India has dropped two places to 84 in the 2020 Henley Passport Index, sharing the spot with the likes of Mauritania and Tajikistan. Indian passport holders can get visa-free entry to 58 destinations worldwide. 

Asian countries have firmly established their lead on the Henley Passport Index. For the third consecutive year, Japan has secured the top spot on the index with a visa-free / visa-on-arrival score of 191.

Singapore holds on to second spot with a score of 190, while South Korea drops down a rank to third place alongside Germany, giving their passport holders visa-free / visa-on-arrival access to 189 destinations worldwide.

How is the index prepared?

Henley Passport Index is a ranking of all the world’s passports according to the number of destinations their holders can access without a prior visa.

The index and its contents are based on data provided by the International Air Transport Authority (IATA). The index includes 199 different passports and 227 different travel destinations.

For each travel destination, if no visa is required for passport holders from a country or territory, then a score with ‘value of 1’ is created for that passport.

A score with ‘value of 1’ is also applied if passport holders can obtain a visa on arrival, a visitor’s permit or an electronic travel authority (ETA) when entering the destination. These visa types require no pre-departure government approval because of the specific visa-waiver programmes in place.

Where a visa is required, or where a passport holder has to obtain a government-approved electronic visa (e-visa) before departure, a score with ‘value of zero’ is assigned. A score with ‘value of zero’ is also assigned if passport holders need pre-departure government approval for a visa on arrival, a scenario we do not consider ‘visa-free’.

The total score for each passport is equal to the number of destinations for which no visa is required.

How do other countries fare in the index?

The US and the UK continue their downward trajectory on the index’s rankings. While both countries remain in the top 10, their shared eighth spot is a significant decline from the No. 1 spot they jointly held in 2015.

Elsewhere in the top 10, Finland and Italy share fourth place with a score of 188, while Denmark, Luxembourg and Spain together hold fifth place with a score of 187.

The index’s historic success story remains the steady ascent of the UAE, which has climbed a remarkable 47 places over the past 10 years and now sits in 18th place, with a visa-free / visa-on-arrival score of 171.

On the other end of the travel freedom spectrum, Afghanistan remains at the bottom of the index, with its nationals only able to visit a mere 26 destinations visa-free.

Importance of travel freedom

Christian Kaelin, chairman of Henley & Partners and the inventor of the passport index, said the latest ranking provides a fascinating insight into a rapidly changing world.

“Asian countries’ dominance of the top spots is a clear argument for the benefits of open-door policies and the introduction of mutually beneficial trade agreements. Over the past few years, we have seen the world adapt to mobility as a permanent condition of global life. The latest rankings show that the countries that embrace this reality are thriving, with their citizens enjoying ever-increasing passport power and the array of benefits that come with it,” Kaelin said.

Experts say that there is a strongly positive correlation between travel freedom and other kinds of liberties - from the economic to the political, and even individual or human freedoms.

Uğur Altundal of Syracuse University and Ömer Zarpli of the University of Pittsburgh observe that there’s a distinct correlation between visa freedom and investment freedom, for instance.

“Similar to trade freedom, countries that rank highly in investment freedom generally have stronger passports. European states such as Austria, Malta and Switzerland clearly show that countries with a business-friendly environment tend to score highly when it comes to passport power. Likewise, by using the Human Freedom Index, we found a strong correlation between personal freedom and travel freedom,” they said.

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