PR92072

LONDON, Oct.5,2021/PRNewswire=KYODO JBN/--

    The latest results and research from the Henley Passport Index

(https://www.henleyglobal.com/passport-index) show how proliferating barriers

to entry over the past 18 months of the pandemic have resulted in the widest

global mobility gap in its 16-year history, with passport holders from top

ranking Japan and Singapore able to travel visa free to 166 more destinations

than Afghan nationals, who sit at the bottom of the index with access to just

26 countries without requiring a visa in advance.

    Based on exclusive data from the International Air Transport Association

(IATA) (https://www.iata.org/), the index, which ranks all of the world's

passports according to the number of destinations their holders can access

without a prior visa, shows that countries in the global north with

high-ranking passports have enforced some of the most stringent inbound

Covid-19-related travel restrictions, while many countries with lower-ranking

passports in the global south have relaxed their borders without seeing this

openness reciprocated. This has created an ever-widening gap in travel freedom

even for fully vaccinated travelers from countries at the lower end of the

passport power ranking who remain locked out of most of the world.

    Unique research and expert analysis commissioned by leading international

residence and citizenship by investment advisory firm Henley & Partners

(https://www.henleyglobal.com/) indicates that this gap is likely to increase,

as pandemic-related restrictions become entrenched and amplify the already

significant global mobility divide between advanced and developing economies.

Japan, which shares top spot on the index with Singapore due to their

visa-free/visa-on-arrival score of 192, currently bars almost all foreign

nationals from entry. Germany, which sits alongside South Korea in joint-2nd

place with a visa-free/visa-on arrival score of 190, currently restricts nearly

100 countries from entry.

    At the lower end of the index, Egypt, ranked 97th, currently has no travel

restrictions in place, yet its citizens can access just 51 destinations around

the world without acquiring a visa in advance. Similarly, Kenya, which ranks

77th, has no travel bans in place, yet its passport holders can access just 72

destinations visa-free.

    Covid an excuse for curbing visitors from global south?

    Commenting in Henley & Partners' Global Mobility Report 2021 Q4, Prof.

Mehari Taddele Maru

(https://www.henleyglobal.com/publications/global-mobility-report/2021-q4) from

the United Nations University Institute says "the global north has been

enforcing aggressive migration containment strategies for some time now through

the rigid application of border controls, undermining the movement of persons

in various ways. Covid-19-associated travel restrictions are new additions to

the toolbox of migration containment instruments employed by the global north

to curb mobility from the global south."

    Recent adjustments to the Covid-ban policies of the UK and the US, which

share 7th place on the index with a visa-free score of 185, have done little to

alter what experts perceive to be growing inequalities when it comes to travel

freedom and access. Nor has their refusal to recognize vaccines administered

across Africa, South America, and South Asia. Although the US has now opened

its borders to all fully vaccinated travelers, the UK's recent revision of its

'red list' still excludes fully vaccinated travelers from countries such as

Argentina, Brazil, India, and South Africa.

    Commenting on these latest developments, Dr. Christian H. Kaelin

(https://chriskalin.com/), Chairman of Henley & Partners

(https://www.henleyglobal.com/) and the inventor of the passport index concept,

insists that "if want to restart the global economy, it is critical that

developed nations encourage inward migration flows, as opposed to persisting

with their outmoded restrictions and exclusive approach to the rest of the

world."

    Read the Full Press Release (https://www.henleyglobal.com/newsroom/press-releases/passport-index-global-mobility-q4)

    Source:Henley & Partners