With the lifting of the last few coronavirus-related border closures, global accessibility has increased for numerous passport holders. Additionally, in the aftermath of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022, many nations have waived visa requirements for Ukrainian passport holders, while imposing restrictions on Russian citizens and airlines.
Leading Destinations and Noteworthy Changes
As a result of these developments, the United Arab Emirates currently holds the position of having the world’s most dominant passport, allowing visa-free or visa-upon-arrival entry to 180 destinations. This recognition comes from Passport Index, a ranking system that assesses passports based on the number of destinations their holders can access without obtaining a prior visa.
Unlike the Henley Passport Index, which places Singapore at the top of its 2023 rankings, Arton Capital’s Passport Index continuously updates its rankings in real-time to reflect the latest visa waivers and changes, reflecting the present impact of travel bans on global mobility.
The UAE’s impressive rise in the rankings during 2022 can be attributed to its initiative of subsidizing country pavilions at the Expo 2020 Dubai for lower-income nations, thereby securing visa-free agreements in return.
In the second position, alongside the UAE, eleven countries currently hold visa-free access to 175 destinations. These countries are Germany, Sweden, Finland, Luxembourg, Spain, France, Italy, Netherlands, Austria, Switzerland, and South Korea. In third place, there is an eight-way tie among Denmark, Norway, Belgium, Portugal, Poland, United Kingdom, Ireland, and New Zealand, each offering access to 174 destinations. The United States occupies the fourth spot on the list with access to 173 destinations.
Notably, Russia appears at the 37th position on the list, having slipped two spots since 2022, and now grants visa-free access to 126 destinations. On the other hand, Ukraine has gained one spot, securing the 19th position, and increased its visa-free access to 148 destinations from 144 in 2022.
At the bottom of the rankings, Afghanistan currently holds the 95th place with access to only 39 destinations. Slightly above, Syria and Iraq are ranked with access to 40 and 41 destinations, respectively.
Passport Index by Ranks for the Year 2023
Considering COVID-19 and other travel limitations, here is the ranking of the world’s most influential passports for 2023:
- United Arab Emirates (180 destinations)
- Germany, Sweden, Finland, Luxembourg, Spain, France, Italy, Netherlands, Austria, Switzerland, South Korea (175 destinations)
- Denmark, Norway, Belgium, Portugal, Poland, United Kingdom, Ireland, New Zealand (174 destinations)
- United States, Czech Republic, Greece, Hungary, Japan, Australia, Canada (173 destinations)
- Singapore, Malta, Slovakia, Lithuania (172 destinations)
- Estonia, Latvia, Slovenia, Liechtenstein (171 destinations)
- Iceland (170 destinations)
- Cyprus, Croatia, Romania, Bulgaria (169 destinations)
- Malaysia (168 destinations)
- Monaco (167 destinations)
These rankings demonstrate a significant rebound in global mobility since the onset of the pandemic. In 2020, the world’s most dominant passports provided visa-free access to only 112 destinations. That year, Belgium, Finland, Austria, Luxembourg, Spain, Ireland, United Kingdom, and Switzerland shared the top spot in the rankings.
However, when considering the removal of these temporary restrictions, the travel freedom for holders of many powerful passports takes on a different outlook. For instance, according to the Henley Passport Index, which published its latest rankings on July 18, 2023, without factoring in COVID-19 border closures or other travel constraints, the United States gains access to 184 destinations, securing the eighth position on that list.
Henley Passport Index Ranks for the Year 2023
In the absence of COVID-19 travel restrictions and visa changes related to the Ukrainian war, the world’s most influential passports for 2023 are as follows:
- Singapore (192 destinations)
- Germany, Italy, Spain (190 destinations)
- Austria, Finland, France, Japan, Luxembourg, South Korea, Sweden (189 destinations)
- Denmark, Ireland, Netherlands, United Kingdom (188 destinations)
- Belgium, Czech Republic, Malta, New Zealand, Norway, Portugal, Switzerland (187 destinations)
- Australia, Hungary, Poland (186 destinations)
- Canada, Greece (185 destinations)
- Lithuania, United States (184 destinations)
- Latvia, Slovakia, Slovenia (183 destinations)
- Estonia, Iceland (182 destinations)
The approach
While the Passport Index considers the passports of 193 United Nations member countries along with six territories (ROC Taiwan, Macao, Hong Kong, Kosovo, Palestinian Territory, and the Vatican) for its rankings, it excludes territories that have been annexed to other countries, such as French Polynesia and the British Virgin Islands, from the list of accessible travel destinations for passport holders.
On the other hand, the Henley Passport Index also evaluates the same 199 passports but goes a step further by cross-referencing each of these passports against all 227 potential travel destinations worldwide, even if those territories do not issue their own passports. It is worth noting that rankings may be more prone to change as the COVID-19 travel restrictions and the evolving situation of the Russian invasion of Ukraine continue to impact travel throughout 2023.
