Dreaming of a post-Covid-19 trip? The best passports for visa-free travel in 2021 – Japan pulled ahead of Singapore to top the Henley Passport Index
As we look forward to the end of travel bans and coronavirus quarantines, we reveal the world’s most powerful passports: Japan tops the list with access to 191 countries, with Singapore, Germany and South Korea close behind
A passport from Japan opens more doors than a passport from anywhere else in the world, according to the Henley Passport Index.
The index is an annual power ranking of passports determined by the number of destinations a passport holder can enter without a visa.
A Japanese passport promises uncomplicated travel to 191 other countries and territories in 2021. That’s the same number of countries it allowed visa-free access to in 2020, the year it pulled ahead from its tie with Singapore to become the world’s most-desirable travel document.
Singapore once again placed second this year, providing access to 190 countries, followed closely by South Korea and Germany, with access to 189 countries and territories.
The 2021 ranking remains largely unchanged from 2020 with only two exceptions: a New Zealand passport now offers visa-free access to 185 countries, one more than it did in 2020. And Australia also gained visa-free access to one additional country for a total of 184.
For comparison, passports from Afghanistan, Iraq and Syria – the three lowest-ranking passports on the list – offer access to fewer than 30 countries each.
Keep reading for a look at the countries with the most powerful passports, ranked by ascending number of visa-free travel options.
10. Hungary: 182