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Passport Index 2016

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Re: Passport Index 2016

#201

Post by StavrosK »

nstj wrote: post #162
tuna-piano wrote: post #34

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I've often thought of the dollar value of my US passport (/citizenship). It would definitely be my most valuable asset (then again, taxes are by far my biggest expense). Besides almost unrestricted travel - my income is far higher in the US than it would be in any other country I've looked at. It's easy to forget how lucky those of us in the developed world are and how so many try so hard to gain status here. Good lu…

Warren Buffett describes being born in the USA as having won "the ovarian lottery" which sounds about right, as you've described it. [0]: http://www.businessinsider.com/warren-buffett-on-the-ovarian...

Isn't that what most people think about their country? I think it's choice-supportive bias. I could be living in the US, but I think Greece is a better country, and I'm sure you think the opposite.

Re: Passport Index 2016

#202

Post by henrikschroder »

honkhonkpants wrote: post #145

Let's comment on the visual design of passports. These are all basically the same, except two that stand out: Switzerland, and The Vatican. The latter is very typically Swiss, with an attractive, simple, and modern design. The former is sinister and mysterious, but also quite distinctive. Honorable mention to Brazil and Bosnia for having passports without a coat of arms type of thing on the front.

Check out the Maldives with the embossed dolphins on the front!

Personally, I love the coat of arms, it's such an anachronistic thing that's actually still a thing!

Re: Passport Index 2016

#203

Post by morgante »

chaostheory wrote: post #51
jahnu wrote: post #46

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I can imagine. When I was in Uzbekistan I met a local man who had studied in the UK and he explained to me how hard it was to travel. I was amazed you needed exit visas for your own country. I thought that stuff died long ago (with the exception of North Korea or so).

Many countries in the Middle East still require exit visas. Dubai (UAE) is one of them

No, it's not.

For citizens and expats it's ridiculously painless to enter/exit the UAE. Even as an American citizen with Global Entry, it's far easier to go in and out of the UAE than it is to enter/exit the USA.

I assume you're referring to the controversial Kafala system which chiefly harms migrant workers. It does not, in fact, require that anyone receive an exit visa.

The issue is primarily one of employers confiscating passports, not the government requiring you to obtain an exit visa. Fortunately, even in the four years I lived there the situation improved with more employees getting to hold on to their passports.

If you want to talk about repressive policies, you're much better off talking about Saudi Arabia which does require exit permits and has a far worse record on human rights (for both citizens and migrant workers).

Re: Passport Index 2016

#204

Post by morgante »

honkhonkpants wrote: post #145

Let's comment on the visual design of passports. These are all basically the same, except two that stand out: Switzerland, and The Vatican. The latter is very typically Swiss, with an attractive, simple, and modern design. The former is sinister and mysterious, but also quite distinctive. Honorable mention to Brazil and Bosnia for having passports without a coat of arms type of thing on the front.

I was always a fan of the the New Zealand passport. I think the edge design is rather distinctive/attractive.

> Honorable mention to Brazil and Bosnia for having passports without a coat of arms type of thing on the front.

I'm not sure what Bosnian passport you saw, but my friend's definitely has a coat of arms (shield) on it.

Re: Passport Index 2016

#205

Post by morgante »

invaliduser wrote: post #16
schlowmo wrote: post #9

Earlier quoted context omitted.

While you find reciprocity in many visa-agreements, it's not mandatory. If you look at the example from the parent comment: Germans can enter Vietnam visa-free, while Vietnamese can't enter Germany visa-free. You find those one-sided visa-free agreements especially for many African countries.

You are right. I suppose there are many parameters, for instance countries trying to live from tourism are probably more likely to accept visa-free travellers from wealthy countries even without reciprocity.

Just look at some of the countries at the top of the index and you'll realize that reciprocity is far from the deciding factor.

Americans can go to many countries (even ones without a large tourism economy) despite being rather stingy with letting others in.

Far more important is assessing the likelihood that someone will try to permanently stay/work on a tourist visa.

Re: Passport Index 2016

#206

Post by morgante »

It would be nice for this ranking to be expanded to include employment/work access beyond tourist visits.

I'm working on acquiring an Italian passport not because it will allow me to enter more countries without a visa (an American passport is fine for that) but because it allows long-term working/residence in EU countries. Unfortunately, this ranking doesn't capture that dynamic.

Re: Passport Index 2016

#207

Post by morgante »

StavrosK wrote: post #201
nstj wrote: post #162

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Warren Buffett describes being born in the USA as having won "the ovarian lottery" which sounds about right, as you've described it. [0]: http://www.businessinsider.com/warren-buffett-on-the-ovarian...

Isn't that what most people think about their country? I think it's choice-supportive bias. I could be living in the US, but I think Greece is a better country, and I'm sure you think the opposite.

No, I think it can be objectively evaluated.

I was born as an American citizen, but would probably prefer to be German (social benefits, EU access, etc.) or Emirati (a fantastic gravy train).

Re: Passport Index 2016

#208

Post by inflagranti »

jmtulloss wrote: post #183
asamy45 wrote: post #177

Earlier quoted context omitted.

No. Finland speaks Finnish and Swedish, and they lie within the Nordic region.

Well that doesn't really exclude them since Swedes and Norwegians are Germanic. After more research it seems that Finns are a distinct ethnic group though their origins are somewhat uncertain https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Finn In any case, it's all pretty irrelevant to the site.

Definitely Finish as a language is completely unrelated to any Germanic language.

Re: Passport Index 2016

#209

Post by germanier »

verst wrote: post #200
djsumdog wrote: post #174

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The Netherlands doesn't allow for dual citizenship, so you'll have to give up one of your other two :(. But if you're an NL resident, there are plenty of other EU nations that do allow multi-citizenship. Also, there are not "first world" or "third world" countries. Those terms are throwbacks to an era where everything was separated out by communists vs capitalist states. The correct terms today are high income, mid-i…

Germany doesn't allow dual citizenship either, unless you acquire dual citizenship at birth (perhaps you were born in the US but your mother is German). In all other cases one either loses their German citizenship (or surrenders their foreign citizenship) immediately upon acquiring the other citizenship. If you are under 18, you get to wait until you turn 18 to make your choice (in some cases until 23). After some re…

The idea behind this application is basically to show strong ties to Germany (often including significant savings or investments) and that you are not just keeping the citizenship for the safety net.

Additionally to what you said, you can stay German citizen without any approval if you acquire an EU or Swiss citizenship.

Re: Passport Index 2016

#210

Post by pandler »

sanswork wrote: post #197
xxxxxxxx wrote: post #196

Australia is such an unwelcoming country it's embarrassing. I suspect it's island mentality. At the airport we treat all arriving passengers as criminals - guilty of some terrible crime until cleared with a fully cavity search. To all our visitors - past, present and future - I apologise for our stupid bureaucracy and politicians. Once you get out of the airport things do get a little better.

Honestly most countries are like this if you have to speak with customs. The US has been my worst experience and I use to cross into it frequently. At least with epassports these days I generally don't even have to talk to anyone when I arrive in Sydney except the guy that checks if you need to have the dogs sniff your bags.

> I generally don't even have to talk to anyone when I arrive in Sydney

I always have to speak to a customs agent when traveling to Australia. My passport and all alternate photo ids are pre-big-bushy-beard, which throws the facial recognition kiosks for a loop. I made the mistake of trying to joke about it to the customs agent one time, and I remember her raising her eyebrows at me and calling over a supervisor.

The grandparent's comment is pretty descriptive of my experience at the Australian border.

> At the airport we treat all arriving passengers as criminals

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