UAE passport is world’s third most powerful

dubai — The UAE passport on Thursday jumped another spot to become the third most powerful passport in the world. It was only late last month that the passport had climbed to the fourth spot.

The UAE travel document now has a visa-free score of 163. Of these, UAE passport holders can enter 113 countries visa-free, while 50 countries will welcome them with a visa on arrival. Emiratis still need visas to enter 35 countries on the globe. According to ranking by Passport Index, the UAE passport now shares its berth with passports from Belgium, Austria, Japan, Greece, Portugal, Switzerland, the UK, Ireland and Canada.

On top of the list with a visa-free score of 165 are Singapore and Germany, while 11 countries share the second spot. “The UAE’s positive diplomacy, focus and determination helped boost its passport power,” the Passport Index said in its blog titled ‘UAE to Become The World’s Most Powerful Passport?’.

“More and more countries are placing an importance on the power of their passports, and how freely their citizens can travel across the globe,” said Armand Arton, president of Arton Capital, the inventors of Passport Index.