The Republic of China (Taiwan) passport ranks 28th in this year’s Global Passport Power Rank conducted by Canadian financial advisory firm Arton Capital, highlighting local citizens’ high level of global mobility.
The passport power ranking primarily evaluates visa-free and visa-on-arrival privileges. Based on the 2017 ranking, ROC passport holders can visit 119 countries—10 more than in 2016—without having to apply for a visa in advance.
The latest tallies released by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, which also take into account e-visas, indicate that the nation’s passport holders enjoy easy access to a total of 165 countries and territories.
This year, Germany outperforms the 198 surveyed countries and territories to top the list, with its passport holders able to travel to 157 countries without first obtaining a visa. The passports of Singapore and Sweden share second place, providing visa-free or visa-on-arrival access to 156 countries. Denmark, Finland, France, Norway, Spain, Switzerland, the U.K. and the U.S. are tied in third place with visa-free travel to 155 nations.
Among Taiwan’s regional neighbors, Singapore, Japan, South Korea, Hong Kong, Macau and mainland China rank second, fourth, sixth, 18th, 31st and 66th, respectively.
Taiwan currently grants citizens of 48 countries visa-exempt entry for a period of 30 or 90 days, according to the MOFA. The government is also working to streamline the visa application process so as to make it easier for travelers to visit the nation. (KH-E)
Write to Taiwan Today at ttonline@mofa.gov.tw