Opportunities as Tanzanian passport gets more power

Dar es Salaam. The recent ranking of the Tanzania passport means increased business, investment and tourism opportunities among Tanzanians and frequent travellers to different parts of the world, according to stakeholders.

Their comments come a few days after the country’s travel document has been ranked among the 10 most powerful passports in Africa and the 74th in global mobility.

The mobility score measures the number of countries that a person holding a Tanzanian passport can visit without having a visa or where they can get a visa on arrival.

The Henley Passport Index Report 2023 released on Wednesday broadens the opportunity of Tanzanians to access education, health and jobs in many countries with little to no difficulties.

According to the index, the number of countries that Tanzanians can visit without a visa, or obtain one on arrival have increased to 72.

Japan’s passport was ranked the strongest globally, allowing users visa-free access to 193 countries, followed by Singapore, South Korea, Germany and Spain.

Mauritius, which is ranked 34th globally, emerged the most powerful passport in Africa in the annual rankings produced in cooperation with the International Air Transport Association (Iata).

Others in descending order are South Africa (53), Botswana (63), Namibia (67), Lesotho (69), eSwatini (71) and Malawi (72).

Tanzania emerged in the 74th position with Zambia and Uganda coming in at number 75 and 78, respectively, according to the report.

However, the Immigration Force Commissioner of Citizenship and Passport, Gerald Kihinga, declined to comment on the rankings.

“First, I cannot comment on the report as I have yet to see it for myself. Secondly, we haven’t been involved in the process,” he said over the phone.

However, the Tanzania Private Sector Foundation (TPSF) director of policy advocacy and membership management, Zachy Mbenna, said that the rankings gives Tanzania the opportunity to become a major exporter of services, technologies and businesses.

“I commend the government and its authorities for coming up with an electronic passport. However, the passport should be fully fledged to increase the benefits that holders are getting,” he said.

Furthermore, he said the rankings sends an important message that not only is Tanzania embracing technology, but also it has executives withadequate skills and knowledge to manage the technology.

According to him, the country’s potential to access more markets and interaction with other global players from other countries has increased with the rankings.

Traveller and aviation expert, Jimray Nangawe said that the rankings will enable Tanzanians to do more business with their counterparts without many restrictions.

“Tanzania should further improve diplomatic ties with as many countries as possible in order to further benefit its citizens especially by broadening and increasing people they can partner with in the area of business,” he said.

However, another traveller, Sabrina Zahor, said that as the number of countries that could be visited without a visa or on visa-on-arrival privileges increases the more opportunities Tanzania travellers get.

“These measures are less impactful if nothing is done with the Schengen visa. To me, the Schengen visa is a major issue, though I don’t think privileges have been increased,” she said.

She said that the rankings are good for promoting Pan-African tourism as Tanzanians would be open to the world. Likewise citizens from the rest of the world will be open to Tanzania.

“It is great for business, exchange and provides learning opportunities on issues of history of other countries,” she said.

Furthermore, she raised several questions about the ranking including whether the country’s achievement had any meaning in accessing student visas.

“What meaning does it have for the business visa, or what is its impact for an investor? Most importantly, what would it mean to me when I want to visit European countries?” she questioned.

She said that the recently concluded 2022 World Cup tournament in Qatar was easily attended by football fans from different parts of the world because of the country’s flexibility in its visa arrangement, something that would be different if countries like the US hosted.

For her part, Ms Sophia Macha who is married to a German national said that once the passport gains more powers, it would enable the holder to visit many countries and either get their visa on arrival or visa-free altogether.

“The German passport held by my husband enables him to make online visa applications to any country he wants to go to. This gives him him freedom from unnecessary inconveniences such as visiting embassies, sometimes multiple times prior to travel, for visa submission and questioning,” she said over the phone.

“He waits two to five days for his application to be cleared. This is ocontrary to normal processes we usually go through that doesn’t guarantee us approval,” she added.