TEHRAN - Iran has moved up from 101st to 99th place with visa-free access to 42 countries around the world, Donya-e-eqtesad reported.

Iran's visa-free access includes visas on arrival to the countries such as Azerbaijan, Qatar, Lebanon, Turkey, Armenia, Georgia, Oman, Syria (Middle East), Sri Lanka, Maldives, and Macau (China), Cambodia, Malaysia, and Nepal.

The latest results, released by the Henley Passport Index, indicate that the gap in travel freedom is now at its largest since the index began in 2006, with Japanese passport holders able to access 167 more destinations than citizens of Afghanistan, who can visit only 26 destinations worldwide without acquiring a visa in advance.

Japan firmly holds onto the number one spot. Holders of a Japanese passport have visa-free access to 193 destinations worldwide. Singapore is still in second place on the list with access to 192 destinations without needing a visa, and South Korea and Germany share third place with 191 visa-free destinations. Italy, Finland, Spain, and Luxembourg share fourth place, with Denmark, Austria, and Sweden sharing the fifth spot.

Based on the index, the weakest passports which require the highest number of visas when traveling around the world are the passports of Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria, Pakistan, Yemen, Somalia, and Palestinian Territory.

The novel coronavirus pandemic has brought travel to a standstill nearly all over the globe, including Iran, causing huge job and revenue losses. However, experts believe the impact of virus infection would be temporary and short-lived for the Islamic Republic, which ranked the third fastest-growing tourism destination in 2019.

Iran is home to one of the world’s oldest continuous major civilizations, embracing settlements dating back to 4000 BC.

AFM