Despite being the third largest migrant population is the world, the Philippines ranks only 77th as the most travel-friendly passport around the world, according to a London-based global citizenship and residence advisory firm Henley & Partners.
The Henley Passport Index rated 199 passports all over the world based on the data provided exclusively to them by the International Air Transport Association (IATA).
It says a Philippine passport holder can travel to 66 countries or territories without visas prior to flight, 33 of which only required visa upon arrival. These countries are:
Oceania
- Cook Islands
- Marshall Islands
- Niue
- Papua New Guinea
- Tuvalu
- Fiji
- Micronesia
- Palau Islands
- Samoa
- Vanuatu
Middle East
- Armenia
- Israel
- Palestinian Territory
- Iran
Carribean
- Barbados
- Haiti
- St. Vincent and the Grenadines
- Dominica
- St. Lucia
- Trinidad and Tobago
Asia
- Brunei
- Hong Kong
- Kazakhstan
- Laos
- Malaysia
- Mongolia
- Nepal
- Singapore
- Taiwan
- Vietnam
- Cambodia
- Indonesia
- Kyrgystan
- Macao
- Maldives
- Myanmar
- Pakistan
- Sri Lanka
- Tajikistan
- Timor-Leste
Americas
- Bolivia
- Brazil
- Colombia
- Costa Rica
- Nicaragua
- Peru
- Suriname
Africa
- Cape Verde Islands
- Comores Islands
- Cote d’Ivoire
- Gambia
- Guinea-Bissau
- Madagascar
- Malawi
- Mauritania
- Mauritius
- Morocco
- Mozambique
- Rwanda
- Senegal
- Seychelles
- Somalia
- Tanzania
- Togo
- Uganda
The Philippine ranking in Henley Passport Index in 2022 was an improvement to its 2021 ranking which was at 83rd. Its best ranking was in 2007 at the 62nd place.
Despite travel restrictions, Filipinos are the world’s third largest migrant country in the world, with 10 million of its population working or living overseas, according to the 2009 data of the European Union diplomatic service. This represents 10 percent of the country’s population, which means that for every other family with five members, there is one living or working overseas.
The most powerful passports in the world in 2022 are Japan and Singapore whose citizens can travel to 192 destinations without visas. German and South Koreans come next with 190 destinations.
The rest of the less restricted travelers come mostly from Europe: Finland, Italy, Luxembourg, Spain, Austria, Denmark, France, Netherlands, Sweden, Ireland, Portugal, Belgium, Norway, Switzerland, United Kingdom, Czech Republic, Greece, Malta, Poland, Hungary, Lithuania, Slovakia, Estonia, Latvia, and Slovenia.
Other non-European countries with powerful passports are : US, New Zealand (186 destinations), Australia a bit behind with 185 destinations, Citizens from North Korea, Nepal, Palestinian territories, Somalia, Yemen, Pakistan, Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan are the most restricted people around the world, with only 20-30 countries allowing them entry inside their borders without visas.