Henley Passport Index revealed that Japan took the top spot and is now offering the citizens now visa-free or visa-on-arrival access to a record total of 189 destinations.Singapore and Germany took the joint second place with 188 destinations accessible without a prior visa.
Third place is shared by six countries which includes one Asian (South Korea) and the rest European (Finland, France, Italy, Spain, and Sweden).Due to strong trade and diplomatic relations developed Asian nations could secure high scores in recent years.
Schengen Area countries have traditionally topped the index due to open access to Europe.Since the start of the year passport-holders around the world go into the summer season with greater collective access than ever before. There are 40 visa-waiver agreements signed by governments.
Russia which is usually off-limits to nationals of most countries recently announced visas waiver for all travellers holding tickets to the June–July FIFA World Cup.As compared to quarter one the country has fallen from 45th to 47th position on the Henley Passport Index compared to quarter one.
It is not able to catch up to regional leaders Ukraine and Moldova, both the nations have signed a number of visa agreements since the start of the year.The UAE holds 23rd place and remains the fastest overall climber on the index. It surged 38 places since 2008.
In 2018 the country was able to secure more new visa-waivers for its citizens than any other jurisdiction in the world and Israel is in the 19th place will be closely surpassed.In the 4th place there is a tie between US and UK along with Luxembourg, the Netherlands, and Portugal.
In quarter one the US has climbed one place while the UK has remained stable.China has significantly strengthened its position on the ranking grabiing the 68th position from74th to 68th position since quarter one.
But the country has relatively low score of 70 visa-free or visa-on-arrival destinations.Henley Passport Index is based on exclusive data from the International Air Transport Association.
