International Visa Restrictions

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Almost all countries now require visas from certain non-nationals that wish to enter their territory. Visa restrictions are imposed to control the crossing of borders by foreigners.

A visa does not permit entry, however. A visa only indicates that your passport and visa application have been reviewed by a consular officer at an embassy or consulate of the country you wish to enter, and that the officer has determined that you are eligible to enter the country for a specific purpose.

A visa allows you to travel to the destination country as far as the port of entry (airport, sea port or land border crossing) and ask the immigration officer to allow you to enter the country. In most countries only the immigration officer has the authority to permit you to enter. He or she usually also decides how long you can stay for any particular visit.

Visa Requirements

It is important to find out before travelling whether you need a visa to enter your destination or transit country. To check whether you need a visa you can search the IATA database which is publicly available on a number of websites. Click here to go to such a website.

The Henley Visa Restrictions Index

The Henley Visa Restrictions Index is a a global ranking of countries according to travel freedom their citizens enjoy. Henley & Partners has analyzed the visa regulations of all the countries and territories in the world. It has created an index which ranks countries according to the visa-free access its citizens enjoy to other countries. For the first time, a global ranking shows the international travel freedom of the citizens of the various countries as well as the international relations and status of individual countries relative to others.

In today's globalized world, visa restrictions play an important role in controlling the movement of foreign nationals across borders. Almost all countries now require visas from certain non-nationals who wish to enter their territory. Visa requirements are also an expression of the relationships between individual nations, and generally reflect the relations and status of a country within the international community of nations.

The top rank is held by Finland, Denmark and the United States, with a score of 130 each (a score of 130 means that a citizen of, say, Finland, may enter 130 countries and territories without a visa). They are followed by other European nations and Japan. Canada and New Zealand are joint 6 th together with Luxembourg and Austria. Singapore (8 th) ranks before Malaysia, which is ranked 9 th together with Iceland, Greece and Australia. Further down the scale one will find Turkey (46 th), Russia (62 nd, together with the United Arab Emirates), India (71 st ), and China (78 th). Not surprisingly, Iran, Iraq and Afghanistan score lowest, i.e. their citizens have the least travel freedom.

The following is an overview of selected countries out of the Henley Visa Restrictions Index - Global Ranking 2006: