Author - Mercandia Cambodia

With visa-free access to 84% of the world, the Japanese passport is now the world’s most powerful. Could we soon see a time where some passports reach 100%?

The Japanese can visit no less than 190 out of 226 countries and territories, according to the Henley & Partners Passport Index, making their passport the world’s most mobile. Second and third on the same ranking, respectively, are the Singaporeans and South Koreans, together forming a historic all-Asian podium.

Recent developments in global travel-freedom – across the board – are nothing short of remarkable; the Index offers figures dating back to 2006 showing that, fewer than 13 years ago, even the very best passports could only offer 130 visa-free destinations, a number that wouldn’t even get you into the top 70 today.

In 2006, the average number of visa-free destinations among today’s top 20 passports was a mere 126.45. Today, none of those passports are below 185.

Is it so inconceivable to imagine that a handful of wealthy, peaceful countries will soon have visa-free access to all 226 countries and territories?

Japan has added 62 destinations to its roster since 2006. That’s about five a year. It only has 36 countries to go, the preponderance of which are in Africa.

In terms of visa-waiver agreements, there was a great deal of low-hanging fruit available in the last decade, and as countries inch closer to 100%, they will no doubt find an increasing challenge in making marginal gains in mobility. There will be outlier holdouts that steadfastly resist bilateral travel freedom; North Korea, Cuba, and Saudi Arabia spring to mind. We may well see decades where the top 30-40 countries enjoy access to all but a handful of hermit kingdoms, always approaching zero but never quite reaching it, like an asymptote.

But if global mobility improvement continues apace, we’ll see a passport with worldwide visa-free travel in less than a decade.

Enterprise Greece has released figures indicating that, by the end of September this year, the country had issued residence permits to 3,404 main applicants and 5,495 dependents under the golden visa program since the start of the year. That’s an average of 989 residence permits a month in 2018.

In September alone, 250 main applicants received approvals, an increase of 34% on the preceding month. Since 2013, 8,843 main applicants and 13,030 dependents have obtained a grand total of 21,873 golden visa residence permits.

Presuming the current trend remains stable for the remaining three months of the year, Greece will end up granting close to 12,000 individual residence permits under the golden visa program in 2018, surpassing the US EB-5 as the most applied-to residence by investment program in the world.

Read also: Greece to Dethrone EB-5 as World’s Biggest Golden Visa by Year-End

Receiving 1,700 golden visas in the first 9 months of 2018 – and 179 in September alone – Chinese nationals now make up fully half of all applicants, a proportion that’s increased steadily since last year.

With 450 and 356 main applicants so far this year, respectively, Russians and Turks accounted for 13 and 10 percent of golden visa recipients.

Athens has surpassed neighboring Piraeus (27%) as the top destination for investors, issuing 29% of the country’s golden visas, while authorities in Pallini issued 18%. The three counties, which together make up the Athens Metropolitan Region, account for 74% of all permits issued so far.

While the average main investor brings 1.6 family members, Iraqi program participants stand out by including nearly twice as many dependents in their applications.

Have you ever lived abroad? Being an expat in a foreign country can be challenging – you can feel isolated and lonely, and sometimes your only friends are other people from your home country. It can be difficult to learn the local language and integrate. But some countries are more welcoming than others, making the possibility of building a new life there more feasible.

A 2018 survey from InterNations, the largest global network and information site for people who live and work abroad, has looked at data and comments supplied by almost 13,000 expats from 188 countries and territories to reveal which are the friendliest countries in the world to live.

Where do you think the USA ranked? This year, the annual survey has put it in 36th place out of 65, meaning it is less welcoming than countries such as Uganda (16th), Romania (19th), Indonesia (21st), Israel (24th) and Kazakhstan (28th). In 2016 the US was ranked 19th, meaning it has become less friendly. (The top ten friendliest countries are revealed below.)

Although about three in five expats in the US would describe the locals as welcoming (59%) and outgoing (64%), over one third (35%) struggle with making local friends. Just one-fifth (20%) say that their friends are mostly local residents.

A Ukrainian expat in the US told InterNations: “People are friendly on the outside, but in fact they do not care.” According to the findings, 17% of expats in the US say that they do not feel at home there yet and why another 9% doubt they ever will.

Meanwhile, the UK came far behind the US, in 56th place. Expats report that they find the British distant (42%) and reserved (58%) making it more difficult for them to make friends. A Portuguese national in the UK said “recently, I get the sense that foreigners are not as welcome as I thought before the referendum”. This person is referring to the decision to leave the European Union in a move that has been dubbed “Brexit”.

Certainly not among the top ten but fairing better than the US was Ireland, in 30th place. Four years ago, Ireland was in 23rd place and the UK was in 19th, so friendliness has definitely gone down, however. One Italian expat said they valued the “genuine friendliness” of the Irish, while a Swedish expat said the Irish are “sociable, friendly people who know how to have a laugh and enjoy themselves”.

Describing their social circles, 22% of foreign workers in Ireland said they are mainly friends with other expats, while another 37%, however, are mostly friends with local residents. In the UK, only 20% of expats are mainly friends with locals, while 32% are predominantly friends with other expats.

Seven in ten expats said they feel at home in Ireland. With the US built on immigrants from countries such as Ireland, it’s worth thinking about how friendly people are to foreigners today.

• Friendly attitude towards expats: 81%
• Ease of making local friends: 43%
• Expats likely to stay forever: 45%

• Friendly attitude towards expats: 83%
• Ease of making local friends: 56%
• Expats likely to stay forever: 16%

• Friendly attitude towards expats: 87%
• Ease of making local friends: 62%
• Expats likely to stay forever: 33%

• Friendly attitude towards expats: 86%
• Ease of making local friends: 60%
• Expats likely to stay forever: 12%

• Friendly attitude towards expats: 87%
• Ease of making local friends: 78%
• Expats likely to stay forever: 48%

• Friendly attitude towards expats: 86%
• Ease of making local friends: 55%
• Expats likely to stay forever: 11%

• Friendly attitude towards expats: 92%
• Ease of making local friends: 59%
• Expats likely to stay forever: 23%

• Friendly attitude towards expats: 87%
• Ease of making local friends: 73%
• Expats likely to stay forever: 39%

• Friendly attitude towards expats: 86%
• Ease of making local friends: 61%
• Expats likely to stay forever: 30%

• Friendly attitude towards expats: 94%
• Ease of making local friends: 58%
• Expats likely to stay forever: 47%