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Qatar Airways Wins ‘Airline of the Year’, ‘Best Airline in the Middle East’ and ‘Best Business Class’ at the 2022 AirlineRatings Awards Image Credit: FB

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Middle East countries South Africans can visit visa-free

The Henley & Partners Passport Index for lists countries in the Middle East SA passport holders can travel to without requiring a visa.

20-10-23 14:51
Middle East
Qatar Airways Wins ‘Airline of the Year’, ‘Best Airline in the Middle East’ and ‘Best Business Class’ at the 2022 AirlineRatings Awards Image Credit: FB

The latest Henley & Partners Passport Index for 2023 outlines countries in the Middle East that South African passport holders can travel to without requiring a visa.

The index included 199 passports and 227 travel destinations, ranking them quarterly in terms of travel power.

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Each passport was scored on the total number of destinations that the holder can access visa-free.

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South Africa placed 95th out of 199 countries with a visa-free score of 107.

That means there are 107 countries across the world that a South African passport holder can travel to visa-free.

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Meanwhile, the index found that the Singapore passport was the most powerful with a visa-free score of 193, followed by Japan on 191.

FinlandFranceGermany, Italy, South KoreaSpain and Sweden all tied for third with 190.

Afghanistan sits at the bottom of the list with a score of 27.

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Of those 107 countries, 7 are in the Middle East.

They are: Armenia*, Iran*, Israel, Jordan*, Oman, Palestinian Territories, Qatar, Saudi Arabia*

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COUNTRIES IN THE MIDDLE EAST SA PASSPORT HOLDERS CAN VISIT VISA-FREE PER REGION:

Africa – 35

Americas – 18

Asia – 17

Caribbean – 16

Europe – 4

Middle East – 8

Oceania – 9

THE 107 COUNTRIES SA PASSPORT HOLDERS CAN VISIT VISA-FREE:

* visa on arrival, ** electronic travel authority (ETA)

Angola

Antigua and Barbuda

Argentina

Armenia *

Bahamas

Barbados

Belize

Benin

Bolivia *

Botswana

Brazil

British Virgin Islands

Burundi *

Cambodia *

Cape Verde Islands *

Cayman Islands

Chile

Comoro Islands *

Cook Islands

Costa Rica

Djibouti *

Dominica

Dominican Republic

Ecuador

Egypt *

El Salvador

eSwatini

Ethiopia *

Falkland Islands

Fiji

Gabon

Georgia

Ghana *

Grenada

Guatemala

Guinea-Bissau *

Guyana

Haiti

Honduras

Hong Kong (SAR China)

Indonesia

Iran *

Ireland

Israel

Jamaica

Jordan *

Kenya

Kosovo

Kyrgyzstan *

Laos *

Lesotho

Macao (SAR China)

Madagascar *

Malawi

Malaysia

Maldives *

Marshall Islands *

Mauritania *

Mauritius

Micronesia

Montserrat

Mozambique

Namibia

Nepal *

Nicaragua

Nigeria *

Niue

Oman

Pakistan **

Palau Islands *

Palestinian Territory

Panama

Paraguay

Peru

Philippines

Qatar

Reunion

Russian Federation

Rwanda

Samoa *

Saudi Arabia *

Senegal

Seychelles *

Sierra Leone *

Singapore

Somalia *

South Korea **

Sri Lanka **

St. Helena *

St. Kitts and Nevis

St. Lucia

St. Vincent and the Grenadines

Tajikistan *

Tanzania

Thailand

The Gambia

Timor-Leste *

Togo *

Trinidad and Tobago

Tunisia

Turks and Caicos Islands

Tuvalu *

Uruguay

Vanuatu

Venezuela

Zambia

Zimbabwe