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These Are The Most Powerful Passports For World Travellers In 2020

These Are The Most Powerful Passports For World Travellers In 2020

most powerful passports henley passport index 2020

Australians may be among the most keen travellers of all, but unfortunately the Aussie passport is not the most powerful when it comes to global travel. According to the recently published Henley Passport Index, Japan has the most powerful passport in the world.

The system works by looking at the number of countries a person carrying that passport can visit either without a visa, or by purchasing a visa on arrival. Japan scored a healthy 191 in the index.

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In 2018, Singapore and South Korea ruled the ranking. Japan pipped South Korea in 2019 to share the ranking with Singapore. These two countries both improved upon their 2019 score into 2020, but Japan came out on top with the most powerful passport.

Australia’s score in the index is a not-too-shabby 9th place, tied with New Zealand, Canada, Malta and Czechia. This places Australia behind at least 21 other countries in terms of passport power.

The Henley Passport Index is also a useful starting place tool for figuring out what the visa requirements are for a country you may be considering visiting – enter the country of your passport and you can filter the results by whether a visa is required.

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Of course the definitive resource for visa requirements and travel information for Australians should always be the Federal Government’s Smartraveller resource. This gives travellers a lot of information about the specific dangers of visiting destinations (both countries and regions within them), details about local laws, customs and safety, plus what you’ll need in terms of visas.

See below for the top 10 most powerful passports, with their score in brackets, and head to the Henley Passport Index for the full list.

  1. Japan (191)
  2. Singapore (190)
  3. South Korea, Germany (189)
  4. Italy, Finland (188)
  5. Spain, Luxembourg, Denmark (187)
  6. Sweden, France (186)
  7. Switzerland, Portugal, Netherlands, Ireland, Austria (185)
  8. United States, United Kingdom, Norway, Greece, Belgium (184)
  9. Australia, New Zealand, Malta, Czechia, Canada (183)
  10. Slovakia, Lithuania, Hungary (181)

(Lead image: Jaimie Harmsen on Unsplash)

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