Georgia Ranked 51st in Henley Passport Index

The Henley Passport Index has ranked Georgia in 51st place.

The Henley Passport Index is the original ranking of all the world’s passports according to the number of destinations their holders can access without first getting a visa.

In addition, it is the most authoritative passport index, with historical data spanning 14 years. The index and its contents are based on data provided by the International Air Transport Authority (IATA) and supplemented, enhanced, and updated using extensive in-house research and open-source online data.

The index includes 199 different passports and 227 different travel destinations. Updated in real-time throughout the year, as and when visa-policy changes come into effect, the Henley Passport Index is the most robust and reliable index of its kind.

The Index reads that for each travel destination, if no visa is required for passport holders from a country or territory, then a score with value = 1 is created for that passport. A score with value = 1 is also applied if passport holders can obtain a visa on arrival, a visitor’s permit, or an electronic travel authority (ETA) when entering the destination. These visa-types require no pre-departure government approval, because of the specific visa-waiver programs in place.

Where a visa is required, or where a passport holder has to obtain a government-approved electronic visa (e-Visa) before departure, a score with value = 0 is assigned. A score with value = 0 is also assigned if passport holders need pre-departure government approval for a visa on arrival.

The total score for each passport is equal to the number of destinations for which no visa is required (value = 1), under the conditions defined above.

Georgian citizens have been enjoying visa-free travel to the European Union since March 28, 2017, meaning all Georgians holding biometric passports can enter the Schengen Area for 90 days within any 180-day period for vacation, business, or any other purpose except work.

Georgians are able to travel without visas to the following 22 EU member states: Belgium, Austria, Germany, Denmark, Spain, Estonia, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Greece, France, Slovenia, Slovakia, Hungary, Finland, Sweden, and the Czech Republic.

Georgians can also travel without visas to four non-EU-member states (Iceland, Lichtenstein, Norway and Switzerland) as well as four Schengen candidate countries (Bulgaria, Cyprus, Romania and Croatia).  

In total, Georgians enjoying visa-free/visa-on-arrival access to 114 destinations.

By Thea Morrison