The index, is made by London-based consulting firm Henley & Partners with the International Air Transport Association which has the world’s largest database of travel information, look into the top passports in the world by how much visa-free travel they allow. Normally, visa requirements are analytic of a country’s connection with reciprocity, as stated by the controversial battle over U.S. travellers’ visa-free access to Europe, is often an anticipation.
In the past, this was an annual list, released every January. Now, "the site is updated in real-time as visa-policy changes come into effect," says a spokesperson for Henley & Partners, which explains why the list changes every few months. As recently as March 2018, for example, Japan and Singapore jointly held the top spot. The United Kingdom and the U.S. are currently tied at fourth place, along with Luxembourg, Norway, the Netherlands, and Portugal, offering their citizens visa-free access to 186 destinations.
The United Arab Emirates, which is presently placed at the 23rd position has actually climbed 38 spots ever since 2008, and increased visa-free access to eight countries in 2018 only China, Ireland, Burkina Faso, Uruguay, Guinea, Tonga, Benin, and Honduras. On the inferior end of the range are Iraq and Afghanistan, which are situated at the bottom of the index and each have visa-free access to 30 destinations all over the world.
Here, a look at the top 27.
1. Japan 189 countries can be visited without a visa
2. Germany, Singapore 188
3. Finland, France, Italy, Sweden, Spain, South Korea 187
4. Norway, United Kingdom, Austria, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Portugal, United States 186
5. Denmark, Belgium, Switzerland, Ireland, Canada 185
6. Australia, Greece 183
7. New Zealand, Czech Republic, Malta 182
8. Iceland 181
In a declaration, Dr. Christian H. Kälin, Group Chairman of Henley & Partners, explained that the need for visa-free access is better than ever. “Across the economic spectrum, individuals want to transcend the constraints imposed on them by their country of origin and access business, financial, career, and lifestyle opportunities on a global scale."
Thus now with changing time and developing standards one can observe a great number of changes in the positions of the country. The live index is actually helping countries to focus more and grow in such a way that they could even come in the list of those countries which are the top ten one and there passport is the most valuable one across the whole globe.
