Bahrain ranks up world's most powerful passports index

Manama : The Bahraini passport has notched up five places in the world according to the Visa Restrictions Index.

It now ranks 65^th globally according to an annual study.

The ranking by Henley & Partners, a citizenship and planning firm, takes into account how many countries can be visited without applying for a visa.

Bahraini passport holders can travel to 73 countries, out of a possible 218.

Meanwhile German citizens possess the world's most powerful passport, with Britain and the US falling just short of the top spot. 

German passport holders can travel to 177 while Britons can visit 175 and US citizens 174.

The world's least powerful passport belongs to citizens of Afghanistan, who can visit just 25 countries without a visa. 

"Generally, there was significant movement across the board with only 21 of the 199 countries listed remaining in the same rank," said Henley & Partners. "No country, however, dropped more than three positions, indicating that overall, visa-free access is improving around the world.

The UK topped the 2015 rankings, alongside Germany, but ceded the top spot after several countries relaxed visa restrictions to the latter. It was also leapfrogged by Sweden and now shares third place with France, Italy, Spain and Finland.

Belgium, Denmark and the Netherlands share fourth spot with the US. 

NOB had reported earlier that the Bahrain passport was ranked fourth among GCC countries in the same index.

The UAE rose by two spots to 38, with visa-free access to 122 countries. In 2015, UAE signed an agreement with the EU, which gave the country visa-free travel to 36 countries - including the 26 Schengen countries, making the UAE the first Arab country to be granted a European visa waiver.

In the GCC, all member countries saw increases this year by at least five spots. Kuwait (57) and Qatar (60) both increased by six places, with visa-free access to 82 and 79 countries respectively. Bahrain (65), Oman (67) and Saudi Arabia (69) followed closely behind, with visa-free access to 73, 71 and 69 countries respectively.

The index, along with the unique cumulative data from the last 11 years, provides a global ranking of countries based on the freedom of travel for their citizens.