(CNN) – The days of entering an airport, showing a passport and then boarding a flight to anywhere you want are, for now, a distant memory.
The Covid-19 pandemic has transformed the travel landscape, potentially in the coming decades.
Countries around the world are entering new blocks, but even when restrictions increase, it is likely that mandatory vaccination before air travel will soon be a necessity.
Japan tops the list
Asian citizens continue to have the most powerful travel documents in the world.
The index does not take into account temporary restrictions, so Japan is once again at the top of the ranking, offering visa or visa access on arrival to 191 destinations around the world.
Singapore is in second place (with 190 points) and South Korea ties with Germany in third place (with 189 points).
A little further down in the top 10, New Zealand is in seventh position, with visa-free access to 185 destinations, while Australia is in eighth place, with access to 184 destinations.
This domain of APAC is a relatively new phenomenon in the index’s 16-year history.
The United States, the United Kingdom and the EU countries traditionally ruled the roost, but, reports Henley & Partners in their statement, “experts suggest that the APAC region’s strong position will continue, as it includes some of the first countries to start the pandemic recovery process. “
The number of coronavirus cases is increasing sharply in the US and the UK, with the UK being the center of a new, rapidly spreading variant.
Temporary travel restrictions related to this mean that – although the United Kingdom and the United States are in seventh place on Henley’s list – the reality is that US passport holders can travel to less than 75 destinations, while holders of UK passports have access for less than 70.
Japan ranks first in 2020.
TOSHIFUMI KITAMURA / AFP / Getty Images
The unstoppable United Arab Emirates
There were relatively few high-level visa agreements between countries during 2020 – with the United Arab Emirates being a notable exception, says Henley & Partners.
The UAE signed several mutually reciprocal visa waiver agreements last year, including a historic US-brokered agreement establishing formal ties with Israel and granting citizens of each country visa-free access to the other.
The United Arab Emirates occupies the 16th place in the ranking, with visa-free access on 173 destinations. It is an incredible increase in relation to the position when the index started in 2006, when the country was in 62nd place, with access to only 35.
‘Each person for himself’
“Just a year ago, all indications were that global mobility rates would continue to increase, that freedom of travel would increase and that holders of powerful passports would have more access than ever,” said Christian H. Kaelin, president of the Henley & Partners and inventors of the passport index concept.
“The global blockade has denied these bright projections and, as restrictions begin to increase, the results of the latest index are a reminder of what the power of the passport really means in a world dominated by the pandemic.”
In terms of future global mobility, we should not expect a return to pre-pandemic patterns, says Parag Khanna, author of “The Future is Asian” and founder and managing partner of Singapore’s FutureMap consultancy. It may no longer be the case that nationality alone opens the door.
“Even for still powerful passports, such as Japan, Singapore, South Korea and EU members, additional protocols will be needed to achieve relatively easy mobility,” said Khanna.
“Young people today are socially aware, environmentally aware and less nationalistic – which makes them potentially the most mobile generation in human history. They herald a seminal shift in the mobility of being each country for itself to be each person for itself. “
The best passports to keep in 2021 are:
1. Japan (191 destinations)
2. Singapore (190)
3. South Korea, Germany (189)
4. Italy, Finland, Spain, Luxembourg (188)
5. Denmark, Austria (187)
6. Sweden, France, Portugal, Netherlands, Ireland (186)
7. Switzerland, United States, United Kingdom, Norway, Belgium, New Zealand (185)
8. Greece, Malta, Czech Republic, Australia (184)
9. Canada (183)
10. Hungary (181)
The worst passports to hold
Several countries around the world have access without a visa or visa on arrival to less than 40 countries. These include:
103. North Korea (39 destinations)
104. Libya, Nepal (38)
105. Palestinian Territories (37)
106. Somalia, Yemen (33)
107. Pakistan (32)
108. Syria (29)
109. Iraq (28)
110. Afghanistan (26)
Other indices
The Henley & Partner list is one of several indexes created by financial companies to classify global passports according to the access they provide to their citizens.
The Henley Passport Index is based on data provided by the International Air Transport Authority (IATA) and covers 199 passports and 227 travel destinations. It is updated in real time throughout the year, as and when changes in visa policy take effect.
The Arton Capital Passport Index takes into account the passports of 193 United Nations member countries and six territories – Taiwan ROC, Macau (China SAR), Hong Kong (China SAR), Kosovo, Palestinian Territory and the Vatican. Territories attached to other countries are excluded.
Its 2021 index puts Germany at the top, with a visa-free visa score of 134.