The Henley Passport Index for the first quarter of 2022 updated on Tuesday, showed an improvement for Indian passport-holders. Compared to 2021, India’s passport now ranks at 83rd position in the Henley Passport Index, climbing seven places from 90th in 2021. The current rankings show the strength of passports for the first quarter of 2022. India is behind Rwanda and Uganda, and jointly shares the position with the African island nation, Sao Tome and Principe.
Several factors are taken into consideration while ranking the passports. One of them is the number of destinations passport holders can access without a prior visa. Indian passport holders can now visit 60 countries without a prior visa. Some of the countries where Indian passport holders can get Visa On Arrival (VOA) are Cook Islands, Fiji, Samoa, Iran, Armenia, Jordan, Albania, Serbia, Trinidad and Tobago, British Virgin Islands, Bhutan, Nepal, Thailand, Bolivia, Mauritius, and Ethiopia.
Henley Passport Index rankings are based on data provided by the International Air Transport Authority (IATA). The official website also mentions that the global index is supplemented, enhanced, and updated with the help of extensive in-house research and open-source online data. The index includes passports from 199 countries and 227 different travel destinations. Updated quarterly, the Henley Passport Index ranked Japan and Singapore as number one for the first quarter of 2022. The second place on the passport index was acquired by Germany and South Korea. Spain, Finland, Italy, and Luxembourg were given the third position in terms of the most powerful passports. Japanese, Finnish, and Irish passport holders can visit more than 180 destinations without a visa, whereas citizens of Vietnam, Chad, and Egypt can visit only about 50 countries.
Sharing its take on global mobility, Henley and Partners mentioned that the “Great Climate Migration” has already begun. It is predicted that along with the Covid-19 pandemic, climate change will be a “key driver” of mobility in the months and years to come.
