The passport of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) is now officially the world’s strongest travel document. The Emirati passport allows its holders access to more countries than any other passport in the world. Arton Capital’s Global Passport Power Rank 2021, a real-time ranking tool, ranked 199 countries at the start of the Expo 2020 Dubai.

The UAE, the most vaccinated country in the world, regained the top spot on the power index. It showed that UAE passport holders can now travel to 98 destinations without a visa while they can visit another 54 destinations with visa-on-arrival access. Together (98 + 54), this gives the Emirati Passport a mobility score of 152, the highest in the world.

Visa waivers for additional countries and lifting of Covid-19 restrictions by the country were among the factors that made the UAE passport the strongest. The world openness score (WOS) calculates the number of countries that can visit one another without a visa. It went up 14.8 per cent, and the average mobility score moved up to 89 across 199 passports.

Regional and Global Power Players

Within the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), the UAE recorded the best rise in the third quarter of 2021, up four places to rank first. Among the other GCC states, Qatar ranked #47, Kuwait #50, Bahrain #52, Saudi Arabia #55, and Oman ranked #56 on the power index.

Globally, New Zealand follows the UAE with a mobility score of 146 (with visa-free access to 98 countries and visa-on-arrival access to 48 countries). Following it are Germany, Finland, Austria, Luxembourg, Spain, Italy, Switzerland, South Korea, and Australia, all with a mobility score of 144.

The US ranks #5 with a mobility score of 142. Interestingly, Brunei saw the steepest rise, jumping 94 spots to rank #22.

Passport Power Rankings 2021

In July this year, the UAE passport stood third strongest globally. It provided visa-free access to 86 countries and visa-on-arrival entry into 48 countries. The mobility score stood at 134. That has since improved further. Dubai is now hosting Expo 2020, the world’s largest in-person event since the beginning of the pandemic.

“The world is thankfully opening up once more and [is] on an encouragingly positive trajectory,” said Armand Arton, President of Arton Capital. “We do note, however, that we are still only back to mobility levels first achieved six years ago, so the aftermath of the global shutdown is still very much in play,” he added.

Perhaps not surprisingly, Afghanistan was the weakest passport in the world. It had a mobility score of just 32 (visa-free access to four countries and visa-on-arrival for another 28).

“In addition to pandemic-related restrictions, geopolitical events of the last three months have also seen the extraordinary circumstances create travel, mobility and migration issues to and from Afghanistan – although the Afghan passport, prior to recent events, was already ranked lowest on the mobility score. While clearly a difficult time for many concerned, times of crisis can often put the issue of global mobility firmly into the spotlight,” Arton added.

Iraq (mobility score: 33), Syria (34), and Pakistan and Somalia (37 each) are among the world’s weakest five passports.

How The UAE’s Passport Became The Strongest

In the debut rankings in 2006, the UAE passport ranked 62nd with a visa-free plus visa-on-arrival score of 35. In 2009, the Emirati passport ranked #61. The UAE’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation (MoFAIC) had earlier launched the UAE Passport Force initiative. The intent was to have the passport among the world’s top five by 2021.

In 2015, the UAE became the first Arab nation whose citizens were allowed a visa waiver to 26 Schengen countries. The UAE added 111 visa-waivers in 10 years. Its passport ranked as the world’s strongest for the first time in December 2018. The ranking stood strong through 2019.

The passport ranking slipped in 2020. However, the UAE passport is now back at the top of the power list, with easy access to 90 per cent of the world.

This year, the UAE approved amendments to its citizenship law. It permitted investors, professionals, individuals with a special talent, and their families, to acquire conditional citizenship. The citizenship rights permit establishing and owning commercial properties and entities.

The ease of travelling makes it possible for Emiratis to travel freely for tourism. A strong passport results in economic, developmental, and even humanitarian benefits by facilitating trade and economic investments.

UAE leaders believe that the strength of the passport represents the identity of the citizen. It is an important factor affecting its access to global opportunities, ease of movement, and quality of life.

How is the Passport Power Calculated

To arrive at ranks, the Passport Power Index considers 193 United Nations (UN) members. It also considers six territories: Taiwan, Macao, Hong Kong, Kosovo, Palestinian Territory and the Vatican. A three-step method is used to arrive at the rankings.