A Kenyan passport
The Kenyan passport has maintained its strength this year to remain ninth in Africa and 76th globally, with the number of countries a Kenyan with passport can travel to without a Visa, or be required to obtain one on arrival staying at 72.
This is according to the latest Henley Passport Index- which compares visa-free access of the 199 different passports globally, across 227 travel destinations. The index ranks passports with no requirement for visa as being strong, while it weakens as requirements for visa increase.
In Africa, Kenya has been ranked behind eight other countries, mostly in east and south of the continent.
Seychelles remains the top with the strongest passport that can access 153 destinations-ranking 28th globally, followed by Mauritius whose passport can access 146 destinations (33rd globally), then South Africa’s with access to 105 destinations (55th globally), all visa-free.
Botswana, Namibia, Lesotho, Eswatini and Malawi also rank ahead of Kenya in the Henley quarter three index, as was their performance during quarter two.
Kenya tied at position nine in Africa and 76th globally with Tanzania and Zambia, whose passports also have visa-free access to 72 destinations.
Tunisia and Uganda follow ranking 77 and 80 globally.
Worst ranked African countries are Somalia, position 107 globally and last in Africa, and Libya, position 104 globally and second last in Africa. A Somalia passport can only access 35 destinations in the world visa-free, while a Libya one accesses 41 destinations.
Globally, the strongest passports are from Japan, Singapore, South Korea, Germany and Spain in that order.
“If no visa is required, then a score with value = 1 is created for that passport. The same applies if you can obtain a visa on arrival, a visitor’s permit, or an electronic travel authority (ETA) when entering the destination. Where a visa is required, or where a passport holder has to obtain a government-approved electronic visa (e-Visa) before departure, a score with value = 0 is assigned. This also applies if you need pre-departure government approval for a visa on arrival,” the index states.
-The Nation
