Singapore has become at the top of the global ranking, in terms of passport strength ahead of Japan, as the holder of a Singaporean passport allows visa-free entry to 192 global destinations, according to the latest index from “Henley Passport”.
After 5 years at the top, Japan has fallen to third place as the number of destinations a passport can reach without a visa has fallen, according to a ranking published by London-based immigration consultancy Henley & Partners.
The United States, which topped the rankings nearly a decade ago, dropped two places to eighth. While the United Kingdom, after the recession caused by Britain’s exit from the European Union, jumped two ranks to fourth place, which is the position it occupied for the last time in 2017, according to “Bloomberg”, and viewed by “Al Arabiya.net”.
Singapore is a magnet for wealth, with the latest influx driven by a crackdown on private business in China and fears of geopolitical tensions. But getting the privilege of using a city-state travel document is not easy. The country of 5.6 million people granted citizenship to 23,100 people last year, and earlier this year authorities ruled out doing so on the basis of individuals’ net worth.
The “Henley” ranking tracks data from the International Air Transport Association. The methodology differs from other passport indexes such as those published by financial advisory firm Arton Capital, which put the UAE in first place last year.
The most powerful passports
