Singapore passport ranked 2nd 'most powerful' globally after Japan

SINGAPORE: Singapore's passport has been ranked second on a list of the world's most powerful passports, allowing visa-free entry to 192 destinations.

This is according to the latest results from the Henley Passport Index, which is based on exclusive and official data from the International Air Transport Association (IATA).

Japan’s passport claimed the top spot for allowing visa-free access to 193 destinations, while Singapore is tied with South Korea in second place, according to a press release by Henley & Partners on Tuesday (Jul 19).

Last October, Singapore and Japan were tied for the most powerful passport in the world, both allowing holders to travel to 192 destinations visa-free.

Meanwhile, Germany - which tied with South Korea for the second spot last year - slipped to third place this year.

In its press release, Henley & Partners also said that Russian passport holders are “more cut off from the rest of the world than ever before”.

Sanctions, travel bans and airspace closures have limited Russian citizens from accessing all but a few destinations in Asia and the Middle East, the firm said.

The Russian passport sits at the 50th place on the index, with a visa-free or visa-free on arrival score of 119.

Meanwhile, the Ukrainian passport is ranked 35th, with holders able to access 144 destinations around the world without needing a visa in advance. This is an improvement from its ranking of 38 last year.

“In contrast to the stringent restrictions placed on Russian passport holders, Ukrainians displaced by the invasion have been granted the right to live and work in the (European Union) for up to three years under an emergency plan in response to what has become Europe’s biggest refugee crisis this century,” said Henley & Partners.

Russia invaded Ukraine on Feb 24 and the conflict has seen thousands of people killed, cities destroyed and millions forced to flee their homes.

The latest results of the Henley Passport Index when compared with that for global peace show a “strong correlation” between a nation’s passport power and its peacefulness, said Henley & Partners.

In the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, ongoing Ukraine war as well as inflation, a passport “will have an impact on the kind of welcome you will receive, where you can go, and how safe you will be when you get there”, said Mr Stephen Klimczuk-Massion, a fellow at Oxford University’s Said Business School.

“The relative strength or weakness of a particular national passport directly affects the quality of life for the passport holder and may even be a matter of life and death in some circumstances,” he added.