Visa-free destinations for Filipino travelers

Romar Fernando

January 12, 2021

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  Photo Credit: CNN

  Even if the global pandemic is not yet over, the hopes of the people to catch a break through traveling to destinations have always been reserved since March 2020.

  Gradually, Filipino travelers are wandering around the country just to unwind and to be with their families. This is inevitable even if local government units require travelers to take up RT-PCR swab test for safety and assurance that tourists are not carriers of the virus.

  Well, travelers during this time of pandemic really have the determination and willingness to see the outside world.

  Even if millions of people were packed with lots of restrictions, the Henley Passport Index this year has released some rays of hope for Filipinos travelers for it reported that the Philippine Passport is the 77th most powerful passport in the world.

  With this global ranking, Filipino travelers can have access to 66 international destinations without visa. Numerous countries offer visa upon arrival and others require an electronic travel authorization.

  

  Filipino passport holders can enter visa-free to 20 destinations in Asia, 19 places in African region, seven places in the Latin American region, six places in the Caribbean, four in the Middle East and 11 places in the Pacific region. The list on the site also showed 160 countries that require Filipino passport holders with visa.

  For three straight years, Japan still holds the title of world’s most powerful passport with visa-free access to 191 destinations in the world. Singapore came in second spot with 190 destinations and South Korea and Germany in third spot with access to 189 destinations.

  The Philippines finished on the some spot as Cape Verde Islands and Dominican Republic. The country fell three places from 2020’s rankings where it was 74th.

  These countries might require travelers to undergo RT-PCR tests and mandatory quarantine because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Recently, some countries ordered travel ban because of the B117 strain that is more contagious than others.

  The Henley Passport Index ranks all the world’s 199 passports according to the number of destinations their holders can access without a prior visa. The annual list was made by London-based research firm Henley & Partners. The ranking is based on exclusive data from the International Air Transport Association, which maintains the world’s largest and most accurate database of travel information.

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