Germany is first with 177 visa-free entries available, while Chile is the top-ranking Latin American nation, coming in at 16th with access to 161 nations. Argentina and Brazil fall right behind their Souther Cone peer, tied for 18th with access to 158 countries apiece.

Despite Colombians continuing to have relatively limited access, they have seen significant improvement over the past half-decade. Five years ago, in the Canadian citizenship and residence advisory firm’s 2013 ranking, Colombia placed 65th overall.

Since then, Colombians have gained visa-free access to the 26 “Schengen” area countries of Europe, including Spain, Germany, France, and Italy. And it has continued to add more destinations since then, improving from 103 in 2016 to 112 now.

Countries Offering Visa-Free Travel
to Colombians by Year

2012: 59
2013: 63
2014: 66
2015: 66
2016: 103
2017: 109
2018: 112

Source: Presidencia de la República

Nevertheless, Colombian passport holders, who still suffer from the stigma of the nation’s reputation for drug-trafficking, continue to have less access than most other Latin American nations. Among those who have greater travel freedom are citizens of Mexico (144 countries), Uruguay (139), Costa Rica (136), Venezuela (130), Paraguay (130), Panama (129), Honduras (123), Guatemala (123), El Salvador (121), Peru (120), and Nicaragua (114).

Among South American countries in the region included in the index, only Ecuador (88) and Bolivia (77) rank below Colombia. The bulk of the nations in the Caribbean also rank higher than Colombia, with Cuba, Haiti, the Dominican Republic being notable exceptions.

There were also some impressive movers in the region, with St. Kitts and Nevis rising to 28th overall in the global rankings in part due to it being one of the Caribbean countries offering “citizenship-by-investment programs” that have “performed well on this year’s index,” according to Henley & Partners.

St. Kitts and Nevis added three additional visa-free destinations last year to improve by two spots in the rankings this year and place fourth in the region. St. Lucia and Grenada also each added three more destinations.

In terms of movement, the Dominican Republic made the most progress, rising by seven spots to come in 73rd overall. Only two Caribbean countries — Trinidad and Tobago as well as Antigua and Barbuda — lost ground in terms of passport power, according to Henley & Partners.

“By and large, countries either improved or maintained their access compared to 2017,” said Christian H. Kalin, group chairman of Henley & Partners. “These findings reflect the fact that, while certain countries are tightening their borders, most are in fact becoming more open, as they seek to tap into the immense economic value that tourism, international commerce, and migration can bring.”

African nations, and some in Asia and the Middle East, have been the exceptions. Of the 27 “biggest fallers since 2008” in terms of losing visa-free travel destinations, 19 have come from Africa. “Only the Seychelles and Mauritius have increased their global rank over the past decade, by 17 and 16 places respectively,” stated the company.

But it is Bangladesh that has fallen the furthest over this period. The Asian nation has dropped by 23 places in the Henley passport rankings since 2008.

In the 2018 index, the three worst-ranking countries in the study are Syria (28), Iraq (27), and Afghanistan (24).

“There is no denying that a global mobility divide exists,” says Kalin. “We are also seeing a growing tendency towards a more isolationist, immigration-hostile policy among traditional migrant-receiving countries such as the U.S., and 2018 will bring further uncertainty, with the UK still in the grip of ongoing Brexit negotiations. Nonetheless, only a small minority of countries on the Henley Passport Index lost visa-free access in 2018.”

(Photo credit: kpgolfpro / Pixabay)

Though the country has remained steady since last year, it still ranks behind most of its peers in Latin America. Chile (17th), Brazil (18th), and Argentina (20th) lead the region, followed by Mexico (26th), Uruguay (28th), Costa Rica (31st), Venezuela (34th), Paraguay (35th), Panama (36th), Honduras (38th), El Salvador (39th), Guatemala (40th), Peru (41st), Nicaragua (46th), Colombia (50th), Ecuador (57th), Bolivia (64th), Cuba (76th), and the Dominican Republic (80th)

Nevertheless, citizens are still reaping the benefits of recent progress. In December 2015, Colombia was granted a visa-waiver by the European Union, giving it access to 26 “Schengen Zone” nations where Colombians previously had long had to pre-apply for a visa before arriving.

Source: Henley & Partners 2017 Visa Restrictions Index

The change was considered a major step forward — both practically and symbolically — for Colombians who have long felt the subject of unfair treatment by foreign security officials due to the nation’s reputation for drug smuggling. President Juan Manuel Santos was proud to announce the change while convening with EU officials to sign the new agreement in December 2015.

“Today’s event is a very important step to recover, in a certain way, our dignity, which we have lost — or at least has been mistreated — with the process of having to request a visa for each country in Europe every time we visited,” said Santos at the time.

In the overall rankings, Germany leads the way with access to visa-free travel to 176 countries. Following close behind are: Sweden, Denmark,  Finland, Italy, Spain, the United States, Austria, Belgium, France, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Singapore, and the United Kingdom.

“In the 2017 ranking, Germany retains its position at the top of the index for the second year running, with visa-free access to 176 countries out of a possible 218,” stated the report. It added that, “the U.K., however, slips down another position again this year to fourth place, having held first place with Germany for three consecutive years from 2013-2015.”

According to statistics from Migración Colombia with ANATO’s analysis applied, 97,851 Colombian nationals departed between December 2015 and February 2016 destined for European countries, compared to 74,357 departures between December 2014 and February 2015.

Paula Cortés Calle, ANATO’s president, states that the elimination of the visa requirement last December constitutes a dynamizer for tourism to “the old continent.”

ANATO President Paula Cortés Calle

“The increment has exceeded our expectations, and the interest of more Colombians in traveling to Europe opens more possibilities for travel agencies to make alliances that permit better packages, more discounts, and more possibilities for the tourist. The elimination of visas can counteract the impact of the strong dollar for Colombians who travel abroad, because they take into account the ease of documentation at the moment they make their trips,” says Cortés.

Cortes added that the links with European countries have been strengthened by the move, and there is interest in growing business and developing even further the number of Colombians traveling to Europe, and from Europe to Colombia.

Not surprisingly, Spain has seen the most visitors from Colombia since the elimination of the visa requirement, with 67,047 travelers; an increase of 26.8% from the previous annual quarter. France is next with 8.137 visitors; an increase of 19.1%. The Netherlands received 7,660 tourists, up 28.8%, Germany received 12% more visitors at 6,535l Italy grew 25% at 4,718, Portugal at 15.9% with 1,135 travelers, and Switzerland, with 991 travelers saw an increase of 38.4%.

Colombian travelers to Europe in 3 months since visa restrictions, December 2015-February 2016: