Globally, Seychelles ranks 28th, moving up
one place from the 29th position in 2021. On the African continent, Seychelles
is in first place followed by Mauritius, ranked 31st globally. South Africa is
in third position in Africa and 51st in the world.
According to the Henley Passport Index,
Seychelles' passport holders can travel to 152 countries visa-free.
Topping the global ranking are Japan and
Singapore, which allow their passport holders visa-free travel to 192
destinations. On the other side of the spectrum, in 111th place stands
Afghanistan, where its passport holders can travel to only 26 countries
visa-free.
The index, which includes 199 different
passports and 227 different travel destinations, is based on data from the
International Air Transport Association (IATA) and the Henley & Partners'
research team.
Based in London, Henley and Partners is a
global citizenship and residence advisory firm, which, according to its
website, produces an "original, authoritative ranking of all the world's passports
according to the number of destinations their holders can access without a
prior visa."
New visa waivers under discussion
Visitors from all countries entering
Seychelles, a 115-island archipelago, also have an easy time travelling, as
they do not have to apply for a visa in advance. Travellers are given a
visitor's permit upon arrival.
Since the island state is open to all countries,
it is continually negotiating with other states to obtain visa waivers for its
citizens to travel freely around the world.
Jacques Belle, director general for
protocol, consular and diaspora affairs at Seychelles' foreign affairs
department, confirmed that there are currently ongoing discussions to sign new
visa waivers.
"Being a visa-free destination, we
would like other countries to reciprocate this, so that when Seychellois go to
these countries, they do not have to face certain restrictions.
There are certain countries with which we
can negotiate for them to lift visa restrictions, and this is done with the
signing of a visa waiver. There are a few strategic countries we are working
with," said Belle.
Talking about the recent signing of a contract
between Seychelles and French company IN Groupe for the introduction of a
biometric passport, Belle added that for some countries, it is a requirement to
have a biometric passport to obtain a visa waiver.
He noted that the COVID-19 situation is not
helping when it comes to obtaining visa waivers as it has become more
complicated to travel.
"Despite this, we still need to work
on obtaining a visa waiver as it is to the advantage of the people," said
Belle.
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