New blue British passport rollout to begin in March

The first blue British passports for nearly 30 years will be issued next month, the Home Office has said.

The current burgundy design is being replaced, following the UK's departure from the European Union.

Blue passports were introduced in 1921 and phased out after 1988 when members of the then European Economic Community agreed to harmonise designs.

Home Secretary Priti Patel said the passport will "once again be entwined with our national identity".

Home Secretary Priti Patel holding one of the new blue passports

She said Brexit had given the UK "a unique opportunity to... forge a new path in the world" and enabled a return to "the iconic blue and gold design".

The UK was never formally compelled to change the colour of its passport in the 1980s but did so with other member states.

Securing a change in the design became a rallying point for Brexit supporters, with the government announcing in December 2017 that the blue passport would return.

'Super-strength'

The government estimates that all newly-issued passports will be blue from the summer.

Until then, they will be issued alongside burgundy passports, which will remain valid for travel until they expire.

The UK burgundy passports carried the wording European Union on the cover, although the Passport Office last year began to issue them without such a description as older stocks ran out.

The blue passports will be made by Gemalto, owned by French firm Thales. However, they will be personalised with the holder's details in the UK.

The back cover will carry an embossment featuring the floral emblems of England, Northern Ireland, Scotland, and Wales.

The Home Office said the manufacturing carbon footprint of the passports will be reduced to net zero, through projects such as planting trees.

It added the new passport will carry updated security features, including a "super-strength" polycarbonate data page, containing embedded technologies to keep personal data secure, and involve the "most secure printing and design techniques" to combat identity theft and forgery.

A new blue British passport alongside the current burgundy design

What's in a colour?

According to the Passport Index, 81 countries have blue passports, including Australia, the United States, Canada, India and Hong Kong.

Several Caribbean countries also favour them, including Jamaica, Antigua and Barbuda, Barbados and St Vincent and the Grenadines.

In Europe, people from Iceland, Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina carry blue passports, while it is a popular colour in central and south America - including in Argentina, Brazil, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Uruguay and Venezuela.

Other nations to have blue passports include Israel, Iraq, Syria and North Korea.

(Source: BBC)

Brexit: Will I need a visa to travel to the EU after 2021?

The present right of free movement will be surrendered when the Brexit transition period ends

For British travellers, much is uncertain about how life will be from 2021 onwards.

But UK visitors to the EU will need to get used to more red tape when an online system is introduced, probably in 2022.

These are the key questions and answers.

Will I need a visa to visit the European Union?

Not immediately. Until the end of 2020, everyone is pretending that the UK is still a member of the EU. British passport holders are entitled to travel anywhere in the 27 remaining member states for as long as they like.

UK travel documents will be regarded as full EU passports up to and including the date of expiry or 1 January 2021, whichever comes first. (This applies even if the passport was issued after Britain leaves.)

After Brexit a UK passport will continue to be valid as a British travel document – there is no need to renew.

But at the end of the transition British passports will lose much of their power and become subject to additional constraints – including, in time, the European Travel Information and Authorisation System (Etias). This will require prospective UK visitors to the Schengen area to apply online for permission to enter.

The Schengen area comprises most of the 27 remaining members of the European Union (but not Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Ireland and Romania) plus Iceland, Norway, Switzerland and plucky Liechtenstein.

Is Etias a visa?

Officially, no. Europe says that Etias is “a pre-travel authorisation system for visa-exempt travellers”. It is a similar concept to the US Esta and Canadian eTA, which are not technically visas.

“Its key function is to verify if a third country national meets entry requirements before travelling to the Schengen area.” says the EU.

But as Etias requires visitors to apply in advance, provide lots of personal information, pay money (€7/£6), and be issued with a permit to cross a border, I contend it amounts to a normal person’s understanding of a visa.

When and where must I apply?

There is no need to worry about this aspect of Brexit until 2022. The European Union originally hoped it would be ready by 2021, but that date has slipped.

At the heart of the system will be an Etias app and website – presumably etias.eu, though this URL does not yet route anywhere.

What details will be required?

Personal information including name, address, contact details, passport details and occupation (with your job title and employer, or for students, the name of educational establishment).

There will also be questions about your state of health, particularly any infectious diseases.

You must give details of any serious convictions in the past 20 years.

Next, you must say why you are travelling (holiday, business, visiting family, etc), specify the country you will first arrive in and provide the address of your first night’s stay — which will pose a problem for travellers who like to make plans as they go along.

What happens to the information?

Every application will be checked against EU and relevant Interpol databases, and “a dedicated Etias watch-list”. The system is tuned to pick out individuals suspected of being involved in terrorism, armed robbery, child pornography, fraud, money laundering, cybercrime, people-smuggling, trafficking in endangered animal species, counterfeiting and industrial espionage.

How long will it take for a decision to be made?

The intention is that the vast majority of applications will be approved within a few minutes. But if an application is flagged – ie there is a “hit” with one of the databases – then a decision could take as long as four days.

It may result in a straight rejection of permission, or require the applicant to attend an interview at a consulate of the first country they intend to visit.

In a case of mistaken identity, will I be able to appeal?

Yes. Details of how to appeal will be included with the notice of rejection.

Once I have an Etias, am I guaranteed admission to the Schengen Area?

No. “Mere possession of a travel authorisation does not confer an automatic right of entry”, says the EU. As with the US, travellers can be turned away for any reason.

Does everyone have to pay?

No, those under 18 or over 70 are exempt.

If I am granted entry to the European Union with an Etias, how long can I stay?

The present right of free movement will be surrendered when the Brexit transition period ends.

Instead the 90/180 rule will apply. In any stretch of 180 days (almost six months) you can stay a maximum of 90 days (almost three months).

This will apply in any event from the start of 2021 – it is independent of Etias.

For an example of what it means: if you were to spend the first 90 days of 2021 (January, February and almost all of March) in the Schengen area, you would not be able to return until the very end of June.

Do I need to apply for an Etias every time I travel to Europe? 

No. The permit will be valid for three years, or until the passport runs out. It is not yet clear whether you will need to go online and announce your travel plans before each visit to the European Union.

Will I need an Etias to travel to Ireland?

No. The Common Travel Area involving the UK, Ireland, the Isle of Man and the Channel Islands transcends European Union rules, and in any event Ireland is not in the Schengen Area.

What about people without internet access?

They will be expected to get a friend or family member to make the application for them, in the same way as the US Esta and similar schemes.

Is this all because of Brexit?

No. Work on strengthening the European Union’s external border was already under way before the UK referendum on membership in June 2016. Etias would not be relevant if the UK was still in the EU. But the decision to leave means that British travellers will be classified as “third country” citizens, which triggers extra red tape.

(Source: Independent)

Japan has world's most powerful passport

Country holds top spot for third year in a row

Japan has the most powerful passport in the world, according to a new index.

The country has scored the number one position in the ranking for the third year in a row.

Compiled by residence and citizenship planning company Henley & Partners, the Henley Passport Index ranks all the world’s passports based on data from the International Air Transport Association (Iata) and the firm’s research department.

The Index put Japan at the top of the list thanks to the impressive number of countries it offers access to visa-free or where it’s possible to get a visa on arrival: 191.

Singapore kept its place at number two, with a score of 190, while South Korea dropped to join Germany in third place with 189.

The top five was rounded out by Finland and Italy in fourth place (188) and Denmark, Luxembourg and Spain in fifth (187).

Although the UK and the US remain in the top 10, sharing eighth place with Norway, Greece and Belgium, it’s “a significant decline” from the number one spot they jointly held in 2015.

Dr. Christian H Kaelin, chairman of Henley & Partners, said: “Asian countries’ dominance of the top spots is a clear argument for the benefits of open-door policies and the introduction of mutually beneficial trade agreements. 

“Over the past few years, we have seen the world adapt to mobility as a permanent condition of global life. 

“The latest rankings show that the countries that embrace this reality are thriving, with their citizens enjoying ever-increasing passport power and the array of benefits that come with it.” 

By analysing historical data from the passport index, political science researchers at Syracuse University and the University of Pittsburgh found a strong positive correlation between travel freedom and other kinds of liberties, such as economic, political and individual freedoms. 

“There’s a distinct correlation between visa freedom and investment freedom, for instance,” said scientists Uğur Altundal and Ömer Zarpli. 

“Similar to trade freedom, countries that rank highly in investment freedom generally have stronger passports. 

“European states such as Austria, Malta, and Switzerland clearly show that countries with a business-friendly environment tend to score highly when it comes to passport power. Likewise, by using the Human Freedom Index, we found a strong correlation between personal freedom and travel freedom.” 

At the bottom of the index is Afghanistan, with a score of just 26.

Most powerful passports

1. Japan

2. Singapore

3. Germany 

3. South Korea

4. Finland 

4. Italy

5. Denmark

5. Luxembourg

5. Spain

Least powerful passports

107. Afghanistan

106. Iraq

105. Syria

104. Somalia

104. Pakistan

103. Yemen

(Source: Independent)

Ryanair passenger flies to Spain using her daughter's passport

Susan Rumsby realised the mistake only when she reached her hotel in Seville

A Ryanair passenger flew from Bristol to Seville using her daughter’s passport – and noticed the error only when she reached her hotel.

Susan Rumsby, 55, mistakenly picked up the passport belonging to her daughter, Isobella, who is 22. On 27 July she went through security at Bristol airport, for which only a valid boarding pass is required.

At the departure gate, staff working for Ryanair’s ground handler, Swissport, are supposed to match the name on the boarding pass with the passenger’s passport.

But Ms Rumsby was allowed through and onboard the Boeing 737 for the 977-mile flight to Seville.

Upon arrival, Ms Rumsby went through passport control without Spanish frontier officials noticing the discrepancy.

Only when checking in at her hotel did she see that she had the wrong travel document.

“I was obviously then in a position that I could not travel back home,” she said.

“Ryanair was contacted and my husband suggested he could get my passport to them on the outgoing flight so I could return on the incoming flight but they did not want to know or offer any assistance.”

Her travel agent told her she would need to travel to Malaga, 100 miles away, to obtain an emergency travel document.

But instead her husband, offered to fly to Spain with her own passport.

The only flights available were on easyJet.

“I have contacted my insurance company re my husband’s incurred costs of £642 but because the passport was not lost or stolen I cannot claim,” Ms Rumsby told The Independent.

“Although this is entirely my fault from the start I find it unbelievable and worrying that I managed to travel to Seville on the wrong passport and incorrect boarding pass which must question national security.”

A spokesperson for Swissport said: “We are aware that on Saturday 27 July after passing through airport security screening a passenger was allowed to travel incorrectly on her daughter’s passport.

“A full investigation into how this happened is now underway and Swissport will take all necessary steps once this process is complete.

“All front of house staff are being re-briefed on the full procedure to follow when checking passenger’s documentation.

“We would like to apologise to the passenger and her family for the inconvenience this has caused them.”

In February, a man successfully flew from Prague via Amsterdam to Newcastle with his friend’s passport after inadvertently switching them at the hotel in the Czech capital.

(Source: Independent)

Time-honored passport stamp vanishing in name of digital convenience

As electronic entry procedures usher arriving passengers more quickly through immigration control at airports around the world, one of the casualties of progress is the time-honored passport stamp.

While many travelers welcome the improved efficiency, those who regard passport stamps as souvenirs of their travels are going to miss the memories that an immigration stamp can trigger of the far-off destinations they have visited.

“There is a trend to eliminate the passport stamp to shorten processing times, especially in advanced countries,” a Japanese airport official said.

With air travel growing, airports are looking for ways to prevent congestion, and ditching the tradition is one of the solutions.

In Japan, this has seen the use of biometric identification, including facial recognition, emerge as a way to replace passport stamping to track people entering and leaving the country.

To speed up the immigration process, Hong Kong abolished passport stamps in 2013 and began issuing computer-generated landing slips instead. The slips bear the visitor’s name, arrival date and permitted period of stay.

Tourists show off passport stamps after arriving at Narita airport earlier this month. Many airports around the world are abolishing passport stamps and introducing biometric identification instead to speed up immigration procedures amid growing airport congestion. | KYODO

Eligible passengers arriving at Australia’s major airports have the option of guiding themselves through passport control via a SmartGate that uses the data in “e-passports” and facial recognition technology to perform security checks.

Tokyo businessman Teruo Kawakita of Chuo Ward takes overseas trips every two months. For him, the digitally streamlined border checks are a development to be praised.

“I always arrange my schedule taking into account (the time needed) for immigration control. There is nothing better than a shortened wait,” Kawakita, 35, said.

In 2007, Japan started using automated gates in which both Japanese and foreign people with valid visa qualifications can register their fingerprints and passport details, even on the day of their flight, to pass through arrival and departure procedures more smoothly.

In October, Japan began testing facial recognition gates on residents, with an eye to installing about 140 of them at Narita, Haneda, Chubu, Kansai and Fukuoka airports by the end of March 2019.

Japan is also considering using the system on foreign visitors in the future.

But for travelers who place a nostalgic value on passport stamps, automated gates are no substitute for a visual reminder of a far-off destination visited. And stamps do just that, with the designs varying from country to country.

Those using the automated gates can ask to have their passports stamped by an official after they clear the gate, and many of them do.

Sachiko Noro, 51, a company employee from Tsugaru in Aomori Prefecture who returned from a trip to the United States earlier this month, said nothing beats the human touch.

“When I look back over the stamps, I am filled with the feeling that I actually traveled to those countries,” he said. “It may be a trend of the times, but I am sad to see them go.”

(Source: JT)

The benefits of a lousy passport

Having to choose from a limited number of holiday destinations can be strangely liberating, writes Leo Mirani in The Economist 1843. Read on: 

“What are you doing here?” is a question I got used to hearing pretty quickly in Kiev. It’s not that people were unhappy to see me – quite the opposite. But nobody in Ukraine could figure out why I was spending my summer vacation in a country that is the second poorest in Europe (after Moldova), at war (with Russia), and expensive to get to (a planned Ryanair route never took off). Perhaps, they ventured, I had an interest in Communist history and post-Soviet countries? Or maybe (nudge, nudge, wink, wink) because Ukrainian girls are very pretty?

The real reason is deeply unsexy. I went to Ukraine because Ukraine would have me. I hold an Indian passport – ranked 159th out of 199 countries on a list of the world’s most powerful passports measured by ease of travel. In April the Ukrainian ministry of foreign affairs announced that it would grant visas on arrival to citizens of nearly three dozen countries. Earlier this year, the president of neighbouring Belarus decreed visa-free access for citizens of 80 countries. Both lists included India. So I went.

The top five slots in the ranking of powerful passports are shared by 22 countries, two thirds of which are within the European Union. EU citizens can go to more than 150 countries visa-free or get a visa on arrival. People from Canada, Japan, Singapore and America have similar privileges. At the other end of the scale are Afghanistan, Iraq, Pakistan, Syria, Somalia and Yemen, which occupy the bottom five ranks. Each one of those passports grants its holder access to, at most, 35 countries. The Indian passport is more useful, but not by much. It gives me easy access to a paltry 51 countries. The rest, including North America and all European countries, require a visa.

On the plus side, this means Indian passports tend to be full of stamps and stickers. On the minus side, getting a visa is hard. It requires lots of money in the bank, pre-booked flights and hotels, the disclosure of tax returns and payslips, proof of intent to return home, hefty fees and ritual humiliation. When a visa is rejected, it means losing money on application fees, plane tickets and other bookings as well as having to explain yourself the next time you make a visa application.

If you work in a profession that requires you to travel abroad at short notice, like journalism, having to apply for visas can hold you back. Once, in a previous job, I had to decline a free trip to report on a cocktail-making competition in Athens because I couldn’t get a visa appointment in time.

When I am travelling for leisure, I prefer to avoid the hassle of applying for a visa. I do not choose destinations so much as they choose me. That is why I have gone on holiday twice to Iran. I have ended up in countries where people are surprised and genuinely happy to meet a visitor. In Isfahan, a city in central Iran, a friend and I were stopped by a gang of excited youths as we crossed a bridge – they wanted a picture with us. (Europeans relate similar stories about feeling like mini-celebrities in small-town India.)

In Minsk, complete strangers I emailed agreed to meet for drinks and acquaintances of acquaintances offered to show me around. I’ve gained valuable insights into how societies operate. In Kiev, I spent an afternoon sitting in an ancient flat chatting to a bunch of undergraduates about everything from Ukrainian education standards and the local indie music scene to the situation in Donbas and corruption in the judiciary. I have experienced extraordinary acts of generosity. In Albania a few years ago, a complete stranger drove me halfway across the country after a bus driver decided against plying his route that day.

Letting the world’s bureaucrats choose my destinations has led to enriching, unforgettable holidays. I hope there will be many more to come. Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan have recently started granting e-visas to Indians. Over the past few years south-east Asian countries have liberalised their visa regimes, with the result that Indian and Chinese tourists have started pouring in. In September, Serbia abolished the visa requirement altogether. For the first time, I find myself confronted with a choice of where to spend my money. It is nice to feel wanted.

Singapore passport ranked 'world's most powerful'

The Singapore passport has been ranked the ‘most powerful’ in the world, according to the Global Passport Index released on Wednesday by global advisory firm Arton Capital.

The ranking is based on a ‘visa-free score,’ which tabulates the number of countries a particular passport-holder can travel to without requiring a visa or a visa on arrival.

The Singapore passport topped the list with a visa-free score of 159, narrowly beating the German passport with a score of 158 and the Swedish passport with 157.

The list is usually dominated by European passports, with Germany holding the top position for the last two years.

However, Paraguay's removal of visa requirements for Singapore passport holders propelled it to the top of the list in 2017.

‘For the first time ever, an Asian country has the most powerful passport in the world. It is a testament of Singapore's inclusive diplomatic relations and effective foreign policy,’ said Arton Capital managing director Philippe May.

Other Asian countries that made it into the top 20 include South Korea (157 countries), Japan (156) and Malaysia (154).

Meanwhile, the US passport has taken a tumble in rankings since President Donald Trump took office, following decisions by Turkey and the Central African Republic to revoke visa-free entry for US passport-holders.

(Source: Gulf Times)

This is how the UAE detects fake passports

As the UAE is expecting an influx of visitors in the run up to Expo 2020, immigration officials are tightening their grip on forged and fake passports and travel documents.

The main Document Examination Center at the General Directorate of Residency and Foreigner Affairs (GDRFA) in Dubai is established for travel document forgery detection to keep control of all ports in the emirate. Established five years ago, it has helped detect 718 fake passports, 23 altered passports and 417 impersonation cases from January 2016 to 2017.

Aqil Ahmed Alnajjar, Director of the Document Examination Center, said modern technologies are constantly introduced to adapt to new and innovative methods of forgery.  He noted that Dubai airports currently see about 140,000 passengers coming in and out of the emirate daily, and the number is set to increase the closer the date gets to 2020. "We will see millions of visitors crossing our ports and have to tighten our security. The centre is set to be part of the state security system," said Alnajjar.

He added that there are 19 security features available in the majority of passports worldwide, which determine whether documents are genuine. Among the basic physical evidence include the watermark or coloured fibres on passport pages.

To detect forged passports, about 1,700 trained first-line officers are deployed across the counters of Dubai ports; the number is set to increase. "These officers are strap-ped for time, so we train them to spot signs of impersonation within six seconds, and fake passports within maximum of five minutes," said Alnajjar, noting that officers are constantly trained on new forgery trends that come up.

Through advanced retrochecks - a machine that helps check travel documents that are suspect - introduced to every counter at Dubai airports, first-line officers determine whether a document is genuine. "Most of the cases we see are fake first pages of passports, which are detectable at least 80 per cent of the time to front-line officers," said Alnajjar.
Impersonation is spotted through looking at prominent features of a person such as face structure, ear and eye shape.

When in doubt, the documents are transferred to 18 second-line officers, whose offices lie close to the first-liners. Alnajjar said the centre will be looking to deploy more officers in the coming period.

If physical evidence indicates that the document is fake, the documents are then checked by 50 employees at the main centre, located at Dubai airport's terminal 1.

Alnajjar added that eight remote machines scattered across Dubai airports' three terminals, Al Maktoum International Airport, besides other sea and land ports around Dubai, allow officers to transfer suspect documents to the main centre in a process that takes less than 10 minutes. "It saves time and cost and avoids delays for passengers," he said.

While two-thirds - about 66 per cent - of cases detected are fraud impersonation, the majority of cases witnessed are passengers who fell victim to promises of pursuing a better life. "Many people from developing countries fall victim to forgers who promise them a better life away from the political conflicts in their countries. They sell all they have to get their so-called new passports, which they are unaware are fake," said Alnajjar.

If fake travel documents are caught on arrival to the country, said Alnajjar, the person at fault is deported on the spot, after being blacklisted. If caught on the way out, the centre transfers the forged documents to the police to take further action.

The centre, however, is looking to introduce ways to file reports and transfer them to Dubai courts directly. "We are looking to save time and delays to passengers and the police by introducing a new service through which we can file reports to the court directly without having to go through the police," he said.

The ambition is to make the centre an institute for travel document examination. "Within the next five years, we want to be the point of reference in the region, where we train people on passport checking," said Alnajjar.

Major security features in passports
Majority of passports around the world have 19 security features that determine document accuracy. The most basic 10 are:

> Watermark (a faint design made on paper during manufacture, and visible when held against the light)
> Security thread (found on the corner of passport pages)
> Coloured fibres (small fibres on passports visible to the
naked eye)
> Fluorescent fibres (visible only under ultraviolet rays)
> Fluorescent ink (visible only under ultraviolet rays)
> Microprinting (information printed on passport that cannot be read without magnifiers; diff-icult to be copied)
> Optical Variable Ink (OVI)
> Intaglio printing
> Electrotype watermark
> Guilloche (complicated patterned print difficult to copy)

Number of forged documents detected by GDRFA
January to December 2016
Fake passports: 657
Altered passports: 21
Fraud impersonation cases: 391
Total: 1,069

In the month of January 2017
Fake passports: 61
Altered passports: 1
Fraud impersonation cases: 26
Total: 88

(Source: Khaleej Times)

Hong Kong scraps visa-on-arrival for Indians

Indians will no longer have the visa-on-arrival facility while travelling to Hong Kong and will have to complete a pre-arrival registration.

The move, announced by the Hong Kong government in November last year, comes into effect from Monday.

"The Pre-arrival Registration for Indian Nationals will be implemented on January 23, 2017. The online service for 'Pre-arrival Registration for Indian Nationals' is now opened," the Hong Kong Immigration Department said.

"Indian nationals must apply for and successfully complete pre-arrival registration online before they can visit or transit the HKSAR visa-free (if seeking to enter the HKSAR during transit). Pre-arrival registration is not required for Indian nationals in direct transit by air and not leaving the airport transit area," the statement added. '

A large number of Indians go to Hong Kong -- a special representative zone of China.

Earlier, Indians were allowed to visit Hong Kong visa-free with a stay of up to 14 days.

The move has reportedly been taken in view of the growing number of asylum seekers.

Among the current backlog of 10,675 refugee applicants in the city, Indian nationals lead the pack with 19.7 per cent of all claimants, says South China Morning Post.

About half entered the city illegally, with the other half being overstayers. One third were Indian visitors who were allowed to stay in Hong Kong visa-free for up to 14 days, it says.

(Source: Khaleej Times)

10 most powerful passports in 2017

Arton Capital, the global advisory for residence and citizenship solutions, has updated the Passport Index, the popular global ranking of the world's passports.

The Index ranks national passports by the cross-border access they bring, assigning a "visa-free score" according to the number of countries a passport holder can visit visa-free or with visa on arrival.

Germany takes the lead with a visa-free score of 157. Singapore overtakes South Korea and becomes the highest ranked Asian passport, with a visa free score of 156, coming second. The UAE is the leading GCC country with a score of 122, followed by Kuwait (81), and Qatar with a score of 77.

Lowest-scoring MENA countries are war-thorn Iraq and Syria, while the world's least-desirable passport goes again to Afghanistan, with a score of just 23.  Pakistan (26), Sri Lanka (35), and India (46) highlight the continued lack of access for South Asian passports.

Visitors to passportindex.org can also see changes to the ranking of countries in 2016. Marshall Islands is on top of the winners' list by adding 35 countries to its visa-free score. Palau, Micronesia, follow with 34 additional countries, while Solomon Islands and Tuvalu added 33. Peru is the biggest winner in South America with additional 31 countries.

The newly added World Openness Score (WOS) tracks the progression of freedom of mobility across the globe. The world openness score in 2016 was 17,925. In the first few days of 2017, the score has increased to 17,948. This trend shows opening of borders but will it continue? With the recent backlash against globalisation and ongoing immigration issues, the World Openness Score may be in danger of decline.

The comparison tool also has a newly added Improve function, which demonstrates how the addition of one or more passports to an existing travel document can improve the holder's Global Mobility Score (GMS). For example, a Lebanese citizen has a GMS of 38. However, by adding a passport of Saint Lucia, their Global Mobility Score increases drastically to 123, which would represent the possibility of visa-free travel to over 61% of the countries we examine. For many people, this is priceless.

According to John Hanafin, CEO of Arton Capital, "The desire to improve opportunity and security transcends borders. As such, having a second citizenship has never been more relevant."

In recent years, citizenship by investment has become a US$2B industry, with over 20,000 investors seeking a second residency or citizenship around the globe very year.

New Top 10 Passport Power Ranking:

1. 157 - Germany
2. 156 - Singapore, Sweden
3. 155 - Denmark, Finland, France, Spain, Switzerland, Norway, UK, USA
4. 154 - Italy, Netherlands, Belgium, Austria, Luxembourg, Portugal, Japan
5. 153 - Malaysia, Ireland, Canada, New Zealand
6. 152 - Greece, South Korea, Australia
7. 151 - Czech Republic, Iceland
8. 150 - Hungary
9. 149 - Malta, Poland
10. 148 - Slovenia, Slovakia, Lithuania, Latvia

New Top 10 Individual Passport Power Ranking:

1. Germany
2. Singapore
3. Sweden
4. Denmark
5. Finland
6. France
7. Spain
8. Switzerland
9. Norway
10. United Kingdom

(Source: Khaleej Times)