The latest data from the Henley Passport Index reveal a growing disparity in passport strength among Middle Eastern countries as measured by visa free travel. For instance, Israel and the United Arab Emirates are marching along shoulder-to-shoulder with advanced nations, while Iran has fallen into the ranks of crisis-stricken countries. More importantly, the gap in passport credibility among Middle Eastern countries has widened sharply over the last decade.
Citizens of the United Arab Emirates enjoy visa-free access to 184 countries, ranking eighth globally—surpassing even the United States and Canada. In 2016, the Emirates ranked thirty-eighth, with its citizens allowed visa-free travel to 111 countries.
Iranian citizens are permitted visa-free or e-visa travel to only forty-one countries, most of which are poor nations.
Israeli citizens have access to 165 countries and rank 20th in passport strength, a five-position improvement compared to a decade ago, and an indicator that stands in dissonance with polemics depicting Israel as a pariah. Following them in passport rankings are Turkey, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, and Oman.
In comparison, Iranian citizens are permitted visa-free or e-visa travel to only forty-one countries, most of which are poor nations in South America, Africa, and some Asian countries. Iran has fifteen neighboring countries, but visa-free travel is possible to only one-third of them.
Even more critically, Iran’s ranking has dropped sixteen positions over the past two decades amid sanctions and escalating tensions with Western and other countries. In Iran’s vicinity, only crisis-hit countries like Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Iraq fare worse.
The profound gap in passport credibility not only reflects the stronger diplomatic standing and broader international ties of some Arab nations but also demonstrates their investments in foreign policy and developing mutual trust with Western countries. In contrast, Iran’s foreign policy—marked by sanctions, regional tensions, and diplomatic isolation—is cited as a primary reason for the limited global access of Iranian citizens.
In simpler terms, passport strength is not merely a travel tool; it is a mirror reflecting a country’s political, economic, and security position in the international system.
In addition to enjoying a high level of national wealth, the United Arab Emirates has built international trust through projects like Expo 2020, global investments, and pragmatic foreign policy. In contrast, Iran is perceived globally as a security threat, directly influencing countries’ visa issuance behaviors. As a result, Iran’s ranking is even worse than that of its northern neighbor, Turkmenistan—a highly closed regime with impoverished citizens.
Iranians face arduous visa processes in many countries, airport interrogations, or automatic visa denials.
Egypt and Jordan, which normalized relations with Israel decades ago and are among the main partners of the West and Arab states, still have relatively low passport rankings—around ninetieth globally. Citizens of these countries can travel visa-free to only about fifty destinations. However, given the poverty in these countries, as well as large number of Palestinian refugees in both states and, in some cases, the links between certain terrorist groups and individuals among them, granting visa waivers to Egyptian and Jordanian citizens remains a complex issue.
Iranians face arduous visa processes in many countries, airport interrogations, or automatic visa denials, which exacerbate feelings of invalidity and mutual distrust.
The Islamic Republic has arbitrarily detained dozens of foreign and dual-nation citizens, trading some of them for the release of its arrested terrorist elements and security personnel in foreign countries. In other cases, it has released them in exchange for economic and political concessions from Europe and the United States.
Recently, amid the hardening stances of European Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action member states and the reinstatement of international sanctions, Iran sentenced two detained French citizens to a combined sixty-three years in prison on charges of “spying for France” and “intelligence cooperation” with Israel—while denying them access to lawyers or the French consulate in Tehran.
Leaving the homeland out of necessity and due to lost hope in the country’s future is not confined to the poor or unemployed workers.
Another factor contributing to a strict visa regime is the migration aspirations of dissatisfied citizens. Iran is one of the most crisis-prone countries in the region in this regard, with an estimated five million Iranian emigrants—comparable to war-torn and crisis-hit nations. In addition to worsening economic conditions, Iranians also face lack of freedoms and the absence of human dignity, among other conditions.
In the 1980s and amid the war with Iraq, Iranian migrants accounted for just 0.53 percent of the world’s total migrants. However, this figure has risen to 0.7 percent in recent years.
Leaving the homeland out of necessity and due to lost hope in the country’s future is not confined to the poor or unemployed workers. According to statements from Islamic Republic officials, the emigration of scientific elites and students has doubled in recent years, reaching 150,000 to 180,000 per year.
Upon receiving refuge and citizenship abroad, the Iranian emigres—and by extension, their relatives back home—almost immediately see the visa gap. The emigres can largely travel the world while Iranian citizens today increasingly remain prisoners in their country.
