Moving into the third quarter of 2019, Japan and Singapore hold onto the top spot on the Henley Passport Index, with a visa-free or visa-on-arrival score of 189.
This latest result marks the culmination of an 18-month-long winning streak for both countries, after they unseated Germany from its long-held 1st position at the beginning of 2018.
Falling from the 1st-place spot it shared with Japan and Singapore last quarter, South Korea now sits in 2nd place on the index along with Finland and Germany, with citizens of all three countries able to access 187 destinations around the world without a prior visa.
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Denmark, Italy, and Luxembourg sit jointly in 3rd place on the index, each with a visa-free or visa-on-arrival score of 186, while France, Spain, and Sweden are in joint 4th place, each with a score of 185.
The UK and the US now sit in 6th place, with a visa-free or visa-on-arrival score of 183 — the lowest position either country has held since 2010 and a significant drop from their 1st-place spot in 2014.
Afghanistan remains at the bottom of the global mobility spectrum, with its citizens able to access only 25 destinations worldwide without a prior visa.
The link between visa openness and democracy
Throughout most of the index’s 14-year history, the UK has held one of the top five places in the ranking.
However, with its exit from the EU now imminent, the UK’s oncestrong position looks increasingly uncertain.
The Brexit process has not yet had a direct impact on the UK’s ranking, but new research using exclusive historical data from the Henley Passport Index indicates that this could change, with consequences that extend beyond a decline in passport power.
Political science researchers Uğur Altundal and Ömer Zarpli, of Syracuse University and the University of Pittsburgh respectively, have found that there is a direct link between visa openness and progressive reform.
Altundal and Zarpli’s unique research shows that even short-term travel mobility, which represents 85% of all cross-border movements, can positively influence political liberalization and democratization.
Conversely, countries moving towards nationalist isolationism and away from policies that encourage visa openness are likely to drop in the Henley Passport Index rankings and incur geopolitical consequences for themselves and their neighbors.
Altundal and Zarpli note that visa liberalization appears to be a vital pre-condition not only for economic growth but also for social integration and progressive political change.
With nationalism on the rise, and global powerhouses like the UK and the US embracing policies that limit freedom of movement, this new research indicates that associated impacts on political rights, rule of law, security, and democracy could be profound.
Commenting on these developments, Dr. Christian H. Kaelin, Chairman of Henley & Partners and the creator of the passport index concept, says, “With a few notable exceptions, the latest rankings from the Henley Passport Index show that countries around the world increasingly view visa openness as crucial to economic and social progress.
This latest research appears to confirm something that many of us already know: that increased passport power and mobility benefits the entire global community, not just the strongest countries.”
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