The most powerful passports in the world for the month of December 2023, are that of Spain, Singapore, and Germany, the most recent update of the VisaGuide.World Passport Index has revealed.
According to the index, Spain now occupies the first position, with Spaniards eligible to travel completely passport-free to 43 world countries, and another 106 countries without the need for obtaining a visa at all.
In addition, Spanish passport holders can enter 11 destinations with only a travel authorization (eTA), 30 with a visa they need to obtain upon arrival at that country’s border, and another 18 by obtaining a visa online before their trip. A traditional visa is required for Spanish nationals for travel to only 18 countries, out of around 200, VisaGuide.World reports.
Amongst the changes that have put Spain in the first position in the ranking of passport power, is a recent move by China, lifting entry visas for six nations, including here Spain.
Singaporean Passport Remains Asia’s Most Powerful & World’s Second
World’s second-best passport, and the best in Asia is that of Singapore. Through Singaporeans cannot travel anywhere in the world without a passport, they have with completely visa-free access to 156 destinations.
Yet, they still need a traditional visa only for 20 countries. In addition, they can enter eight countries with a travel authorization, 30 with a visa on arrival and 12 whit an electronic visa.
Singapore, which at one time had the world’s most powerful travel document, has done some huge steps towards its strengthening, gaining visa-free access to a few more countries in 2023. Amongst others, Kosovo removed visas for Singapore last July, after the latter removed traditional visas for Kosovo citizens, introducing e-visas for travellers from this country.
Additionally, China restored 15-day visa-free entry for Singapore on the same month, and is now looking forward to extending this period to 30 days.
German Passport Is Europe’s Second & World’s Third Best to Have in December 2023
Listed third in the VisaGuide.Passport Index for the end of 2023, Germany is one of the best countries to have a passport from. Like Spain, it enables passport-free access to 43 countries, and visa free to 106. Yet, in order to travel to 11 world countries, Germans need an eTA, a visa on arrival for travel to 29, an eVisa for 19 and a traditional visa for 18.
Fourth in this ranking is listed Italy, followed by France fifth, the Netherlands sixth, Finland seventh, Sweden eighth, Norway ninth, and then Denmark completing the top ten list. Aside from Singapore listed second and Japan 15th, all the other passports listed in the top 20 are European as well.
VisaGuide.World Passport Index is the first index ever to rank world passports in a more comprehensive and accurate way, based on a carefully-built formula that takes more factors into consideration.
The index gives travel with a visa, e-visa, visa-on-arrival, and visa-free a different value each, while also taking into account different other factors, like the value of the destination, which makes it possible for every passport to have its unique score, and finally, makes passport ranking more accurate than ever.
Differently from the existing indexes, VisaGuide.World’s Passport Index also takes into account the value of visa-free countries.
NOTE: VisaGuide Passport Index is updated monthly with the most recent changes in the world of passports of visa, which makes it the most accurate and updated passport index amongst existing indexes of this nature.