*Africa tops list of EU visa rejections
*Singapore re-crowned world’s most respected travel document
CHIGOZIE AMADI
Nigeria has emerged as the country with the world’s 92nd most powerful passport, falling from 62nd position in 2006, but rising from 97th position in 2023, according to the Henley Passport Index, 2024.
The Henley Passport Index ranks all the world’s passports according to the number of destinations their holders can access without a prior visa. The index is based on exclusive data from the International Air Transport Association (IATA).
The Henley Passport Index compares the visa-free access of 199 different passports to 227 travel destinations. If no visa is required, then a score with value = 1 is created for that passport. The same applies if one can obtain a Visa On Arrival (VOA), a visitor’s permit, or an electronic travel authority (ETA) when entering the destination.
According to the latest report by the organisation, Nigeria was 62nd in 2006; 64th in 2007; 67th in 2008 and 2009 and 76th in 2010.
Falling to an all-time low of 103rd position in 2021, Nigeria’s ranking on the Henley index picked up steam in 2022, rising to 98th position and then 97th in 2023, before the current 2024 ranking of 92nd most powerful travel document.
Africa also topped the list of the European Union (EU) visa rejections, according to a new research conducted for Henley & Partners, Prof. Mehari Taddele Maru, Adjunct Professor at the School of Transnational Governance at the European University Institute, and Johns Hopkins University in Italy.
The survey compared Schengen visa rejection rates for African applicants to those from other regions.
The results showed that around 3 in 10 or 30 per cent of African Schengen visa applicants were rejected, compared to 1 in 10 applicants worldwide, despite the continent having the lowest number of visa applications per capita.
The report also found evidence that the poorer the African country of origin, the higher the rejection rate for its nationals.
According to Maru’s research published in the Henley Global Mobility Report 2024 July edition, Africa accounted for seven of the top 10 countries globally with the highest Schengen visa rejection rates in 2022.
Algeria was (45.8 per cent), Guinea-Bissau (45.2 per cent), Nigeria (45.1 per cent), Ghana (43.6 per cent), Senegal (41.6 per cent), Guinea (40.6 per cent), and Mali (39.9 per cent).
Nigerians faced almost three times the rejection rate of Turkish applicants (15.5 per cent) and twice that of Iranians (23.7 per cent).
The report said that despite justifications based on apparent security or economic concerns, the European visa system clearly demonstrated a pre-determined bias against African applicants.
“While factors such as per capita income, the incidence of illegal overstays, and the low rate of return and readmission of Africans illegally present in Europe partially explain these higher rejection rates, they do not fully account for the significantly greater restrictions against African Schengen visa applicants, and, for that matter, the passport strength itself.
“It is highly likely that European migration policies, shaped by national identity politics, play a more significant role in these discriminatory restrictions than is officially acknowledged,” Maru stressed.
He added: “Africans face a triple whammy: Lower passport power, higher visa rejection rates, and consequently, limited economic mobility. In short, the poorest individuals face the greatest difficulties when seeking to travel or move to more prosperous countries.
“I would argue that weak economies and discriminatory policies based on identity and culture explain the high rate of rejection for African Schengen visa applicants.”
But overall, Singapore broke away from the group of six countries that shared the top spot on the Henley Passport Index before now, reclaiming its title as the world’s most powerful passport in the latest ranking.
The city-state also set a new record score, with its citizens now enjoying access to 195 travel destinations out of 227 around the world visa-free.
France, Germany, Italy, Japan, and Spain dropped to joint-2nd place, each with visa-free access to 192 destinations, and an unprecedented seven-nation cohort, each with access to 191 destinations without a prior visa — Austria, Finland, Ireland, Luxembourg, Netherlands, South Korea, and Sweden — now sit in 3rd place on the ranking, which is based on exclusive and official data from IATA.
The UK hung onto 4th place along with Belgium, Denmark, New Zealand, Norway, and Switzerland, despite its visa-free destination score falling to 190.
The US on the other hand, continued its now decade-long slide down the index, dropping down to 8th spot, with access to just 186 destinations visa-free.
Former passport powerhouses, the UK and the US jointly held 1st place on the index 10 years ago in 2014.
Afghanistan remained firmly entrenched as the world’s weakest passport, losing access to yet another destination over the past six months, leaving its citizens with access to only 26 countries visa-free — the lowest score ever recorded in history of the 19-year-old index.
