A trio of Asian passports offer their holders greater freedom of global travel than any other country, according to a new quarterly report released by London-based global citizenship and residency consultancy Henley & Partners.
Japan has surpassed Singapore and South Korea to offer their citizens visa-free or on-demand access to a record 193 destinations worldwide, compared with 192 for the other two leaders.
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However, Asia’s more cautious response to Covid-19 means that these citizens are less likely to make use of this freedom of travel than people in Europe or the Americas.
International passenger demand for air travel in the Asia-Pacific region is still below a fifth of pre-Covid levels, according to the latest statistics from the International Air Transport Association (IATA).
By comparison, says the Henley Passport Index report, markets in Europe and North America have recovered to around 60% of their previous levels of travel mobility.
Europe dominates again
Below the top three Asians, an excess of European countries sit near the top of the leaderboard. Germany and Spain are tied at 190 destinations, followed by Finland, Italy and Luxembourg at 189.
Then there are Austria, Denmark, the Netherlands and Sweden, all tied for fifth place, while France, Ireland, Portugal and the United Kingdom are all tied for 6th.
New Zealand and the United States appear in 7th place, alongside Belgium, Norway and Switzerland.
Afghan citizens are again at the bottom of the index and can access only 27 countries without needing a visa in advance.
However, as travel restrictions ease, there are hopeful signs that lower-ranking passports are starting to regain clout.
Indian passport holders now have travel freedom similar to what they enjoyed before the pandemic, the report says, with unrestricted access to 57 destinations worldwide (compared to just 23 destinations in 2020).
Due to the invasion of Ukraine, Russian passport holders are more isolated from the rest of the world than ever before.
The index does not take into account temporary restrictions or airspace closures, so while the Russian passport currently ranks 50th in the index, with a visa-free or visa-free on arrival score of 119, the reality is that citizens Russians are effectively blocked from accessing many of these destinations.
The best passports to keep in July 2022 are:
1. Japan (193 destinations)
2. Singapore, South Korea (192 destinations)
3. Germany, Spain (190 destinations)
4. Finland, Italy, Luxembourg (189 destinations)
5. Austria, Denmark, Netherlands, Sweden (188 destinations)
6. France, Ireland, Portugal, United Kingdom (187 destinations)
7. Belgium, New Zealand, Norway, Switzerland, United States (186 destinations)
8. Australia, Canada, Czech Republic, Greece, Malta (185 destinations)
9. Hungary (183 destinations)
10. Lithuania, Poland, Slovakia (182 destinations)
The Worst Passports to Keep in July 2022
Several countries around the world have visa-free or visa-on-arrival access to 40 countries or less. These include:
105. North Korea (40 destinations)
106. Nepal, Palestinian Territory (38 destinations)
107. Somalia (35 destinations)
108. Yemen (34 destinations)
109. Pakistan (32 destinations)
110. Syria (30 destinations)
111. Iraq (29 destinations)
112. Afghanistan (27 destinations)
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