As Poslovni Dnevnik writes, the passport index ranks 199 passports according to the number of destinations their owners can access without needing to arrange for a prior visa. The list is one of several indexes created by financial companies to rank global passports according to the travel benefits they provide to their citizens. It is updated in real time throughout the year, as and when changes to the visa policy take effect.
Since the outbreak of the war in Ukraine following Russian invasion back in late February, many countries have either changed their entry policies or abolished visas for Ukrainian passport holders altogether, meaning Ukraine and as such the Ukrainian passport has seen record growth, the report said.
Meanwhile, the European Union (EU), the United States and Canada have banned Russian operators from their airspace, with some countries no longer issuing visas at all to Russian citizens.
While this hasn’t yet dramatically affected the Russian passport’s position on the list, the report suggests that is likely to change in the coming months. The index is based on exclusive data from the International Air Transport Association (IATA) and regularly monitors passports across the world, noting those which are are the most favourable for travel since back in 2006.
On the list for the second quarter of 2022, the Ukrainian travel document has grown by one place and is now ranked 34th, and Ukrainian citizens can now travel to 143 destinations without arranging for a visa (or without the need to get a visa upon arrival). Russia dropped four places, down to 49th place, with the ability for Russian passport holders to access 117 countries freely, but this number is likely to drop even more as visa suspensions and sanctions against Russia are formalised.
The top of the index remains the same as before – Japan and Singapore share the first place. Holders of these passports can, in theory, travel to 192 destinations without a visa, but it is worth noting that this doesn’t take into account any temporary restrictions.
Afghan nationals are once again at the bottom of the index and only 26 countries can be entered with this passport without the need for a visa.
When ir comes to the top 10, South Korea is still with Germany in second place, with a score of 190, and Finland, Italy, Luxembourg and Spain are jointly in third place, with a score of 189. Austria, Denmark, the Netherlands and Sweden share fourth place (188), while the French passport has fallen to fifth place.
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, which lifted all of its remaining coronavirus restructions last month, advanced one place (position 5), next to France, as did Ireland and Portugal.
The United States remains at number six, with a score of 186, sharing a position with Belgium, New Zealand, Norway and Switzerland. There is no change to number seven, and Australia, Canada, the Czech Republic, Greece and Malta remain together, with a score of 185. Hungary is in eighth place alone, with a score of 183, while Poland dropped from eighth to ninth place on the list, sharing a joint place with Lithuania and Slovakia, with a score of 182. Estonia, Latvia and neighbouring Slovenia round out the top ten with a score of 181.
The Slovenian passport is the most powerful in the region, followed by the Croatian travel document, which is in 18th place, ahead of Serbia, which is in position 39 (135 countries) ahead of Macedonia (position 47) and Montenegro (position 48).
For more, make sure to check out our travel section.
