When the European Union excluded US citizens from its open-border welcome list on July 1, holders of one the world’s perennial top 10 premium passports plunged to an “eye opening” level of diminished travel freedoms, according to the respected Henley Passport Index.
“In a move perceived as a stinging rebuke for its poor handling of the pandemic, the US was notably excluded… as were Brazil and Russia,” says Henley of the EU list, which includes Canada, Australia, Japan, and South Korea – all countries that traditionally score highly on the Index, which uses exclusive IATA data to rank all the world’s passports based on the number of destinations holders can access without a visa.
In 2020, Canada is tied for ninth with Australia in the index (with 183 destinations). The US is tied for seventh (with 185).
However, Henley notes the rankings do not take temporary travel bans into account, and the EU ban has seen the once prestigious US passport drop to roughly the same level of travel freedom as citizens of Uruguay and Mexico (ranked 28th and 25th respectively).
The EU move merely furthers the drop in rankings for the US document.
“In 2014, it held the number one spot in the world on our index, but US nationals currently have far less travel freedom than most citizens of wealthy, industrialized nations and even of some less developed nations, being effectively locked out of Europe,” says London-based Henley & Partners chair Dr. Christian Kaelin, who expects more “upheaval” to come in global rankings.
“In the coming months,” he predicts, “we will see an emergence of a new global hierarchy in terms of mobility, with countries who have effectively managed the pandemic taking the lead, while countries who have handled it poorly falling behind.”
The latter include Russia, whose passport usually ranks ahead of countries such as Georgia and Albania (both included on the EU’s list), but which has seen its passport strength reduced to one of the weakest in the region. And Brazil — most recently placed 19th on the index – whose citizens now have roughly the same travel freedom as residents of Paraguay in 36th position.
Without taking the current travel bans into account, Japan continues to hold the number one spot on the Index with a score of 191. Singapore remains in 2nd place, while Germany and South Korea are in joint-3rd place.
With the pandemic causing such volatility in movement of global citizens, Henley & Partners CEO Dr. Juerg Steffen says dual passport holders have a definite advantage.
“Having a second citizenship or an alternative residence is an even more precious asset than ever before, as concerns over access to first-rate healthcare, global mobility, and quality of life take on a new urgency,” he says.
Here are the (pre-pandemic) 2020 rankings from the Henley Index:
Best passports to hold:
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, US, UK, Norway, Belgium (185)
8. Greece, New Zealand, Malta, Czech Republic (184)
9. Canada, Australia (183)
10. Hungary (181)
Worst passports to hold:
103. North Korea (39 destinations)
104. Libya, Nepal, Palestinian Territory (38)
105. Somalia, Yemen (33)
106. Pakistan (32)
107. Syria (29)
108. Iraq (28)
109. Afghanistan (26)