Azerbaijan moved up a spot in the 2019 Passport Index published on Tuesday by the international residence and citizenship planning firm Henley & Partners, which measures the passport power of almost all countries in the world.
The Henley & Partners Passport Index is a ranking of countries that measures the freedom of movement provided to citizens and reflects the number of countries that citizens of a specified country can visit without obtaining a visa. The index has been published since 2006 in collaboration with the International Air Transport Association (IATA).
This year’s report shows that Azerbaijan now ranks 73, up a spot from its standing at 74 last year. Thanks to launching visa-free regulation by some new countries, Azerbaijani citizens are now eligible for a visa waiver to 67 countries.
Holders of an Azerbaijan passport are eligible for visa-free visits to more than 20 countries, including Albania, Belarus, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Columbia, Ecuador, Indonesia, Iran, Malaysia, Qatar, Russia, Turkey and Ukraine. Countries such as Bangladesh, Bolivia, Jordan, Lebanon, Madagascar, Maldives, Nepal, Nicaragua and Uganda, amongst others, issue visas to Azerbaijani citizens upon arrival at the airport.
Russia ranked 47 in this year’s Henley & Partners Passport Index, after the number of visa-free destinations for the citizens of what is the world’s largest country decreased to 118 from 119 due to changes in regulations with Oman. Russian nationals are required to obtain a visa to Oman either at the border checkpoints or from the diplomatic missions abroad.
The Caspian Sea region’s second largest country, Kazakhstan, remained at number 65, with a visa-free score of 76.
Japan, Singapore and South Korea share the top spot in this year’s rankings, having the most powerful passports in the world. Citizens of these countries can visit 189 countries without a visa or with getting a visa upon arrival.
The United States ranks six with a score of 184 countries. Only 30 countries allow citizens of Afghanistan and Iraq to enter without a visa, putting both at the bottom of the 2019 ranking.
Iran's senior military leaders described the drone and missile attack on Israel on April 14 night as “successful".
The number of evacuees from flooded areas in Kazakhstan has reached 97,852 people, including about 32,856 children since March 27.
Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi warned Israel that it would face a "real and extensive" response if it makes any "mistake" following Tehran’s missi...
