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A NUMBER of countries in Asia still occupy the top positions on the list of the strongest passports in the world for 2023, namely from Japan, Singapore and South Korea.
The latest quarterly report released by citizenship and residency consultancy Global Henley & Partners reveals the Asian trio offers greater global visa-free freedoms than any other country.
Nationals of Japan enjoy visa-free access to 193 destinations around the world. Following Japan, there are Singapore and South Korea whose citizens can freely visit 192 countries without a visa.
Under the top three in Asia, there are also a number of countries in Europe that dominate in terms of passport power. Noted, Germany and Spain are in a draw position with 190th place. Then following the next rank are Finnish, Italian and Luxembourgish passport holders who can freely enter 189 countries without a visa.
It should be noted, the Henley & Partners Index is only one of a number of other indices that rank the power of global passports. The Henley Passport Index ranks 199 passports according to the number of destinations the holder can access without a visa. The index is updated in real time throughout the year, as and when changes to visa policies come into effect.
Arton Capital’s Passport Index considers passports from 193 UN member states and six territories — ROC Taiwan, Macau (SAR China), Hong Kong (SAR China), Kosovo, Palestinian Territories and the Vatican. Territories annexed to other countries are exempt.
The Arton Capital Passport Index is also updated in real time throughout the year, but the data is collected under the strict monitoring of the respective government portals.
“[Passport] is a travel tool that provides accurate and easily accessible information for their travel needs,” said Arton Capital founder Armand Arton, quoted by CNN International.
Arton’s Global Passport Power Rank 2023 places the United Arab Emirates in the top spot, with a visa-free/visa-on-arrival score of 181. The second place is held by 11 countries, mostly in Europe: Germany, Sweden, Finland, Luxembourg, Spain, France, Italy, Netherlands, Austria, Switzerland and South Korea.
What rank is Indonesia (RI)?
According to the Henley & Partner Index, Indonesia is in 75th place on the list of the strongest passports in the world in 2023. Indonesia shares a place with Zambia, a country in Africa, which is also in 75th position.
Indonesian and Zambian passport holders both only have free access to 71 country destinations. When compared with neighboring countries such as Malaysia, Indonesia’s position is far behind. Malaysia ranks 14th on the list because its residents can freely enter 179 other countries. Malaysian passports even beat a number of passports from other European countries such as Croatia and Monaco. [sources/photo special]
