With visa-free access to 86 countries and visa-on-arrival entry into another 48 countries, the UAE’s passport was ranked the third most powerful in the world according to The Passport Index. The UAE had a mobility score of 134, which is the number of countries that Emirati passport holders can visit without applying for a visa before travelling.

The Q3 2021 passport power rankings saw New Zealand topping the list with an overall score of 136 (92 visa-free and 44 visa-on-arrival).

As the world tentatively approached pre-Covid levels of global mobility, the biggest gainers in the first half of 2021 were countries that have managed the pandemic most effectively. With a gain of 11 spots, the UAE’s passport was among the three top gainers that witnessed the most increase in their mobility rankings since 2020. The other two included Israel (+13) and the US (+16).

With a gain of 11 spots, the UAE’s passport was among the three top gainers that witnessed the most increase in their power rankings since 2020

Arton Capital, the firm that created the index, credited government commitment and diplomacy for countries whose passports witnessed the most improvements. “Over the first half of 2021, the top performing passports on the index often show a correlation between a commitment by governments to openness or swift diplomacy between nations, as well as those who are better managing the global Covid crisis, within their borders,” the firm said in a media statement.

THE PASSPORT INDEX

With many countries re-opening their borders following a cautious easing of Covid restrictions, the UAE emerged as the world’s most vaccinated nation in July 2021. By Monday, July 5, 2021, more than 72 per cent of the UAE’s population had received two doses of a Covid-19 vaccine. The UAE is set to play host to Expo 2020 Dubai, one of the world’s largest events.

The trends at the end of the first half of this year showed that while nations such as the UAE, which gained 11 places, and the US, with a gain of 16 places, continue to rebound, a number of countries were still in the throes of combatting Covid-19. Such countries remained stagnant in the rankings, with government health and travel restrictions accounting for much of the lack of movement, said Arton Capital.

Following the ramp-up of its vaccination programme during the first half of 2021, the US saw the biggest gain on the index (+16 places)

“It is safe to say that the worst of the Covid-19 pandemic is behind us, as we see more and more countries safely opening up their borders,” says Armand Arton, Founder and President of Arton Capital.

“Innovations are often born in times of crisis and we are starting to see this happening in the travel industry as well with the future of travel looking a lot different than before the pandemic,” added Arton.

MIDDLE EAST

In the GCC, only the UAE saw a significant uptick in the first half of 2021. Other GCC nations remained in roughly similar positions in the rankings over this period: Bahrain dropped five places to rank at No. 45, Kuwait (-7/42), Oman (-4/49), Qatar (-6/40), and Saudi Arabia (-5/50).

Thanks to the UAE, another Middle East country that saw a significant rise in its rankings was Israel. With many Arab countries following the UAE-Israel Abrahamic Accords Peace Agreement, Israeli citizens and investors gained access to many other Arab countries over this period. Partly as a consequence of this historic agreement, the Israeli passport jumped 13 places to a global ranking of 13^th.

EUROPE

“It is safe to say that the worst of the Covid-19 pandemic is behind us, as we see more and more countries safely opening up their borders”

Armand Arton, Founder and President of Arton Capital

Outside of the EU, the biggest moves in passport power were seen for Serbia (+12/24^th), North Macedonia (+13/29^th), and Albania (+12/32^nd). On the other hand, the UK and Norway, the two major industrialised nations outside of the EU, both dropped to fifth (-1) and sixth (-3) place, respectively.

Within the EU, despite the recent introductions of vaccine passports, movement in passport strength has largely been static, with most changes – if any – moving only by a single ranking position in either direction.

The UK and Norway, the two major industrialised nations outside of the EU, both dropped to fifth (-1) and sixth (-3) place, respectively.

Many EU immigration policies are unified as a bloc, so these countries tend to move in a similar direction as a whole. Also, European passports are already among some of the strongest for global mobility and currently dominate the top 10 list. The most improved EU passports were the Czech Republic (+2/4^th), Malta (+2/5^th), and Slovakia (+2/5^th).

THE AMERICAS

Unsurprisingly, following the ramp-up of its vaccination programme during this period, the US saw the biggest gain on the index (+16 places). This resulted in the world’s number one economy bouncing back from 19^th place, in December 2020, to No. 3, sharing the honours with the UAE and another seven nations.

Canada (8) and Mexico (20) also gained 10 and six places, respectively, with South America’s biggest gain coming from Colombia, which was up seven places to 33.

AFRICA

Having been affected much later than the rest of the world by the global pandemic, Africa expectedly continued to battle the impact of Covid restrictions in the first half of 2021. There were few positive moves, and only eight out of Africa’s 54 countries showed improvements while 20 nations dropped down the rankings. The biggest gains in Africa came from offshore in Mauritius (+6/26^th) and Seychelles (+9/21^st).

ASIA

Japan’s passport still remained one of the world’s strongest ranked travel documents.

Even as reports suggested that a low number of Japanese nationals have received the Covid vaccine, Japan’s passport still remained one of the world’s strongest ranked travel documents. With a mobility score of 135, the Japanese passport ranked in third place, rising four places from 6^th at the beginning of 2021.

China, the world’s second-largest economy, saw a far more modest gain over the first half of the year, moving up two places to 50. Brunei saw the Asian region’s biggest positive upswing, with an eight-place gain, at 19.

EURO DOMINANCE IN TOP 10

Due to joint placements in the rankings, a total of 40 passports feature in The Passport Index’s global top 10 list. Only eight from that 40 were not in Europe (including the UK), with the UAE the only Mena representative. Other than the UAE (Rank: 3), they are Australia (2), Canada (8), Japan (3), New Zealand (1), Singapore (6), South Korea (3), and the US (3).

WEAKEST

With a mobility score of 30, Afghanistan’s passport was ranked as the weakest in the world. Iraq was one step better with a mobility score of 31, followed (in the reverse order) by Syria (Score: 32) and Somalia (Score: 34).