Malaysia ranked quite high for English proficiency and tertiary academic institutions in the world, but did you know our passport are placed at 13th rank for the world’s strongest passports?
National passports are evaluated based on how many countries their holders can enter without a visa and so the ranking of Malaysian passports takes into account the number of nations where holders of Malaysian passports can travel without a visa. Visa-free nations would be those in which a person may enter without a visa, or a visa on arrival or electronic travel authorisation (eTA).
The Malaysian passport is currently ranked 13th out of all the passports worldwide. The Malaysia passport ranking is based on the level of international access it provides to its holders, who can visit 179 countries without a visa, however must obtain one in order to enter 33 other countries.
Due to its close relations to numerous country groupings, Malaysia is able to maintain visa-free or visa-on-arrival policies with regard to many intergovernmental organizations. Malaysia is also a relatively affluent country for its region, and does not have a high record of problem emigrants, thus it has greater access to developed countries that usually impose harsher restrictions to limit visa overstays.
One of the related countries’ policies is as follows:
There are ongoing talks of extending visa-free access to the US for Malaysians, although the future of this is still unclear, however, it can help rank Malaysia passports higher once it’s accepted.
All in all, you can say that us Malaysians are blessed with a reasonably powerful passport that grants access to almost everywhere in this world. So let’s take some time to appreciate our country more.
For more passport and travel-related articles, read here: