Japan has secured the highest position for 3 years in a row as its passport holders have access to 191 countries without having to use for a previous visa, Singapore with 190, and South Korea ranks third together with Germany with 189. Star reported.
The East Asian nation, which previously shared first place with Singapore, overtook the Republic since it retained access to the South American country of Suriname, which Singapore didn’t have.
The index is compiled by Henley & Partners, a London-based citizenship and residence consultancy, based on exclusive data from the International Air Transport Association.
Dominic Volek, head of Southeast Asia and managing partner at Henley & Partners, said: “The benefits of open door policies and mutually beneficial trade agreements can no longer be denied.”
“Based on our ongoing research, countries which have embraced the brand new reality of world mobility are thriving, and their residents are having fun with the increasing power of passports and freedom to travel, in addition to the range of advantages that include it,” Volek added. quoted by Business Times.
The latest Henley Passport Index results also highlight growing disparities in travel freedom, with Japanese passport holders in a position to access 165 more destinations all over the world than Afghan nationals, Henley & Partners noted.
“This extraordinary global mobility gap is the widest since the index’s inception in 2006,” the corporate added.
