Male’, Maldives — Maldives globally ranked at 62nd place for having the most powerful passport that provides visa-free access to 85 countries in the world.
While Maldives was ranked as 62nd in the Henley Passport Index, the original ranking of all the world’s passports according to the number of destinations their holders can access without a prior visa, the passport of the small island nation has now been declared as the most powerful passport in South Asia as it provides visa-free access to 85 countries in the world.
In Asia, those who have the Maldivian passport can enter Bangladesh, India, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Bhutan and many other countries without a prior visa. However, in Asia, Maldivians are required to provide visa on arrival at Cambodia, Laos, Nepal, Thailand and Timor-Leste.
In the European region, Maldivians can enter only four countries yet. They are Gibraltar, Ireland, Kosovo and the United Kingdom. All of these countries can be entered without a prior visa for anyone that has the Maldivian passport.
Apart from these, the Maldivian passport also allows access to multiple other countries in Africa, Oceania, Caribbean, America and the Middle East as well.
The Maldivian passport was issued on 2016 and since then, it is known as one of the most secure biometric passport in the world as it contains 34 visible and invisible security features and full compliance to the highest security passport standards.
Maldives is the first country in the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) to introduce such a sophisticated bio-metric passport that provides visa-free access to 85 countries in the world.
