How many countries can Pakistanis visit without a visa

Pakistanis have visa-free access to 29 countries, according to an index that measures freedom of movement for different nationalities.

A report published by Henley & Partners Visa Restrictions Index 2016 ranked the Pakistani passport as the second worst in the world for international travel. Pakistan ranks 103 of a total 104 countries and only ranks better than Afghanistan.



PHOTO VIA WALL STREET JOURNAL

Germany came on top in the passport power list. Its citizens can visit 177 countries without a visa. Sweden was in second place with 176 destinations and Finland, France, Italy, Spain and the UK shared third place with 175. The US came in fourth with access to 174 countries without extra travel papers.

Meanwhile, India ranked 85 on the list, as its citizens can visit 52 countries without a visa.

Citizens of Afghanistan hold the least powerful passports allowing them to get into just 25 countries without additional permission.

Henley & Partners said Pakistan and Afghanistan’s travel documents were “the worst passports in the world.”



A country’s score on the index, and the visas its citizens are required to obtain for travel “reflect strongly on each country’s relationships with others,” the report said.

Restrictions, or lack of them, take into account diplomatic relationships between the countries, reciprocal visa arrangements, security risks, and the risks of violations to visa and immigration rules, it added.

Further, Henley & Partners said that it treated e-visas and visas on arrival the same as if no visa were required, so long as obtaining the documents was straightforward — a simple fee and evidence of hotel reservation and return ticket for instance.

If there were more conditions, such as obtaining consular approval or an invitation letter for the application, then the index treated it like a requirement for a standard visa.

This article originally appeared on Wall Street Journal.