- Citizens of the Philippines can travel visa-free to only 61 out of 218 countries
- The Philippines ranks 76th out of 199 countries according to the Visa Restrictions Index report
- On top of the list is Germany with 177 visa-free travel; Afghanistan is at the bottom with 25
Travelers from the Philippines can enjoy visa-free access to only 61 countries out of 218 possible destinations according to a London-based immigration and citizenship firm.
In its 2016 Visa Restrictions Index report, the consultancy firm Henley and Partners revealed that Filipinos ranked 76th out of 199 countries surveyed; virtually tying with citizens of the African nation of Cape Verde.
In contrast, the report indicated that Germany currently has the widest visa-free access as its citizens can virtually travel unrestricted to 177 other countries. It is then followed by Sweden whose nationals can travel without major obstacles to 176 countries. Meanwhile, the citizens of Finland, France, Italy, Spain, and the United Kingdom, enjoy visa-free travel to 175 countries.
Japanese and Singaporean passport holders have the widest unrestricted access in all of Asia; ranking in fifth place overall and being allowed to travel freely to 173 countries.
The ranking of the Philippines in 2016 is already a slight improvement as it placed 79th overall with access to only 60 countries in 2015.
However, among Southeast Asian nations, the country still lags behind Singapore, Malaysia, Brunei, Timor-Leste, and Thailand; in terms of visa-free travel for its citizens.
Currently, Filipinos do not need to apply for a visa in order to visit its Southeast Asian neighbors, Hong Kong, Macau, and Papua New Guinea. A number of Central Asian, Latin American, African, and Pacific nations also grant visa-free access to Filipinos.
Since the survey first began in 2006, the Philippines’ best performance in terms of ranking was in 62nd place from 2007 to 2009.
Despite being on the lower half in the Visa Restrictions Index, Filipinos enjoy free access to twice as many countries as those in the bottom of the list.
Citizens of Afghanistan, which ranked the lowest in the survey, can travel without a visa to only 25 countries. Pakistani citizens can enjoy visa-free access to only 29 countries while citizens of Iraq can freely visit only 30 countries.
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