The UAE has the most powerful passport in the Mena region, which lets Emiratis travel to 113 countries visa-free, a report said, highlighting that it is the first Arab country to be granted a European visa waiver.

The country’s dramatic climb was attributed to a new agreement with the EU for visa-free travel to 36 countries, including the 26 Schengen area states which was made public in May this year, added the 2015 edition of the Visa Restrictions Index published by Henley & Partners, a global leader in residence and citizenship planning.

Marco Gantenbein, managing partner of Henley & Partners in Dubai said: “Although the world is becoming ever more globalized, there remains a huge disparity in levels of travel freedom between countries.”

“Visa requirements define and shape individuals’ ability to travel across borders. They also reflect strongly on each country’s relationships with others, and will take into account diplomatic relationships between the countries, reciprocal visa arrangements, security risks, and the risks of visa and immigration rules violations,” he added.

Over the past year, the UAE has been catapulted into the spotlight as the biggest climber with its dramatic addition of 37 countries and improvement in rank from 55 to 40 in the Visa Restrictions Index. It is also the biggest climber over the ten years of the Index, and one of only 22 to have moved up in the rankings over the last year.

Gantenbein added: “Europe, the US and Canada, as the world’s economic powerhouses, continue to dominate the top 10 as we anticipated.  However, it’s the performance of the UAE which needs to be applauded for the implied improvement of its international relations, which is very much reflected in the improved ranking in the Henley & Partners Index.”

Henley & Partners will also be hosting the 9th Global Residence and Citizenship Conference (GRCC) in the UAE, from November 1 to 3 at Madinat Jumeirah Hotel, Dubai, UAE.

The annual conference will cover key developments in the area of residence and citizenship planning and provide up-to-date information from industry leaders, top-tier international service providers and senior government officials.

“We are very excited to be hosting the annual GRCC in Dubai for the first time. We will also be presenting the ‘H&P Global Citizen’ award, distinguishing an inspirational individual whose achievements have improved the global community.  Dubai’s growing international profile and highly diverse population makes it is a perfect fit for the Conference, and we expect this year’s event to meet with unprecedented success,” Gantenbein said.

Malta, the EU country which runs the world’s most successful citizenship-by-investment program with over EUR1 billion in capital raised since its launch about 18 months ago, also further improved its position and now has the 7th best passport in the world.

Two countries have held their position in the top spot with visa-free access to 173 countries out of a possible 218, Germany and the UK. Finland, Sweden and the US all dropped to 2nd place. – TradeArabia News Service