UAE Passport Power Sees Unprecedented Growth in a Decade

The United Arab Emirates (UAE) has achieved an outstanding milestone in passport power over the past decade, according to a recent report by Globalresidenceindex.com, an immigration research site.

The experts analyzed the development of passports in the last 10 years to identify countries with the most improvement in passport power, and UAE topped the chart. Note that passport power implies the number of countries that give visa-free access to certain passport holders.

Located between developing and developed countries, UAE’s strategic location makes it a business and tourism center. It has also become more accessible during the last 10 years, leading to a boost in mobility for its nationals.

The report highlights a staggering increase in the number of visa-free countries for UAE passport holders. In 2013, only 72 countries granted visa-free entry to UAE nationals. However, in 2023, this number jumped to 178, showing an increase of 106 countries.

Below are the top 10 countries with the highest passport power growth in the last decade:

Rank	Country	Visa-Free Access in 2013	Visa-Free Access in 2023	10 Year Improvement
1.	UAE	72	178	+106
2.	Colombia	63	133	+70
3.	Ukraine	77	144	+67
4.	Moldova	59	120	+61
5.	St. Vincent and the Grenadines	92	151	+59
6.	Dominica	87	144	+57
7.	Grenada	88	145	+57
8.	Peru	80	136	+56
9.	Georgia	60	115	+55
10.	St. Lucia	94	146	+52