Japan and Singapore have world’s most powerful passports

UK and US stuck on seventh place

Japan has the number one spot alongside Singapore (Getty Images/iStockphoto)

Japan and Singapore have been found to have the world’s most powerful passports in the latest Henley Passport Index.

Both nations offer visa-free or visa-on-arrival travel to 192 destinations.

Germany and South Korea came in joint second, with a score of 190, while Finland, Italy, Luxembourg and Spain earned joint third position.

The UK and US have dropped to seventh place, alongside Czech Republic, Greece, Malta and Norway.

Commenting in Henley’s Global Mobility Report 2021 Q4 on the UK’s recent travel ban adjustments, Dr. Hannah White OBE, deputy director of think tank the Institute for Government, said: “The direction of travel has been towards greater freedoms, but ongoing requirements for expensive tests and quarantine for those vaccinated outside the UK, and the absence of an approved international vaccination certification scheme, continue to rule out visits for many international travellers, limit short-term international travel for UK residents, and potentially cause issues for UK residents vaccinated in non-approved countries.”

Based on data from the International Air Transport Association (IATA), the Henley Passport Index ranks all of the world’s passports according to the number of destinations their holders can access without a prior visa.

The latest data shows that countries in the global north with high-ranking passports have enforced some of the strictest inbound Covid-19 travel restrictions, while many countries with lower-ranking passports have relaxed their borders without seeing this openness reciprocated.

“This has created an ever-widening gap in travel freedom even for fully vaccinated travellers from countries at the lower end of the passport power ranking who remain locked out of most of the world,” reads Henley’s analysis.

At the lower end of the index, Egypt, ranked 97th, currently has no travel restrictions in place, yet its citizens can access just 51 destinations around the world without acquiring a visa in advance.

Similarly, Kenya, which ranks 77th, has no travel bans in place, yet its passport holders are able to access just 72 destinations visa-free.

Most powerful passports

1. Japan; Singapore (192)
2. South Korea; Germany (190)
3. Italy; Finland; Spain; Luxembourg (188)
4. Denmark; Austria (189)
5. Sweden; France; Portugal; Netherlands; Ireland (187)
6. Switzerland; Belgium; New Zealand (186)
7. Norway; Greece; Malta; Czech Republic; US; UK (185)
8. Canada; Australia (184)
9. Hungary (183)
10. Lithuania; Poland; Slovakia (182)