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Henley Passport Index: African countries introduce reciprocal measures to improve SA passport strength

Source: Biz Community, 16/07/2018

The latest Henley Passport Index shows that the South African passport
remains stable in Q3, ranking 50th globally and occupying third place
in the sub-Saharan Africa region - following Seychelles, ranked at 24
and Mauritius at 28 globally. Somalia, Libya, and Eritrea sit at the
bottom of the index in Africa, each only able to access 35 or fewer
destinations visa-free.

The Henly Passport Index is based on data from the International Air
Transport Association (IATA), which maintains the world`s largest and
most accurate database of travel information.

Amanda Smit, director at Henley & Partners South Africa, explains that
South Africa has dropped 18 places since its historical high-point of
35th place on both the 2008 and the 2009 global ranking: `While South
Africa has gained access to a number of new travel destinations since
2009, it is not improving its global access levels as quickly as other
high-performing countries on the index, leading to an overall decline
in its passport power.`

Ryan Cummings, director of Signal Risk, explains this decline as
follows: `Driving the downward spiral since 2009 have been concerns
over the unlawful replication of South African passports documents,
with replication often abetted by corrupt officials within the
Department of Home Affairs (DOHA). These concerns saw visa regulations
being enforced by several countries, including the UK and Colombia.`

There is cause for optimism, however. Cummings says: `The
implementation of widespread reforms at the DOHA since 2014 ï¿½` focused
on improving security features both in the application process and
within the passport document itself ï¿½` is expected to enhance
confidence in the South African passport and may relax visa
restrictions for its holders going forward. Other factors that could
strengthen the South African passport over the short-to-medium-term
include President Cyril Ramaphosaâ€™s intention to ease visa
restrictions for African passport holders so as to induce greater
intra-Africa trade.`

The latter intervention could see other African countries introducing
reciprocal measures for South Africans, thereby improving their
passport strength.
Africa prioritises foreign direct investment

In June, Ethiopia introduced a universal e-visa system for all
travellers entering the country, following in the footsteps of
Zimbabwe, which implemented a similar system in May.

Cummings says that these developments reflect growing efforts on the
part of new African heads of state to strengthen trade partnerships
and stimulate foreign direct investment: `Key to selling the idea of
reform touted by the newly inaugurated administrations of Zimbabweâ€™s
President Emmerson Mnangagwa and Ethiopiaâ€™s Abiy Ahmed is publicly
strengthening their ties to the international community and presenting
their respective governments as adhering to international governance
norms.`

Ethiopia, in particular, is easing entry requirements for foreign
investors and privatising a number of key state-owned enterprises
after years of a strong nationalist agenda.
Global trends

Japan and Singapore share first place on the index, enjoying visa-free
or visa-on-arrival access to 189 destinations. Both countries gained
access to Uzbekistan earlier this year, knocking Germany off the top
spot and kicking the latter into second place for the first time since
2013. 2018 is the first year in the indexâ€™s 13-year history that
either Japan or Singapore has had the most powerful passport in the world.

The rest of the top 20 on the Henley Passport Index remains fairly
stable as the northern hemisphere enters the big summer holiday
season, with no new visa-waivers processed for the UK and the US, who
both remain in fourth place. Nationals of these countries, like
nationals of most EU member states, have not seen any improvement in
their global access since 2017.

South Korea shares third place with six EU member states Sweden,
Finland, Italy, Spain, Denmark, and France. Austria, Luxembourg, the
Netherlands, and Portugal share fourth place with the US and the UK,
while Russia, which opened its borders to World Cup fans this summer,
has not yet gained reciprocal access to any new destinations, but it
nonetheless rose one place to 46th position, benefitting from an
upward climb by the Pacific island nation of Tuvalu, which gained
visa-free access to Taiwan.

The UAE has continued its remarkable performance and gained access to
four new destinations since May, rising to 21st place globally on the
Henley Passport Index and fast approaching the top 20.

Despite gaining access to two new destinations, China has fallen one
place to 69th on the index: improved scores for countries such as
Nauru, Belarus, and Indonesia, which sit directly above China, have
made it difficult for the country to ascend the ranking.
Citizenship-by-investment changes your passport power

Smit says that a passport is much more than a simple travel document:
`It is a gateway to international opportunities or a barrier to those
same opportunities. The Henley Passport Index enables individuals to
assess where they lie on the spectrum of global mobility and helps
governments understand the relative value and power of the passports
they provide.`

Smit stresses that a poor-performing passport need not constrain your
potential: `Far from being something we are powerless to change,
citizenship is much more flexible than many people realize.
Citizenship-by-investment programms allow individuals to drastically
improve the strength of their passport and, in turn, their global access.`

`In participating in these programs individuals are also able to make
an exceptional economic contribution to often smaller nations that
require foreign direct investment in order to support their
populations and remain competitive and sustainable in the long-term.
It is a mutually beneficial exchange, and it is also very much the
direction in which the world is heading, as globalisation becomes an
undeniable feature of modern life,` adds Smit.

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