Colombia’s disappointing passport ranking

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The Colombian passport.

[dropcap]C[/dropcap]olombians wanting to travel the world have it rough. Only 62 nations currently allow entry without a pre-approved visa, making the Colombian passport the 56th “most powerful” in the world, according to a study released by the Canadian financial company Arton Capital. This puts it well below its South American peers.

While many on the continent can travel almost as freely as citizens of the United States or United Kingdom (which tied for first place and have access to 147 countries), Colombians still face tedious and onerous restrictions across the globe.

Argentina, for example, is the most powerful in South America at 16th, with its citizens having visa-free access to 129 nations. It is followed by Brazil (17th, 128 countries), Chile (19th, 124 countries), Venezuela and Uruguay (tied for 25th, 113 countries).

[quote]“Colombians have an unfair stigma due to a mix of the war on drugs and the violence the country has suffered”[/quote]

“Colombians have an unfair stigma due to a mix of the war on drugs and the violence the country has suffered for over 50 years,” said Pablo Martinez of GoEuro Travel in Germany. “But this is not based on reason. Colombians abroad are well known for being happy, hard-working people. And now that Colombia is becoming a trending tourist destination, and as the world gets to meet Colombia and its people, this stigma will fade with time.”

Fortunately, the negative view is already disappearing. The European Union announced last October that the country passed its criteria for visa-free travel to 26 countries, which is expected to be granted for all Colombians in the second half of 2015. “At GoEuro we had lobbied and are expecting with much anticipation for visas to be lifted for Colombians to visit Europe,” said Martinez.

Now that Colombia has met the E.U. criteria, which is based on low visa refusal rates for Colombians requesting visas in recent years, restrictions may also be eased for travel to the United States. Last year, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said in an address that “we would very much like to be able to grant a visa waiver” for Colombians similar to that given in Europe. He added that “it’s not a question of a lack of will,” but something that must go through the proper protocol in Washington as occurred in Europe.

Yet this protocol may take several years to complete. As Colombia becomes an increasingly key player in the international economy, signs more Free Trade Agreements with countries, and empowers a middle-class to take international vacations, it would make sense to ease access and expedite travel. The E.U. commission, for example, cited “enlarged trade and touristic flows” and the “significant growth of the Colombian” economy as major factors in removing cumbersome restrictions.

Visa requirements aren’t the only impediments to international travel, however. Even affording a passport is difficult for many Colombians.

According to a GoEuro report, it takes 46 hours working at the national minimum wage for a Colombian to afford the USD $60 (roughly COP $141,000 pesos) fee to get a passport. While the overall cost puts this fee in the middle of the pack among the 51 countries cited, the nation’s relatively low minimum wage means that low-salaried Colombians have a harder time paying for their passports than people in all but eight other included nations.

 

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