

No visa required - mfukar
http://www.economist.com/node/16885221

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sivers
Singapore is not shown, but is near the top, (150 countries vs Denmark's 157)
and deserves special mention as the only passport that's visa-free for both US
and China.

<http://www.henleyglobal.com/citizenship/visa-restrictions/>

~~~
garply
As an American in China, you have no idea how many times I've envied the
Singaporeans. China goes out of its way to gouge Americans for visas - a visa
costs about $150 for us, maybe $30 for a Canadian or European.

I'm told visas are about equally expensive for Chinese entering the US
(although the US does a much more thorough background check to ensure the
Chinese person has consistently had a good job with regular income), so I
guess the feeling between the 2 governments is mutual.

The visas for foreigners here are also of relatively low quality - they have a
short duration. And the rules about what a person can obtain are constantly
changing. I've spent so much time, effort, and money dealing with visa issues,
I've really contemplated marrying my Chinese girlfriend. We're not really
ready to get married from a relationship perspective, but we're both
pragmatists and it would save us money and headaches.

~~~
xiaoma
Yeah, tell me about it. I spent a small fortune on my multiple entry L visa in
HK, and it was only good for a month at a time-- not quite enough time to get
my long term residence visa. Worse yet, getting a simple extension while the
paperwork goes through is more expensive than just hopping on a train and
leaving the country only to re-enter it again. What a waste of my time, of
space on the train and of fuel. And for what?

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petercooper
This is a rare occasion - Britain at the top of a chart that's measuring
something good! I suspect the scope and influence of the empire might be what
just pushes us over the top, though I guess that doesn't explain Denmark too
well.

~~~
DrJokepu
I'd also suspect that another reason is that immigration from Britain was
never really an issue anywhere at any point in the history, so there was no
reason to limit travel rights of British persons. After all, it was always a
modern, industrialized country with English-speaking population, and mostly
white (which unfortunately mattered in less enlightened times, not even too
long ago).

~~~
sdurkin
Overpopulation was actually a major problem for Britain for most of its
history, (hence the continent-sized penal colony in Australia.)

It was just that British immigrants had the nasty habit of overthrowing the
government in their new homes.

~~~
mambodog
_It was just that British immigrants had the nasty habit of overthrowing the
government in their new homes._

How many countries did that happen in?

~~~
dctoedt
The U.S. itself. Indirectly, Texas and California. Rhodesia.

Any others?

~~~
Gormo
Bengal. If you count Texas and California, then Hawaii as well.

Of course, if you compare the British to other colonial powers, they also did
a significant amount to preserve the local culture, even when assuming
sovereign power from the local states.

------
mortenjorck
As a US citizen, it's wonderful getting into other countries with so little
hassle.

The only annoying part is getting back into the US.

~~~
noodle
really? i haven't had much of a problem (edit: or rather, not much more of a
problem than the process required to enter in the other country). but i've
also never had much to declare, either.

~~~
mortenjorck
I haven't traveled that extensively, but every time I've entered a Schengen
country with nothing to declare, I've been able to walk right in after getting
my passport stamped.

Every time I've returned to the US, however, I've had to go through an
exhaustive baggage screening and pat-down before I could even board the plane,
and then stand in line for half an hour in Immigration once I got back,
filling out an entire form to declare that I have nothing to declare, and
answering random identity-verifying questions from an immigration officer. I
feel tired and uncomfortable just thinking about it.

~~~
prototype56
Experience getting back into us after a vacation during financial meltdown of
2008-2009

Immigration "officer": Are you sure you still have your job at the bank.

Me: yes

Immigration "officer": If that turns out to be false we will kick you out like
dogs

~~~
maneesh
Returning from Oslo, Norway Immigration officer: Why were you visiting Norway?
Me: I was there visiting some friends. Immigration officer: Why do you have
friends in another country, sir?

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Sukotto
Does anyone know where I can get the raw data they used to generate this?
(Preferably in a format I can slice and dice programmaticly)

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pwim
I'd be interested to see the converse as well - the countries that let the
most other countries' citizens in without passports.

~~~
subbu
It'd be even more interesting to see these 2 plotted next to each other.
Countries you can go to without a visa V/s Citizens of countries that you let
in without a visa.

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will_critchlow
I wish we could go further than this. During the UK elections, I hated hearing
the anti-immigration rhetoric from all sides. Where is the party offering more
free movement of people?

We employ people from all corners of the globe here in the UK and hate the
visa hurdles. We opened our US subsidiary in February and had to jump through
all kinds of hurdles and pay lots of legal fees to set up a company that
already employs 6 Americans.

I think if there was a way of limiting social benefits until you had proved
you planned to contribute then unlimited economic migration would greatly help
entrepreneurship.

~~~
gaius
People throughout the political spectrum conflate legal and illegal immigrants
for their own agendas. But they are two entirely disparate groups.

 _I think if there was a way of limiting social benefits until you had proved
you planned to contribute_

That should apply to "locals" as well!

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davidw
I think if I ever tried to get Italian citizenship in addition to US, it might
be to get a passport that would let me go some places more unobtrusively. Not
that I'm much of a traveler though... so it's not high on my list.

~~~
escoz
I received my italian citizenship a few weeks ago, still need to go tet the
passport :)

------
blizkreeg
As an Indian, I don't know whether to laugh or cry at India's place in that
chart.

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nanairo
There's a couple of things that surprise me.

First, all the countries in the Schengen treaty I think end up with the same
score. Indeed France, Germany and Italy do. I would imagine many more do too
(e.g. Spain). It seemed like it would have been a better label.

On the other hand I am surprised that Denmark got more.. .and it is kind of a
counterexample to my first point. Isn't Denmark in the Schengen treaty too?
Where else can they go than Germany/French/Italians can't?

~~~
tomjen3
Denmark is a member of Schengen, but we also have deals with Sweden and Norway
that doesn't even require passports to get there, and I don't imagine I would
need a passport to go visit Iceland either.

~~~
nerfhammer
Don't forget Greenland or the Faroe Islands

~~~
tomjen3
Both of which are actually parts of Denmark, having some level of autonomy.

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tfh
It's almost impossible for someone with a decent job in Afghanistan (or a
similar country) to get a tourist visa to the US or to Europe. The first
problem is to afford the flight ticket. The second an more important problem
is to get a tourist visa. They always assume you want to stay and work.

------
scrrr
I remember when I first crossed German-French border without even a passport
check. There was just a flag post. That was a great moment.

Anyway, I wonder how Switzerland would rate on this list!

~~~
cl3m
Switzerland has 156 countries (rank 10)

The full list is at <http://www.henleyglobal.com/citizenship/visa-
restrictions/>

~~~
gaius
Switzerland is fairly obnoxious towards immigrants tho' (e.g. it is pretty
much impossible to naturalize as Swiss). It should be rights be difficult for
Swiss to travel anywhere. I expect their private banking industry is what
opens the doors...

~~~
whyenot
Exactly what about the swiss naturalization process makes it "pretty much
impossible" and what is obnoxious about it? There is a residency requirement,
a language fluency requirement, and you have to show that you have integrated
in swiss society. It's not an easy process compared to many other countries,
but also not impossible.

~~~
_delirium
It depends greatly on the area, but some parts of Switzerland have a
requirement that all new citizenships must be approved by a local referendum.
I'm not aware of many other countries where to get citizenship, the
municipality you live in has to approve it in a popular vote.

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johnndege
Its great that Britons can travel the world hassle free - must be the remnants
of the empire. However, what really matters to people is the opportunity to
work and live in a foreign country. I am a Briton living in the US and the
difficulty it takes to come to the US is astounding. I had a relatively easy
ride but for some the road is long.

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rizal
Malaysia is right up there! I am Malaysian and I am surprised. In 1993 I had
to apply for a visa to visit France, which gave me the impression that it's
difficult for Malaysians to travel. (I've only been to China since then.)

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c4urself
it's not only the countries you travel visa-free to, it's also how they treat
you once you're there... i once traveled through italy with an american friend
and was surprised at the hassle they made of the border crossing of a
nighttrain simply due to his passport... i was able to sleep on and he had to
answer questions this was back in 2000. at the same time consider countries
like syria where an american passport might not be as nice as an EU one.

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seldo
I was hoping this was going to be a measure of how easy it was to obtain a
work visa in these countries, in which case I would expect the US to rank near
the bottom...

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ramki
damn, why Denmark?? quite surprising...

~~~
jrockway
You're surprised that people from a rich European country can travel with
relatively little hassle?

I'm surprised that you're surprised.

