REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN - Bruneian passport was ranked 17th in the world for travelers in a recent survey, based on the number of visa-free countries and regions its holders can travel to out of 174 destinations, according to a news report posted on the BruDirect.com website on Saturday. While Indonesia only sits at 72rd with 56 destinations.

According to the 2014 Visa Restrictions Index, holders of Bruneian passports can travel to 150 countries and regions without visas. Singapore and Malaysia were the only two Southeast Asian countries that made it to the top 10 in the 2014 index.

Singapore was ranked 5th in the world, as Singaporeans can travel visa-free to 170 countries and regions, while Malaysia was ranked 8th, as Malaysians can travel visa-free to 16 destinations.

Among Southeast Asian countries, the Sultanate was ranked third, followed by Thailand (62nd in the world, visa-free travel to 69 destinations), the Philippines (68th, 62 destinations), Indonesia (72nd, 56 destinations), Laos (80th, 48 destinations), Vietnam ( 81st, 47 destinations) and Myanmar (86th, 42 destinations).

"In today's globalised world, visa restrictions play an important role in controlling the movement of foreign nationals across borders.

"Almost all countries now require visas from certain non-nationals who wish to enter their territory,"said Henly & Partners, a global consulting firm in international residence and citizenship planning, which held the survey.

"Visa requirements are also an expression of the relationships between individual nations, and generally reflect the relations and status of a country within the international community of nations," the survey said.

At the top of the index, jointly, were Finland, Sweden, Germany, the United States and Britain. Citizens of these countries are able to travel visa-free to 174 destinations.

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