Nepali passport ranks fifth worst to travel with

Nepal makes it to a list of the worst passport to travel with, according to a study.

Nepal ranks fifth with a scorecard of 37, Sri Lanka sixth, sharing the spot with Kosovo, Sudan and Lebanon with a 38 scorecard in the Henley & Partners Visa Restrictions Index, a global ranking of countries based on the freedom of travel for their citizens.

Afghanistan, which bottomed out as the country with most number of visa restrictions imposed on its passport holders, ranked at 93 with a score of 28, followed by Iraq at a rank of 92 and a score of 31, with and Pakistan and Somalia a mere spot away with a 32 score.

"Pakistan, Somalia, Iraq and Afghanistan remain in the bottom four places of the ranking, which means that citizens of these countries enjoy the least freedom of travel," said Henley & Partners in its statement.

The UAE gained eight rank from the previous year (56th) and is the second best Arab country for affording visa-free travel to its citizens after the 52nd-ranked Kuwait. While Kuwaitis can travel visa-free to 77 countries, Emiratis can do so to 72 countries across the world.

India is ranked 74, and improved its position by six slots since last year's rankings, with Indians allowed to travel visa-free to 52 countries.

Based on the numbers, Afghani nationals can travel visa-free to a mere 28 countries, while Iraqis can visit 31 nations visa-free. Somalia and Pakistan nationals can travel to 32 countries without a visa, stats reveal.

Despite its recent political turmoil, both Libyan and Syrian passport holders fared better than its sub-continent counterparts with a score of 39 and a rank of 87 out of 93 countries listed.

Meanwhile, passing with flying colours as the second best travel passports were Germany, the US, Denmark and Luxembourg, all coming in with a score of 172.

The Henley & Partners Visa Restrictions Index saw Finland, Sweden and the United Kingdom emerge as the world’s most coveted passports, with the least number of restrictions imposed on its holders, with a score of 173, meaning citizens of the three countries can travel to 173 countries without visa restrictions.

Henley & Partners, which handles international residence and citizenship planning, has been publishing the Visa Restrictions Index since 2006, which serves as a global ranking of countries based on the freedom of travel for their citizens.

This global ranking is produced in collaboration with global aviation agency International Air Transport Association (IATA).