A&B ranks second in OECS on Henley Passport Index

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By Robert A. Emmanuel

Antigua and Barbuda was announced yesterday as being the second-placed in the Eastern Caribbean and 29th globally in the Henley Passport Index of passport power and global mobility.

St. Kitts and Nevis takes the number one spot.

According to a press release by the global citizenship and residence advisory firm, Antigua and Barbuda captured the second spot in the third quarter, with a visa-free/visa-on-arrival score of 147. 

The latest ranking of passport power and global mobility, based on exclusive data from the International Air Transport Association (IATA), saw the country ranking 29th globally—rising 11 places over the past decade— and losing visa-on-arrival access to Djibouti and Benin due to the adoption of an e-visa policy in those territories.

According to Managing Partner of Henley and Partners in Antigua & Barbuda, Gaye Hechme, “The people of Antigua and Barbuda remain confident in the power of the Antiguan and Barbudan passport. Henley and Partners will continue to work closely with the government of Antigua and Barbuda to ensure that the power of our passport continues to experience growth.

“With the recent third quarter ranking, we are assured that Antigua and Barbuda’s passport is highly sought after, which translates to better investment opportunities for our twin island nation.”

The statement added that countries with citizenship-by-investment (CBI) programmes have performed strongly on the Henley Passport Index and showed a connection between passport power and economic and social progress.

Dr. Juerg Steffen, CEO of Henley and Partners, noted that “Citizenship- and residence-by-investment programmes are becoming more sought after, and these latest results make it easy to see why.“

The Henley Passport Index is the original ranking of all the world’s passports according to the number of destinations their holders can access without a prior visa.

The International Air Transport Association (IATA), where the data is sourced, maintained the world’s largest and most accurate database of travel information, and enhanced by extensive, ongoing research by the Henley and Partners Research Department. 

The Henley Passport Index will be updated as visa-policy changes come into effect.

Henley & Partners is the global leader in residence and citizenship planning. Each year, hundreds of wealthy individuals and their advisors rely on our expertise and experience in this area. The firm’s highly qualified professionals work together as one team in over 30 offices worldwide. 

The concept of residence and citizenship planning was created by Henley and Partners in the 1990s.

The firm also runs a leading government advisory practice that has raised more than US $8 billion in foreign direct investment.

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