UAE passport holders only need a visa for 19 countries, which means they can access 91% of the world’s countries without having to apply for a visa before travel.
According to the latest publication by the Passport Index, a global ranking by Montreal-citizenship financial advisory firm based in Arton Capital, the United Arab Emirates has the best passport in the world.
The portal points out that those who have a passport from that country can travel to a large number of countries without a visa, and in many others you can obtain a visa right when you arrive.
“Emirati passport holders can enter 121 countries without a visa and obtain a visa upon arrival in 59 other states,” the post reads. They only need VISA for 19 countries.
Having the number one passport in the world in terms of mobility and the absence of travel restrictions, does not come out of nowhere. It comes from the wealth of the country, and allows the authorities of other countries to consider that, someone who lives in such a rich country and with a stable economy… why would they need a VISA? He is someone who is not going to stay and he is someone who is sure to spend a lot of money inside.
And not only for that.
Emirati passport holders number approximately 1.5 million, according to local media reports. The United Arab Emirates is also regularly named as one of the safest countries in the world, with an extremely low crime rate.
The UAE has benefited from numerous reforms in recent years that have brought many more people to the country to live, including the normalization of relations with Israel and the introduction of a remote worker visa. Its leaders have reopened or improved diplomatic ties and made significant investments and trade deals with several different countries.
Dubai itself was recently ranked by the InterNations networking platform as one of the top five cities in the world for expatriates to live. Allowing easy entry for more nationalities usually means that those countries are reciprocal.
The United Arab Emirates is a small, oil-rich Gulf emirate of around 10 million people.
With the new classification of the Passport Index, it has surpassed countries such as Germany, Sweden, Finland and Luxembourg, thus conforming the ranking of the top five.
For example, holders of a US passport can only travel without a visa to 109 countries, with the possibility of applying for a VISA on arrival, in another 56.
“What sets the UAE passport apart in particular is its ability for holders to enter countries with a visa on arrival,” Armand Arton, president and CEO of Arton Capital, told CNBC.
“While the passport’s power to enter countries visa-free is comparable to its competitors, those with a UAE passport can enter 13 more countries with a visa on arrival than those with a German passport, the second-ranked passport. ”.
The Cuban passport! Where is it?
In the same list, the Cuban passport was in 64th place, tied with Malawi and Armenia. Cubans do not need a VISA for 32 countries; in 46, they can request it on arrival, and they do need a visa to visit another 120 countries.
In the 2021 list (see Cuban passport is NOT among the worst in 2022; in fact, it improved its place ) in the Henley & Partners Index, the Cuban passport was in 82nd place, with “free” access to 65 countries, among those who did not need a VISA to enter, and those who had to apply for it upon arrival. Now, between them they add up to 78 countries.
Spain, a country to which many Cubans are currently aspiring to obtain their citizenship thanks to the Law of Historical Memory and the Law of Democratic Memory, is “tied” along with Germany, Luxembourg, Sweden, Finland, France, Italy, Netherlands, Austria, Switzerland and South Korea.