Asian Passports Remain World’s Most Powerful for Traveling

The two most powerful passports in the world are Asian. Nationals of Japan and Singapore hold the most powerful travel documents in the world, which enable them to travel to 190 world countries visa-free or by only obtaining a visa-on-arrival at the port of entry of their destination country.

Another Asian passport, the South Korean one, is listed as the second most powerful sharing the spot with Germany and Finland.

According to Henley Index Passport update for the final quarter of 2019, published by Henley & Partners, a firm focused on residence and citizenship planning, Japanese and Singaporean travelers can enter 190 countries without bothering to get a regular visa, while the other three sitting in the second spot can travel to 188, only two less.

“For most of the index’s 14-year history – which is based on exclusive data from the International Air Transport Association (IATA) – the top spot has been held by a European country or by the US. However, this shifted dramatically in 2018, with Asian countries now firmly established as world leaders when it comes to both global economic activity and global mobility,” a press release by Henley Global reads.

The other first ten positions of the index are occupied as below:

• 3^rd – Denmark, Italy, and Luxembourg – their passport holders can visit 187 countries visa-free or with a visa-on-arrival.
• 4^th – France, Spain, and Sweden – their passport holders can visit 186 countries visa-free or with a visa-on-arrival.
• 5^th – Austria, the Netherlands, and Portugal – their passport holders can visit 185 countries visa-free or with a visa-on-arrival.
• 6^th – Belgium, Canada, Greece, Ireland, Norway, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, and the United States – their passport holders can visit 184 countries visa-free or with a visa-on-arrival
• 7^th – the Czech Republic and Malta – their passport holders can visit 183 countries.
• 8^th – New Zealand – their passport holders can visit 182 countries visa-free or with a visa-on-arrival.
• 9^th – Australia, Lithuania, and Slovakia – their passport holders can visit 181 countries visa-free or with a visa-on-arrival.
• 10^th – Hungary, Iceland, Latvia, and Slovenia – their passport holders can visit 180 countries visa-free or with a visa-on-arrival.

At the same time, the United Arab Emirates passport is the one that has made the most drastic jump, climbing up the list from 20^th to the 15^th place, after it gained visa-free access to a number of African countries, including South Africa. Its nationals can now travel to 172 destinations without a prior visa.

Lorraine Charles from Cambridge University’s Centre for Business Research says the UAE has an uncontested soft power in the GCC.

“While the UAE may not be able to compete with Saudi Arabia – the regional hegemon – in terms of military strength and economic power, the projection of its soft power is uncontested in the GCC, making the UAE an embodiment of inspiration for other GCC countries,” she says.

The passports of Syria, Iraq, and Afghanistan continue sitting at the bottom of the list, or 105,106 and 107 respectively. The passport of Kosovo, the 11-year-old country located in Europe remains weak as well, with the country listed in the 98th place, and its citizens capable of visiting only 41 countries visa-free, including its neighboring countries, Albania, North Macedonia, Montenegro, and Serbia.