The UAE has the joint third most powerful passport in the world, according to the latest rankings from global outfit The Passport Index.
The country, which dropped to 14th at the end of 2020, is now ranked in joint third place worldwide and tops the Q3 2021 passport power rankings in the GCC, where respective passports witnessed drops across the board.
The Passport Index’s Mobility Score (MS) is based on adding two key figures – the number of countries for which a passport has visa-free entry (VF) and the number it can obtain a visa on arrival (VOA).
The UAE passport currently has access to 86 countries, visa free, and 48 countries with visas obtainable on arrival, for a MS score of 134. It shares third place with Finland, Austria, Italy, Switzerland, Ireland, Japan, South Korea and the US.
In terms of other GCC countries, Bahrain dropped five spots to 45th place, Kuwait (-7/42), Oman (-4/49), Qatar (-6/40), and Saudi Arabia (-5/50).
Israel witnessed the most significant increase in the Middle East, jumping 13 places to a global ranking of 13th partly off the back of the historic signing of the Abraham Accords Peace Agreement with the UAE last year.
New Zealand was ranked top, going into Q3. Overall, the increase in global mobility was up by 6.5 percent, despite the continued Covid-related border closures and movement restrictions.
“It is safe to say that the worst of the Covid-19 pandemic is behind us, as we see more and more countries safely opening up their borders,” said Armand Arton, founder and president of Arton Capital, and creator of The Passport Index.
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