Visa Guide Passport Index: Biggest Winners & Losers of 2023

In today’s interconnected world, the desire for a passport that opens doors to the majority of world countries without the need to obtain a visa has become an aspiration shared by many. Businesspersons, celebrities, passionate travelers, and those with extensive family ties and friends scattered worldwide are, in particular, keen on getting their hands on such passports.

As a result, in a bid to enhance the power of their own passports, countries around the world have actively pursued visa-free and visa-facilitation agreements with their international counterparts. These initiatives aim to empower passport holders by removing or simplifying entry requirements, facilitating travel experiences, and bolstering diplomatic ties, VisaGuide.World reports.

2023 has been a remarkable year for some world passports, the power of which has grown beyond predictions, while some others have struggled to keep their spots and fallen down in the list of the world’s most potent passports.

According to VisaGuide Passport Ranking Index, while in January 2023, the three most powerful passports were that of Singapore, followed by Spain’s second, and the German one listed third, in January 2024, Spain occupied the first place, having the most powerful travel document in the world, followed by Germany and Singapore listed second and third.

Commenting on the shifts that have occurred in passport power in 2023, Lum Kamishi, Project Manager at VisaGuide.World points out that this year has unveiled a tale of passport power with two distinct arcs.

For some, it’s been a banner year—a significant boost in their passport’s strength, granting easier access to numerous countries. However, for others, it’s been a different story—a decline in their passport’s influence due to the reintroduction of visa restrictions, or simply the failure to keep up with other countries’ advancement in visa-free agreements.

In order to shed light on passport power shift throughout the year, VisaGuide.World has compiled a list of the strongest passports at the beginning of the year and where they are now, as well as the passports that have climbed up for most positions and those that have dropped down most fatally.

World’s Most Powerful Passports in January 2023 – Where Are They Now

In January 2023, VisaGuide Passport Index placed Singapore at the top of the table, as the best travel document to have. The same, however, has now fallen one the third spot. Commenting on this dramatic fall, Kamishi says that Singapore has simply not done enough to remain in the first position.

This year, Singapore has been more focused on easing residency and long-term visa rules for foreigners living in its territory instead of facilitating entry visas for tourists, which in turn could have resulted in facilitated entry rules for Singaporean passport holders abroad.

Portugal, the passport of which was deemed as the world’s fourth strongest, is now placed in the 13th spot.

The other passports in the top 25 of January 2023 and their current positions are as follows:

Whereas, based on how high they have climbed within 12 months, the biggest winners are France with 14 positions up, the Netherlands with 12 positions up, and Finland, with six positions up. Overall, most countries in this list have performed badly, and dropped below the positions they were placed in January 2023.

The real winners, for sure, remain Germany, Spain and Singapore, which are still in the top three most powerful passports in the world.

Kosovo: the Biggest Winner of VisaGuide Index

Listed 185th in January 2023, one European country has moved up by 88 positions overnight. After the EU Council approved visa-free entry for Kosovo citizens starting from January 1, 2024, the power of this passport has quadrupled in 2024.

According to Besart Bajrami, founder of the VisaGuide.World, in a few days, Kosovo has made a historic jump in its passport power, one rarely seen.

An increase so drastic in passport power has not been seen since 2017 when Georgia and Ukraine were granted visa-free access to the Schengen states.

Yet, he points out that Kosovo still remains quite down on the list compared to other Western Balkan countries.

Among the countries of the Western Balkans, Kosovo will still be the last because 14 countries of the world – Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Cuba, Georgia, Hong Kong, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Seychelles, Syria, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, and Venezuela  – do not recognise Kosovo as a country at all, and as a result they do not accept its passports as legal travel documents.

Kosovo authorities have been attempting to achieve visa-free travel with the Schengen states since February 2012.

When taking into account the countries that have made the biggest difference in positive terms in their VisaGuide Passport index position, Yemen is listed second, having moved up from the 196th position to the 176th, which is 20 spots higher.

About VisaGuide Passport Index

VisaGuide.World Passport Index had introduced a revolutionary approach to ranking world passports in a more comprehensive and accurate way, based on a carefully built formula that takes more factors into consideration than other indexes.

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.

It also takes into account the value of visa-free countries, emphasizing that traveling visa-free to a top travel destination is not the same as traveling visa-ree to a less-visited and less-alluring country.