According to the most recent update published by Henley Passport Index on Wednesday, May 23.
The Japanese Passport now gives its residents visa-free or visa-on-arrival access to a record 189 destinations.
Singapore’s passport ranks second behind Germany, with a complete of 188 destinations available and not using a prior visa.
South Korea, Finland, France, Italy, Spain and Sweden are in third place, while the United States and the United Kingdom are in fourth place.
In previous rating published on February 28, Singapore and Japan took first place, providing visa-free travel to 180 destinations. In second place was Germany, whose passport provides visa-free access to 179 destinations.
The index, compiled by global citizenship and residence consultancy Henley & Partners, shows that governments have signed almost 40 visa waiver agreements for the reason that starting of the 12 months.
In April, Russia announced that every one travelers with tickets to the upcoming FIFA World Cup in June and July would have their travel waived. In the most recent rating, the country ranks forty seventh, falling from its previous position of forty fifth.
The fastest climber on the list is the United Arab Emirates (UAE), which currently ranks twenty third. Since 2008, the country has advanced within the rating by 38 places.
The UAE’s promotion comes after the country secured more latest visa waivers this 12 months “than every other jurisdiction on the planet”, Henley & Partners said.
The Henley Passport Index relies on data from the International Air Transport Association, which maintains the world’s largest database of travel information. Additional studies were also used to finish the index.
The index examined a complete of 199 different passports for 227 different travel destinations, including countries, territories and micro-states.
In a competitive rating by Arton Capital, updated in April, the Singapore passport was named probably the most powerful on the planet with a rating of 164 visa-free points.
In the corporate’s latest index, South Korea ranked second with a rating of 163, while Germany and Japan ranked third with a rating of 161.
Source: The Jakarta Post
