Increasing barriers to entry over the past 18 months since the outbreak of Covid-19 pandemic have resulted in the widest global mobility gap, according to the just published edition of the Henley Passport Index. The agency is the pioneer ranking of all the world’s travel documents. According to the new findings, holders of the top-ranking passports especially countries in the global north have enforced some of the most stringent inbound Covid-19-related travel restrictions, while many countries with lower-ranking passports in the global south have relaxed their borders without seeing this openness reciprocated. This, the agency noted, has created an ever-widening gap in travel freedom even for fully vaccinated travellers from countries at the lower end of the passport power ranking, who remain locked out of most of the world. The report indicates that this gap is likely to increase, as pandemic-related restrictions become entrenched and amplify the already significant global mobility divide between advanced and developing economies. For instance, Japan, which shares the top spot on the index with Singapore due to its visa-free/visa-on-arrival score of 192, currently bars almost all foreign nationals from entry. In addition, countries like Germany, which sits alongside South Korea in joint-2nd place with a visa-on-arrival score of 190, currently restricts nearly 100 countries from entry. A toll for the developing countries At the upper end of the index, Rwanda ranked 87 currently has no travel restrictions in place, yet its citizens can access just 61 destinations visa-free. Similarly, Kenya, which ranks 77th, has no travel bans in place, yet its passport holders can access just 72 destinations visa-free. For Egypt, which is ranked 97th at the lower end of a total of 116 countries, there are no travel restrictions in place, yet its citizens can access just 51 destinations around the world without acquiring a visa in advance. “The global north has been enforcing aggressive migration containment strategies for some time now through the rigid application of border controls, undermining the movement of persons in various ways,” commented Mehari Taddele Maru from the United Nations University Institute. According to Maru, Covid-19-associated travel restrictions are new additions to the toolbox of migration containment instruments employed by the global north to curb mobility from the global south. Recent adjustments to the Covid-ban policies of the UK and the US, which share 7th place on the index with a visa-free score of 185, have done little to alter what experts perceive to be growing inequalities when it comes to travel freedom and access, the agency noted, “Nor has their refusal to recognize vaccines administered across Africa, South America, and South Asia.” Chairman of Henley & Partners, Dr Christian Kaelin, insists that ‘if we want to restart the global economy, it is critical that developed nations encourage inward migration flows, as opposed to persisting with their outmoded restrictions and exclusive approach to the rest of the world’. The news comes at a time most developing countries are expanding their air network in an effort to penetrate major international markets. For instance, over the last decade, Rwanda has signed agreements with countries outside the continent to allow visa-free access to countries such as Qatar, Singapore and Indonesia, among others. Despite the pandemic, the country’s visa regime over the last decade shows that Rwanda has significantly adopted a progressive regime to ease access into the country. In January this year, Rwanda became the 75th country to join the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) Public Key Directory (PKD), a move that is expected to drive faster the implementation of the country’s electronic passport project. The latter, also known as the East Africa e-passport was launched in 2019.
