Editor's Blog

Australia’s good international relations has effectively resulted in the country's passport holders being able to enter 169 countries without a visa, ranking it among the top 10 countries in a survey of the world’s most powerful passports. Perhaps this is the reason why DFAT reports that so many Australian passports go missing each year.

Visa requirements are an interesting but overlooked indicator of international relations. Most countries require non-nationals to get visas before they enter their borders, but the requirements can differ a lot. Countries that are allies often offer each other’s citizens a quick visa on arrival. For countries that are not so friendly, a visitor may have to provide entry and exit information, a letter of invitation, and even list all of the clubs they belonged to in high school — as well as paying a hefty fee.

The Henley & Partners Visa Restrictions Index is a global ranking of countries according to the travel freedom that their citizens enjoy. The index is produced in cooperation with the International Air Transport Association (IATA), which maintains the world’s largest database of travel information, and is published annually

Countries are ranked according to the total number of other countries which they can access visa-free. Germany came out on top with 177 of the 219 destination countries considered in the report allowing German passport holders to walk straight in to their countries.

European countries generally were ranked highly on the index while African nations faced the most restrictions.

The lowest ranked 5 passports for travel on the list are Afghanistan, Pakistan, Iraq, Somalia and Syria.