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These are the most (and least) powerful passports in the world by 2020

2020-01-07T18:05:17.926Z


What is the travel document that opens more doors worldwide than any other? Check here the list of the best and worst passports of 2020


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Is your passport among the five most powerful in the world? 1:03

(CNN) - What is the travel document that opens more doors worldwide than any other? It is a Japanese passport.

The Henley passport index, which periodically measures the world's friendliest travel passports, has published its first report of the new decade.

Japan is now at the top of the rankings, offering visa-free or visa access upon arrival at some 191 destinations worldwide.

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Asia dominates the top of the list, with Singapore in second place (with a score of 190) and South Korea tying with Germany in third place (with a score of 189).

European countries have a strong performance in the rest of the top ten, with Finland and Italy in n. 4, Spain, Luxembourg and Denmark in fifth place, and Sweden and France in No. 6.

Meanwhile, the United States and the United Kingdom continue to decline in the rankings. As we move towards the 2020s, they occupy the eighth place together, very far from the number one place they had jointly five years ago, in 2015.

Uncertainty in the United Kingdom about what travel mobility will look like in a Great Britain and Northern Ireland after Brexit means that this downward trend may not be reversed in the short term.

The report cites Madeleine Sumption, director of the Oxford University Migration Observatory, saying: “The conservative government has promised a system based on 'Australian-style' points that would be more liberal than current policies towards non-citizens the EU, although still much more restrictive than free movement. As with all major changes in migration policy, what this will mean for real levels of mobility, however, remains extremely difficult to predict. ”

Sumption also notes that the net migration from the EU to the United Kingdom was reduced by 59% between 2015 and 2018, and many EU citizens may be suspicious of establishing themselves in the United Kingdom with the threat of brexit on the horizon.

One step above the UK in the ranking is Ireland, at number 7. 900,000 Irish passports were issued in 2019, somewhat unprecedented, due to a steady increase in British resident applicants since the Brexit vote in 2016.

The United Arab Emirates has been the biggest success story of the index in the last decade, climbing 47 places in the last ten years to sit in 18th place, with a score of 171 without a visa or with a visa upon arrival.

Says Dominic Volek, head of Henley & Partners of Southeast Asia and managing partner: “Countries that adopt this new reality of global mobility are thriving, and their citizens enjoying a growing passport power and freedom of travel, as well as the variety of benefits that come with it. ”

A Japanese passport holder can access 165 destinations more than a holder of the weakest passport in the world, that of Afghanistan, which offers access without visa / visa upon arrival at only 26 destinations.

The best passports to have in 2020 are:

1. Japan (191 destinations)
2. Singapore (190)
3. South Korea, Germany (189)
4. Italy, Finland (188)
5. Spain, Luxembourg, Denmark (187)
6. Sweden, France (186)
7. Switzerland, Portugal, Netherlands, Ireland, Austria (185)
8. United States, United Kingdom, Norway, Greece, Belgium (184)
9. New Zealand, Malta, Czech Republic, Canada, Australia (183)
10. Slovakia, Lithuania, Hungary (181)

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The worst passports:

Several countries around the world have access without visa or visa upon arrival in less than 40 countries. These include:

100. North Korea, Sudan (39 destinations)
101. Nepal, Palestinian Territory (38)
102. Libya (37)
103. Yemen (33)
104. Somalia, Pakistan (32)
105. Syria (29)
106. Iraq (28)
107. Afghanistan (26)

Other indexes

The Henley & Partner list is one of several indexes created by financial companies to classify global passports according to the access they provide to their citizens.

The Henley passport index is based on data provided by the International Air Transport Authority (IATA) and covers 199 passports and 227 travel destinations. It is updated in real time throughout the year, as changes in visa policy take effect.

The Arton Capital Passport Index takes into consideration the passports of 193 member countries of the United Nations and six territories: ROC Taiwan, Macao (SAR China), Hong Kong (SAR China), Kosovo, Palestinian Territory and the Vatican. Territories annexed to other countries are excluded.

Its 2020 index places the UAE at the top with a “visa-free score” of 179, followed by Germany, Finland, Luxembourg and Spain with 172.

Passport Index

Source: cnnespanol

All news articles on 2020-01-07

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