A European country has taken over the top spot as the world’s most powerful passport, according to a new index by VisaGuide.World. As of December, the Spanish passport has claimed first place from Singapore, a new study by the visa advice website has found.
European countries also dominate the rest of the rankings, with Japan being the only other non-European country in the top 20.
VisaGuide.World’s ranking looks at the number of destinations passport holders can enter without needing a visa.
It also takes into consideration other factors to generate a ‘destination significance score’ for each country or territory. These are related to entry policy, including requirements for Electronic Travel Authorization (ETA), visa on arrival, electronic visa, embassy or government-approved visas, passport-free entry and banned entry.
If a passport permits visa-free access to a country with a high destination significance score, it earns higher points than for entry to a country with a low destination significance score.
According to the group’s most recent ranking, Spain’s passport is the most powerful in the world. As of December 2023, those holding a Spanish passport can gain visa-free entry to 160 countries and territories.
Singaporean passport holders can actually enter more countries visa-free than Spain. These include Burkina Faso, Cambodia, Ivory Coast, Cuba, Djibouti, Ghana, Guinea, Indonesia, Kenya, Laos, Myanmar, Rwanda, Tanzania, Uganda and Zimbabwe.
However, Spain takes the top spot because of the number of destinations accessible with just an ID card. There are 43 countries that permit entry without a passport.
Spain can also access 11 countries and territories without a visa that Singaporeans cannot. These include the Falkland Islands, the Marshall Islands, Palau, São Tomé and Príncipe, the Seychelles, the Solomon Islands, Timor-Leste, Tonga, Tuvalu, Ukraine and Venezuela.
After Spain and Singapore, Germany comes in third place. It has visa-free access to the same 160 countries and territories as Spain, however Spanish passport holders can take advantage of the visa-on-arrival policy in Papua New Guinea and Togo, whereas German passport holders must apply for an e-visa.
Italy comes in fourth place, followed by France, the Netherlands, Finland, Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Czechia, Portugal, Hungary and Luxembourg.
Japan takes the 15th spot, after which come Austria, Switzerland, Belgium, Ireland and Poland.
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