CANADA’S PASSPORT RANKED 9TH BEST IN THE WORLD
Premium Passports Lose Their Shine In A Post-Pandemic World
The Voice of Canada News:
As parts of the globe cautiously begin to open up, the focus is on what travel freedom and global mobility will look like in a post–Covid-19 world. EU released a list of countries whose residents would be allowed entry into the bloc based on corona virus-related health and safety criteria. Included on the welcome list are countries such as Australia, Canada, Japan, and South Korea that traditionally scores highly on the Henley Passport Index — the original ranking of the entire world’s passports according to the number of destinations their holders can access without a prior visa. However, in a move perceived as a stinging rebuke for its poor handling of the pandemic, the US was notably excluded from the list, as were Brazil and Russia.
According to the Henley Passport Index, Canada’s passport has once again been ranked among the best to have in the world with a score of 183. Japan continues to hold the number one position with a score of 191, Singapore takes 2nd place with 190, while Germany and South Korea are in joint-3rd place, each with a score of 189.
Both Japan and South Korea have been included in the EU’s list of ‘safe’ countries, while Singapore has been excluded, which means Singaporean passport holders currently have far less travel freedom than their closest competitors on the index, which is based on exclusive data from the International Air Transport Association (IATA).
The Best Passports to hold in 2020 are:
1. Japan (191) 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 (185) 8. Greece, New Zealand, Malta, Czech Republic (184) 9. Canada, Australia (183) 10. Hungary (181)
Dr. Christian H. Kaelin, Chairman of investment migration firm Henley & Partners and the inventor of the passport index concept, says the EU’s recent decision will have far-reaching effects. “As we have already seen, the pandemic’s impact on travel freedom has been more drastic and long-lasting than initially anticipated. This latest decision by the EU indicates that there is more upheaval to come. Look at the US passport, for example – 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 other wealthy, industrialized nations and even of some less-developed nations, being effectively locked out of Europe.
