By Jackline Mgeni
According to research conducted by Henley site 2021, the Tanzanian passport grants a holder access to 72 countries globally without the requirement of paying for a visa.
The Henley Passport Index is the original, authoritative ranking of all the world’s passports according to the number of destinations their holders can access without a prior visa. The index is based on exclusive data from the International Air Transport Association (IATA).
On the list, Tanzania is tied with Kenya on the 77 slot, with both countries having a national passport which allows a holder to gain access to 72 countries without a visa on entry.
If you’re unfamiliar with the term “passport,” here’s a definition for you: A passport is an official document issued by the government certifying the holder’s identity and citizenship and enticing them to travel under its protection to and from foreign countries.
As anyone who has traveled knows, not all passports are the same when it comes to the ease with which you can travel the world.
Every country has its unique passports but some are more powerful than others.
The strength of a passport is determined by the degree of travel freedom it provides its citizens to travel around the world without visas, with the strongest allowing its holder to visit more countries and the weakest giving its citizen lesser travel options.
As of 2021 Japan and Singapore have the most powerful passport in the world, giving its citizen the freedom to travel to almost all the countries on earth without visas or visa upon arrival.
On the other, the Afghan passport wields the least power, with just 26 destinations possible visa-free.
The big question is why? What makes passports more valuable than others?
But first, let’s define visa-free and visa-upon-arrival.
Visa-free as the name suggests, simply means passport holders are granted access to their destination countries without having to apply for and present a visa upon entry meanwhile visas on arrival require travelers to present themselves to a visa or immigration desk upon their arrival.
Four main factors determine the strength of a passport.
There are the levels of development, diplomatic treaties, economic and political stability, and the number of visitors.
DEVELOPMENT; The strength of a country’s passport is usually determined by its level of development. Most people associate a developed country with buildings and beautiful roads; while these are important, development is not limited to buildings.
The Human Development Index determines developed countries.
The Human Development Index measures a country’s human development by looking at areas such as healthcare, education, the standard of living, and life expectancy.
DIPLOMATIC TREATIES AND RELATIONS; Much like in business, whom you know is more important than what you know in the world of passports. Many countries around the world have treaties and agreements in place that allow citizens of those countries to freely travel between signatories.
TRADE LINKS; If a country wishes to conduct business with others around the world, it must be willing to open its borders to other foreign citizens. After all, it is impossible to arrange a meeting or broker deals if each visit requires a month-long visa application process.
Economic and Political Stability: Essentially, many countries are willing to grant easier entry to passport holders from economically strong countries believing that those travelers contribute to and stimulate the economy in some way while in the country, whether through business or tourism.
The global economic standing of a country also allows its passport holders greater visa-free access to the rest of the world because citizens of those countries are thought to be less likely to violate travel conditions by refusing to go back to their homes, and this is where political stability comes into play.
Instability at home can impact citizens’ freedom to travel, as seen in Afghanistan, Iraq, Somalia, and Syria.
NUMBER OF VISITORS: The number of visitors that can enter a country is another important factor that determines the strength of a passport. Some of the most visited countries have some of the strongest passports. Countries such as the UAE, SINGAPORE, SEYCHELLES, and MAURITIUS are small countries, but because they receive a large number of visitors each year, they tend to allow their citizens to travel freely to many other countries.
For the country to improve the strength of its passport, it should improve on the points explained above.
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