How Powerful Is Your Passport These Are The Best Post Pandemic In 2021

A passport isn’t just a necessity for a two-week break away; it’s as much about a person’s freedom, their right to live and work in other places and in many instances, a better way of life. The newly updated Henley Passport Index highlights how far the power of the U. S. and U. K. passport has declined year-on-year (and how far passports issued by APAC countries have risen). The pandemic has shown that a weak passport isn’t the preserve of less-advanced countries anymore, that poor decision-making and electoral decisions can change the power of a passport in the space of a few months–this has been evidenced by the rush in 2020 of Americans buying a second passport and the rush by British people to apply for second EU passports in the aftermath of Brexit. As more people become able to work from anywhere, the Covid-19 pandemic has shown that the possibility of a second passport offers a way to continue to maintain the travel freedoms once expected of a birth passport for many American and British people. Interestingly, the most powerful passport in the world in 2021 is Japanese; one of about 50 countries in the world that doesn’t allow a person to hold more than one nationality. The annual Henley Passport Index takes data from the International Air Travel Association (IATA) and covers 199 passports and 227 travel destinations–it examines how many countries a passport holder can access without needing a visa. As reported by CNN, it is updated in real time through the year, as and when visa policy changes come into effect. Temporary Covid-19 travel restrictions have not been taken into account.1. Japan (191 destinations)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)The Henley Index has been measured for the past 16 years and originally, it was most of the EU countries, the U. K. and the U. S. which held dominance and were the most powerful, allowing their citizens unimpeded access to more countries around the world. However, there is a trend now for APAC countries to be the most powerful (the 13 countries of the Asia-Pacific region). Over the past seven years, the U. S. has fallen from top place to number seven in 2021. With the U. K., the power of its passport is steadily declining year-on-year. It is the third consecutive year that Japan has held the top spot, either as a tie with Singapore, or on its own. In the short-term, Henley believes that the challenges associated with Covid-19 won’t help the U. S. or U. K. either. Whilst both countries are in seventh place on the list with access to 185 countries, during the pandemic they are presently reduced to just 75 countries (U. S.) and fewer than 70 for the U. K.


All data is taken from the source: http://forbes.com
Article Link: https://www.forbes.com/sites/alexledsom/2021/01/10/how-powerful-is-your-passport-these-are-the-best-post-pandemic-in-2021/


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