brunei (63)
- China (20)
- Myanmar (8)
- Macau (3)
Source: CNN Travel, goodymy.com, ExpatGo.com
