These numbers seem to be incorrect, comparing to http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Visa_(document)#Visa_Restrictio...
Passport Index – How much power does your passport have?
41–50 of 116 posts
Re: Passport Index – How much power does your passport have?
#42wasn't this on front of HN like just a week ago?
Re: Passport Index – How much power does your passport have?
#43Is there a way to get any information beyond the magic numbers on that site? e.g. a US passport allows entry to 147 countries, but can I list which ones? Or which ones it doesn't allow access to? Or what the difference is between two passports? Another possible index would be a reverse lookup per-country, showing how many other countries can visit it without a visa. Something like a 'country freedom index' or somesuc…
US State Department Site.
Re: Passport Index – How much power does your passport have?
#44I prefer this web site: http://www.doyouneedvisa.com/
It also gives you information about which passports a country allows:
Where can a US passport take you: http://www.doyouneedvisa.com/passport/United%20States
Citizens of which countries are allowed to enter the US without a visa: http://www.doyouneedvisa.com/border/United%20States
It's also fascinating to see the cultural divides like 'Western world', 'Muslim world', etc based on the passport and border information.
Another interesting thing is where the Israeli passport can take you: http://www.doyouneedvisa.com/passport/israel
The border of India is surprisingly restricted: http://www.doyouneedvisa.com/border/india looks like only citizens of Nepal and Bhutan are allowed without a visa.
Re: Passport Index – How much power does your passport have?
#45Is there a way to get any information beyond the magic numbers on that site? e.g. a US passport allows entry to 147 countries, but can I list which ones? Or which ones it doesn't allow access to? Or what the difference is between two passports? Another possible index would be a reverse lookup per-country, showing how many other countries can visit it without a visa. Something like a 'country freedom index' or somesuc…
This website claims its 168 countries: http://www.doyouneedvisa.com/passport/United%20States
Re: Passport Index – How much power does your passport have?
#46Earlier quoted context omitted.
laws exist to cover for the majority of use cases, not individual, well reasoned exceptions. start with hammurabi and read on, the worl of bureaucracy has a lot more background and sense than you imagine.
I do not approve of collectivism, not even in law and order. When you say "laws exist" who are you to decide why they exist? I for one think they exist (in the current, monopolized form) to control the general population while elites are practically exempt. Prove me wrong and please use logic and evidence, not some theory that justifies bureaucracy.
Who are we, as voters in democratic countries, to decide why they exist? We are to decide, by the very definition of democracy.
The visa requirements are not so much for the elites in rich countries; it's more for the general population - particularly in welfare states, the situation is that you can have open borders, or you can have universal welfare benefits for population, but you cannot have both.
Often it seems that it is actually the political and economical elite that wants to do away with immigration controls (to get cheap labor, for instance).
Re: Passport Index – How much power does your passport have?
#47Earlier quoted context omitted.
visa restrictions into the US and EU exist to protect their own population, as voted and decided upon by their democratic systems. the world is a bit more complicated than your comment implies.
Yes. Many things in the world exist because the majority thinks it's a good idea. Doesn't mean it is. 200 years ago the majority thought slavery was ok. I'm still yet to see anyone who'd convince me why is it that I need to get a permission from a bureaucrat just to see my friend, when my friend doesn't approve of that policy and never voted for anything like that to be instituted. Me not visiting my friend more ofte…
Assuming your friend lives in a democracy, and assuming your friend wants you randomly visiting, then if as you say your friend didn't vote on the immigration laws, tell them to be more active.
Have them write to their politi-critters. Get the law revisited. If enough of your friend's friends also agitate and your neighbors generally agree or at least don't oppose, the law will be revised -- problem solved.
If, on the other hand your friend is in the minority, and you being able to visit without immigration permition is still that important to them, they are welcome to emigrate to somewhere visits without visas are open to you.
Re: Passport Index – How much power does your passport have?
#48Is there a way to get any information beyond the magic numbers on that site? e.g. a US passport allows entry to 147 countries, but can I list which ones? Or which ones it doesn't allow access to? Or what the difference is between two passports? Another possible index would be a reverse lookup per-country, showing how many other countries can visit it without a visa. Something like a 'country freedom index' or somesuc…
As an Irish citizen I was wondering which countries our British counterparts could get to that we couldn't :)
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/7b/Visa_req...
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c2/Visa_req...
compare -metric AE -fuzz 5% Visa_requirements_for_British_citizens.png Visa_requirements_for_Irish_citizens.png comparison.png
Re: Passport Index – How much power does your passport have?
#49Unsurprisingly, the Swiss passport is the one with the most interesting and visually pleasing design.
I personally found looking at the visual design of the passport covers to be much more interesting than the 'power ranking'.
It would be interesting to know what each passport image depicts or represents. I really like Sweden's passport cover. Maybe it's partly because the passport image isn't centred that makes it a bit less stuffy and official.
Others I liked: UK, Malta, Mauritius - all old-fashioned but still quite nice. In fact, all of the passports look old-fashioned with their historic emblems (although El Salvador has an outline of the country, rather than an emblem). The Swiss one is the only one that looks modern in this regard.
Re: Passport Index – How much power does your passport have?
#50I've always thought this kind of comparison wasn't as meaningful as "how many square km of the planet does your passport grant you access to? Countries vary in size too much.
How is that more meaningful, unless you value every square kilometer of Siberia, for instance? Or you could argue that having access to all of the seas without a passport means that the per-km2 value of a passport is actually relatively small? :)
Suppose your passport only granted you access to 4 countries.
Mine gets me to Russia, Canada, the U.S. and China.
Yours gets you to Grenada, Malta, Maldives and Saint Kitts and Nevis (ignoring the EU for a moment).
Which one is "more powerful"? Obviously mine is since I get to enjoy most of the landmass of the Northern Hemisphere while yours gets you access to a handful of minor island nations.