Henley & Partners Visa Restrictions Index

The Henley & Partners Visa Restrictions Index (HVRI)^[1] is a global ranking of countries according to the travel freedom that their citizens enjoy.^[2][3] In collaboration with the International Air Transport Association, and based on official data from their global database, Henley & Partners^[4] has analyzed the visa regulations of all the countries and territories in the world since 2006.^[5]

Definition of the Index

The HVRI consists of a ranking of countries/ territories according to how many other countries/ territories one can travel to visa-free on a particular country/ territory's passport. The ranking is made according to the score each country achieves in terms of numbers of other countries to which visa-free access is possible. The basis of the data consists of all countries and territories covered in the IATA database. Since not all territories issue passports, there are far fewer countries/ territories to be ranked than destination countries/ territories against which queries are made.^[6]

Methodology

To determine the score for each country/ territory, the IATA database is queried in the following way:^[7]

1. Each country/ territory for which the score is to be determined, is checked against every country/ territory for which travel restriction information exists in the IATA database.

2. Each query is made on the following conditions:

• The passport is issued in the country of nationality
• The passport is valid
• The passport holder is a citizen of the country which issued the passport
• The passport holder is an adult
• Entry is sought for a tourism or business visit
• Duration of the stay is at least three days

3. Further conditions include:

• The queries are made only for holders of normal passports, i.e. diplomatic or service passports and other travel documents are disregarded
• Complex requirements regarding passports are disregarded, i.e. as if such requirements do not exist. These may include translations or empty pages
• Requirements by the destination country/ territory regarding a particular length of validity of passports are disregarded
• Countries with restrictions on female travelers are disregarded
• Any health requirements, requirements of sufficient funds or return tickets are disregarded
• Advance passenger information and advance approval to board are not considered to be a visa requirement or travel restriction, neither is the requirement to pay airport tax and these are disregarded

4. If no visa is required for passport holders from a country/ territory for which the score is to be determined to enter the destination under the above conditions, then a score (value = 1) is made for the passport holder's country/ territory

5. After all queries have been made, the total score for each country/ territory is equal to the number of destination countries/ territories for which the outcome is "no visa required" under the conditions defined above

Results

2017 - 2006 Visa Restrictions Index by country or territory
Country or Territory	Number of territories allowing entry without a visa or issuing a visa on arrival
	2017[8]	2016[5]	2015[9]	2014[10]	2013[11]	2012[12]	2011	2010[13]	2009	2008[14]	2007	2006[15]
Germany	176	177	173	174	172	168	172	161		155		129
Sweden	175	176	172	174	173	168	173	163		155		129
Denmark	174	174	171	173	172	169	173	164		157		130
Finland	174	175	172	174	173	168	173	162		156		130
Italy	174	175	171	172	171	166	171	161		154		128
Spain	174	175	170	172	170	165		160		154		127
United States	174	174	172	174	172	166	169	159		155		130
Austria	173	173	169	171	168	163		158		153		125
Belgium	173	174	170	172	171	167	171	160		155		127
France	173	175	171	172	170	167	171	161		152		128
Luxembourg	173	172	171	172	172	166	171	162		154		125
Netherlands	173	174	171	172	171	167	171	161		154		126
Norway	173	172	171	171	170	165		159		153		127
Singapore	173	173	169	170	167	161		155		150		122
United Kingdom	173	175	173	174	173	167	171	166		152		128
Ireland	172	172	169	171	170	165	169	159		156		129
Japan	172	173	171	172	170	165		160		154		128
New Zealand	172	171	170	170	168	165	166	157		150		125
Canada	171	172	170	173	170	163		157		154		125
Greece	171	171	167	169	167	162		153		149		120
Portugal	171	172	170	172	170	165		158		156		123
Switzerland	171	172	169	170	168	162	167	156		149		127
Australia	170	169	168	168	167	163	166	157		151		120
South Korea	170	172	171	172	166	160		151		144		115
Iceland	169	167	164	165	165	159		151		146		120
Czech Republic	168	167	164	162	155	152		142		131		98
Hungary	167	167	163	162	157	153		142		131		101
Malta	167	168	167	166	163	156		146		139		115
Lithuania	166	162	159	157	151	149		140		125		94
Latvia	165	163	160	158	152	149		139		127		91
Liechtenstein	165	164	161	161	159	155		147		140		116
Slovakia	165	165	162	161	155	154		144		130		97
Slovenia	165	164	161	160	155	151		144		139		105
Estonia	164	162	159	157	152	149		140		127		91
Malaysia	164	164	163	166	163	153		151		145		120
Poland	162	161	158	157	153	150		145		132		106
Monaco	160	160	151	150	148	147		138		131		108
Cyprus	158	159	158	157	151	146		142		139		113
Chile	157	155	150	149	141	137		131		127		109
Brazil	156	153	148	146	146	141		130		122		99
Andorra	155	152	150	148	147	140		131		127		99
San Marino	155	156	153	151	149	143		135		134		109
Argentina	154	152	150	150	147	140		132		127		101
Bulgaria	154	153	150	149	141	137		133		116		83
Croatia	153	149	142	138	129	119		116		108		84
Romania	153	153	150	148	141	138		136		115		73
Hong Kong	152	154	152	156	152	147		140		123		110
Brunei	151	151	150	150	146	139		134		129		101
Israel	148	147	145	147	146	141		133		118		104
Barbados	143	141	138	138	137	135		127		89		71
Mexico	142	139	133	133	132	127		120		114		98
Bahamas	141	140	139	138	137	133		124		86		71
Uruguay	138	137	134	133	132	125		118		118		99
Seychelles	137	133	129	129	126	122		113		71		52
Antigua and Barbuda	136	134	133	132	130	126		119		82		63
Saint Kitts and Nevis	136	132	131	132	131	128		121		84		62
Republic of China (Taiwan)	134	137	129	132	130	120		60		59		42
Costa Rica	134	131	127	125	122	117		114		108		95
Vatican	134	134	128	131	130	124		112		N/A		87
Trinidad and Tobago	132	130	126	103	100	98		92		83		66
Mauritius	131	128	124	125	123	120		111		67		52
Venezuela	129	132	129	131	128	123		115		111		92
Paraguay	128	125	123	123	124	119		112		104		82
Macao	127	120	120	122	118	107		99		87		71
Panama	127	127	125	124	121	113		106		100		82
Saint Lucia	127	125	121	98	94	93		89		84		63
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines	127	125	119	94	92	92		88		86		64
Grenada	124	121	117	91	88	87		83		79		60
Honduras	121	119	116	116	114	110		105		100		80
United Arab Emirates	121	122	114	77	72	70		64		52		35
El Salvador	120	115	112	112	113	111		105		98		81
Dominica	119	119	113	91	87	85		80		71		52
Guatemala	119	116	113	114	114	109		105		100		82
Peru	118	86	82	83	80	76		71		62		41
Solomon Islands	116	86	85	87	84	81		78		73		54
Serbia	115	115	110	107	104	99		88		50 1		32 1
Samoa	114	112	109	85	81	79		77		69		49
Vanuatu	113	110	106	82	79	77		74		68		47
Marshall Islands	112	79	77	79	77	72		63		57		36
Nicaragua	112	110	108	110	109	105		101		93		75
Tonga	111	110	80	83	80	75		72		64		46
Macedonia	110	111	107	106	103	97		89		49		31
Tuvalu	110	82	83	85	81	77		75		70		50
Kiribati	109	79	80	82	78	75		73		67		49
Colombia	107	103	66	66	63	59		54		48		32
Montenegro	107	107	104	99	98	94		86		50 1		32 1
Micronesia	106	75	73	75	73	68		60		N/A		33
Russia	106	105	102	100	95	94		83		60	55	35
Palau	105	104	72	74	72	67		59		52		32
Turkey	105	102	102	100	94	95		89		75		52
Bosnia and Herzegovina	103	101	98	95	91	87		53		40		25
Moldova	102	101	95	89	59	58		57		46		29
Albania	98	98	94	91	88	84		49		36		17
South Africa	98	97	95	97	94	93		88		88		65
Belize	95	94	91	93	87	86		82		75		58
Ecuador	83	81	78	78	74	70		65		58		41
Timor-Leste	83	82	49	51	48	44		42		37		21
Ukraine	82	81	79	79	77	76		64		50		32
Guyana	81	82	80	81	78	76		72		69		53
Kuwait	80	82	78	78	77	72		71		56		39
Maldives	80	80	81	84	80	78		73		64		46
Nauru	80	80	79	81	78	75		73		64		44
Fiji	79	81	80	81	78	77		72		66		47
Jamaica	78	78	76	79	77	77		73		67		57
Qatar	78	79	74	75	71	67		66		53		37
Papua New Guinea	76	77	76	78	75	72		70		59		41
Bolivia	75	72	71	74	73	69		62		65		83
Botswana	74	72	72	73	70	70		69		59		48
Suriname	74	74	70	72	72	70		63		57		40
Bahrain	73	73	70	69	69	66		67		53		38
Kazakhstan	71	67	65	66	61	61		54		47		28
Namibia	71	70	70	71	68	67		67		58		41
Thailand	71	71	68	69	68	64		60		52		29
Georgia	69	67	61	62	60	60		56		46		28
Kenya	69	68	70	71	68	67		65		58		46
Oman	69	71	68	66	63	61		61		49		36
Saudi Arabia	68	69	66	65	64	59		57		42		31
Belarus	67	67	62	63	61	59		56		49		32
Lesotho	67	69	69	72	68	67		65		62		51
Malawi	67	67	66	69	67	66		65		60		48
Gambia	66	67	66	70	68	71		68		62		53
Swaziland	66	67	67	70	66	66		64		59		46
Tanzania	65	65	65	66	65	66		61		54		41
Cape Verde	63	61	56	57	57	57		54		47		36
Tunisia	63	65	63	64	63	62		62		55		38
Zambia	63	63	65	67	66	66		64		57		45
Azerbaijan	62	62	58	58	56	57		51		44		28
Philippines	61	61	60	62	58	59		54		50		33
Uganda	61	60	61	64	63	62		59		53		39
Cuba	60	59	59	61	61	56		49		42		27
Ghana	59	64	61	63	61	62		62		55		45
Zimbabwe	59	59	58	61	60	58		59		52		41
Armenia	58	57	52	55	55	52		51		46		27
Benin	58	59	56	58	55	55		54		47		36
Kyrgyzstan	58	58	56	58	56	56		53		44		28
Morocco	58	59	56	55	52	51		51		42		30
Indonesia	57	58	55	56	53	52		46		43		29
Burkina Faso	56	56	52	54	53	54		51		44		35
Dominican Republic	56	54	51	53	52	50		50		43		25
Mongolia	56	56	52	51	51	49		45		39		24
Mozambique	55	51	49	51	49	49		45		37		22
São Tomé and Príncipe	55	54	50	54	50	48		44		37		22
Sierra Leone	55	51	49	65	63	63		65		60		47
Mauritania	54	55	53	55	55	54		52		49		39
Côte d'Ivoire	53	56	54	56	55	54		N/A		47		37
Senegal	53	55	53	57	55	54		51		48		37
Tajikistan	53	53	51	53	50	50		50		44		27
Togo	53	55	51	54	53	53		51		43		35
Uzbekistan	53	52	52	54	52	51		47		41		24
Niger	52	55	51	54	53	52		51		47		37
China	51	50	45	45	44	41	40	38		33		18
Bhutan	51	51	48	51	49	46		44		36		19
Chad	51	49	47	47	46	43		43		37		27
Mali	51	52	50	54	53	54		52		47		38
Rwanda	51	48	47	46	44	43		39		34		23
Gabon	50	49	47	47	47	45		42		35		24
Haiti	50	48	45	49	46	43		42		36		22
Madagascar	50	48	46	49	49	47		44		39		25
Guinea-Bissau	49	51	46	49	48	50		48		42		33
India	49	52	51	52	52	51	53	50		37		25
Turkmenistan	49	49	47	49	46	46		41		38		19
Algeria	48	48	45	46	47	45		48		36		23
Cambodia	48	50	47	50	47	42		39		29		17
Comoros	48	47	44	45	43	41		37		31		20
Egypt	48	49	47	48	47	44		43		34		24
Guinea	48	46	43	54	53	54		52		46		37
Laos	48	47	45	48	46	44		42		33		20
Central African Republic	46	48	44	48	49	47		46		37		28
Equatorial Guinea	46	45	42	43	42	40		37		30		20
Angola	45	45	40	42	40	37		34		31		19
Cameroon	45	45	44	46	44	39		42		37		26
Vietnam	45	47	45	47	45	44		43		33		18
Burundi	44	42	41	42	41	40		37		30		18
Nigeria	44	45	44	49	48	46		51		45		35
Congo	43	44	41	44	44	42		42		36		27
Jordan	43	47	44	45	44	43		39		30		21
Liberia	43	43	37	48	46	46		45		40		31
Myanmar	41	42	40	42	40	37		34		27		15
Democratic Republic of Congo	40	39	37	40	39	38		36		N/A		16
Djibouti	40	44	41	42	40	37		35		28		19
North Korea	40	42	39	42	41	39		36		29		18
Bangladesh	38	39	40	42	41	40		42		39		28
Iran	38	37	37	40	40	37	36	34		25		14
Sri Lanka	38	39	38	39	38	37		43		33		22
Ethiopia	37	37	35	39	41	37		34		29		18
Kosovo	37	38	36	40	38	37		37		N/A		N/A
Lebanon	37	39	37	39	38	35	33	32		27		17
South Sudan	37	38	35	39	39	38	N/A 2	N/A 2	N/A 2	N/A 2	N/A 2	N/A 2
Nepal	36	37	34	37	37	35		38		32		20
Palestine	36	37	34	35	36	32		N/A		N/A		N/A
Sudan	36	37	35	38	38	36		30		26		17
Eritrea	35	37	34	38	36	34		33		29		20
Yemen	35	38	39	43	43	41		38		30		18
Libya	33	36	37	38	39	39		39		32		19
Somalia	30	31	30	32	32	28		31		25		15
Syria	29	32	33	38	39	37		39		30		16
Pakistan	28	29	31	32	32	32		36		25		17
Iraq	27	30	29	31	31	30		27		23		15
Afghanistan	24	25	25	28	28	26	24	26		22		12

Notes

1. ^ As Serbia and Montenegro.
2. ^ As part of Sudan.

2017

Visa Restrictions Index 2017
Rank	Ordinary Passport country or territory	Number of territories allowing entry without a visa or issuing a visa on arrival
1	Germany	176
2	Sweden	175
3	Denmark,  Finland,  Italy,  Spain,  United States	174
4	Austria,  Belgium,  France,  Luxembourg,  Netherlands,  Norway,  Singapore,  United Kingdom	173
5	Ireland,  Japan,  New Zealand	172
6	Canada,  Greece,  Portugal,   Switzerland	171
7	Australia,  South Korea	170
8	Iceland	169
9	Czech Republic	168
10	Hungary,  Malta	167
11	Lithuania	166
12	Latvia,  Liechtenstein,  Slovakia,  Slovenia	165
13	Estonia,  Malaysia	164
14	Poland	162
15	Monaco	160
16	Cyprus	158
17	Chile	157
18	Brazil	156
19	Andorra,  San Marino	155
20	Argentina,  Bulgaria	154
21	Croatia,  Romania	153
22	Hong Kong	152
23	Brunei	151
24	Israel	148
25	Barbados	143
26	Mexico	142
27	Bahamas	141
28	Uruguay	138
29	Seychelles	137
30	Antigua and Barbuda,  Saint Kitts and Nevis	136
31	Republic of China (Taiwan),  Costa Rica,   Vatican	134
32	Trinidad and Tobago	132
33	Mauritius	131
34	Venezuela	129
35	Paraguay	128
36	Macao,  Panama,  Saint Lucia,  Saint Vincent and the Grenadines,	127
37	Grenada	124
38	Honduras  United Arab Emirates,	121
39	El Salvador	120
40	Dominica,  Guatemala	119
41	Peru	118
42	Solomon Islands	116
43	Serbia	115
44	Samoa	114
45	Vanuatu	113
46	Marshall Islands,  Nicaragua	112
47	Tonga	111
48	Macedonia,  Tuvalu	110
49	Kiribati	109
50	Colombia,  Montenegro	107
51	Micronesia,  Russia	106
52	Palau,  Turkey	105
53	Bosnia and Herzegovina	103
54	Moldova	102
55	Albania,  South Africa	98
56	Belize	95
57	Ecuador,  Timor-Leste	83
58	Ukraine	82
59	Guyana	81
60	Kuwait,  Maldives,  Nauru	80
61	Fiji	79
62	Jamaica,  Qatar	78
63	Papua New Guinea	76
64	Bolivia	75
65	Botswana,  Suriname	74
66	Bahrain	73
67	Kazakhstan,  Namibia,  Thailand	71
68	Georgia,  Kenya,  Oman	69
69	Saudi Arabia	68
70	Belarus,  Lesotho,  Malawi	67
71	Gambia,  Swaziland	66
72	Tanzania	65
73	Cape Verde,  Tunisia,  Zambia	63
74	Azerbaijan	62
75	Philippines,  Uganda	61
76	Cuba	60
77	Ghana,  Zimbabwe	59
78	Armenia,  Benin,  Kyrgyzstan,  Morocco	58
79	Indonesia	57
80	Burkina Faso,  Dominican Republic,  Mongolia	56
81	Mozambique,  Sao Tome and Principe,  Sierra Leone	55
82	Mauritania	54
83	Cote d'Ivoire,  Senegal,  Tajikistan,  Togo,  Uzbekistan	53
84	Niger	52
85	China,  Bhutan,  Chad,  Mali,  Rwanda	51
86	Gabon,  Haiti,  Madagascar	50
87	Guinea-Bissau,  India,  Turkmenistan	49
88	Algeria,  Cambodia,  Comoros,  Egypt,  Guinea,  Laos	48
89	Central African Republic,  Equatorial Guinea	46
90	Angola,  Cameroon,  Vietnam	45
91	Burundi,  Nigeria	44
92	Congo,  Jordan,  Liberia	43
93	Myanmar	41
94	Democratic Republic of Congo,  Djibouti,  North Korea	40
95	Bangladesh,  Iran,  Sri Lanka	38
96	Ethiopia,  Kosovo,  Lebanon,  South Sudan	37
97	Nepal,  Palestine,  Sudan	36
98	Eritrea,  Yemen	35
99	Libya	33
100	Somalia	30
101	Syria	29
102	Pakistan	28
103	Iraq	27
104	Afghanistan	24

2016

Germany holds the top spot for 2016, with visa-free access to 177 countries out of a total of 219, while Sweden remained in second place with a ranking of 176.^[5][16] A larger group of countries sit in third place, with Finland, France, Italy, Spain and the United Kingdom all having visa-free access to 175 countries.^[5][17]

Only 21 of the 199 countries listed on the HVRI remained in the same rank. No country dropped more than three positions.^[5] Four countries in particular made huge gains; Tonga rising 16 spots, Palau by 20, Colombia by 25 and Timor Leste, being the highest climber with an increase of 33 ranks.^[5][18]

Somalia, Iraq, Pakistan and Afghanistan hold the bottom four positions on the HVRI, and thus have again been labelled the most-restricted passports in the world.^[5][19]

The number of countries in the ‘Top 10’ remained static in this year’s Index at 28 countries, with Hungary joining the category after one year of being pushed out, and Malaysia dropping to 12th position after three years in the premier group.

2006–2015

European countries are notable for their stability over the past decade, and Belgium, France, Italy, Luxembourg, Spain and Sweden all remain in exactly the same position as 10 years before. The 'Top 10s' are almost identical, with 30 countries in 2015, compared to 26 a decade before. While Liechtenstein dropped, the Czech Republic, Finland, Hungary, Malta, Slovakia and South Korea all made it into the top 10.

Taiwan, Albania, the United Arab Emirates, Bosnia and Serbia all moved up more than 20 places in the Henley & Partners Visa Restrictions Index over the last 10 years, while the biggest drops were experienced by Guinea (−32), Liberia (−33), Sierra Leone (−35) and Bolivia (−37).

References

External links

• The Henley & Partners Visa Restrictions Index 2016