Pakistani citizens’ travel plans have been further restricted after the recent release of the global mobility update. The Henley Passport Index‘s just-updated rankings find the Pakistani Passport ranking in 100th place in the world. The downward movement is an aberration from its relative stability in the early months of the year.
In this comprehensive operational brief, the driving forces behind this ranking shift are discussed, a comparison is made on performance parameters and the ultimate list of all 30 International destinations for which Pakistani citizens can travel on a visa-free, visa-on-arrival, or eTA is provided.
Analytical Overview of the Global Mobility Adjustment
The quarterly mobility statistics compiled by Henley & Partners reveal a slight reduction in Pakistan’s cross-border access metrics. In the first quarter, the green passport had been steadily upgraded to rank 98, allowing hassle-free visas into 32 countries. A series of diplomatic and policy changes among the partner states, however, has cut in half that number to 30 locations and now puts the passport at the 100th spot.
The global index thoroughly ranks 199 different passports against destinations across 227 countries around the world. In the current rankings the Pakistani passport is at the tail end of the list of countries around the world, sitting just above those with the war-torn nations of Iraq, Syria and Afghanistan.
The Directorate General of Immigration & Passports (DGIP) also allows citizens to keep an eye on fee structures and booklet renewal timings for the preparation of international travel.
Complete Registry of the 30 Visa-Free Access Destinations
Despite the downward shift in the global hierarchy, Pakistani passport holders retain access to 30 beautiful travel zones without the friction of a pre-departure embassy visa process. These destinations are categorized into three distinct immigration pathways:
1. Completely Visa-Free (No Prior Formalities Required)
Commuters can board a flight with just their valid Pakistani passport and receive an entry stamp directly at these borders:
- Barbados
- Cook Islands
- Dominica
- Haiti
- Micronesia
- Montserrat
- Niue
- St. Vincent and the Grenadines
- Trinidad and Tobago
- The Gambia
- Vanuatu
2. Visa-on-Arrival (Issued upon Landing at Airport Checkpoints)
A formal tourist entry visa is processed and handed over directly at the destination airport terminal, occasionally requiring a baseline processing fee:
- Maldives
- Nepal
- Madagascar
- Cambodia
- Burundi
- Cape Verde Islands
- Comoro Islands
- Djibouti
- Guinea-Bissau
- Palau Islands
- Samoa
- Senegal
- Sierra Leone
- Somalia
- Timor-Leste
- Tuvalu
3. Electronic Travel Authority (Simple Prior Online Authorization)
Before departure, travelers must fill out a basic online registration form to acquire an automatic entry permit:
- Kenya
- Seychelles
- Sri Lanka
Primary Drivers behind the Mobility Decline
Geopolitical experts emphasize that the drop in the Pakistani Passport Ranking is not a direct reflection of domestic economic variations, but rather a consequence of unilateral visa policy adjustments abroad. The collective mobility score of Pakistan has declined due to the more recent updates of open-border policies in a couple of countries, largely in the context of developed countries’ alterations to their open-border policies towards multiple developing countries. Also, long-term international issues such as asylum seeking, illegal documentation and illegal migration remain to be a diplomatic killer for bilateral treaties on visa abolition.
In order to keep track of the active consular negotiations and current activities to further broaden visa on arrival treaties with friendly countries, Pakistani citizens are advised to consult the press statements issued by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA).
Future Outlook for Pakistani Travel Documents
The displacement to 100th reflects systemic issues, but its upward path over the past several years suggests it’s heading more toward the peak period. While the drop to 100th reflects systemic issues, we see the overall trend over the past few years pointing to a rise – more toward the higher sides of the clock period. The mass implementation of BIOMETRIC ePASSPORTs, digitisation of Pakistan’s travel documentation security system by NADRA and tightened exit control at airports steadily restore international faith in the system of travel documents in Pakistan.
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