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The Vietnamese passport currently ranks 88th on the list of the world’s most powerful passports for 2024, remaining at its places compared to the previous ranking in 2023, according to the new quarterly Henley Passport Index (July 23).

The Vietnamese passport shared its position with Liberia. People holding Vietnamese passport enjoy visa-free access to a total of 51 countries and territories worldwide.

In Southeast Asia, the Vietnamese passport is more powerful than those of Laos (90th), Myanmar (92nd), although it is inferior to those of Malaysia in 12th, Singapore in first, Thailand in 60th, and the Philippines in 73rd.

Vietnam Ranks 88th in World's Powerful Passport Index

Meanwhile, Singapore now has the world's most powerful passport, edging out France, Germany, Italy, Japan and Spain. The six countries were ranked top in Henley's index in January this year. The five nations have since dropped to second, with visa-free entry to 192 destinations.

Singaporeans now have visa-free entry to 195 out of 227 travel destinations.

In third position is a seven-nation tie held by Austria, Finland, Ireland, Luxembourg, Netherlands, the Republic of Korea and Sweden. These countries have visa-free entry to 191 destinations.

The UK, which in the bygone days of 2014 held the top spot jointly with the United States, is in fourth place (190 destinations), alongside New Zealand, Norway, Belgium, Denmark and Switzerland.

Australia and Portugal share the No.5 spot (189 destinations) while the US has dropped down to eighth place, with visa-free access to a modest 186 destinations.

Conversely, Afghanistan has long been ranked the world’s weakest passport by the index, but now its citizens can only travel to 26 countries without a visa – the lowest score recorded in the index’s history of nearly two decades.

The biggest mover and shaker is the United Arab Emirates (UAE), which breaks into the top 10 for the first time, having added 152 destinations since the index’s inception in 2006 to achieve its current visa-free score of 185, and rising a remarkable 53 places in the ranking from 62nd to 9th position during that time, Forbes reported.

Henley & Partners CEO Dr. Juerg Steffen says, “Our research has consistently shown a strong correlation between a country’s visa-free score and its economic prosperity. Nations with higher visa-free scores tend to enjoy greater GDP per capita, increased foreign direct investment, and more robust international trade relationships.”

The Henley Passport Index has been issued by Henley & Partners, a global firm in residence and citizenship by investment, since 2005.

Henley & Partners’ list is one of several indexes created by financial firms to rank global passports according to the access they provide to their citizens. Its list is one of several indexes created by financial firms to rank global passports according to the access they provide to their citizens.

Arton Capital’s Passport Index takes into consideration the passports of 193 United Nations member countries and six territories – Taiwan, Macao, Hong Kong, Kosovo, the Palestinian territories and the Vatican. Territories annexed to other countries are excluded.

It’s also updated in real time throughout the year, but its data is gathered by close monitoring of individual governments’ portals. It’s a tool “for people who travel, to provide accurate, simple-to-acess information for their travel needs,” Arton Capital’s founder Armand Arton told CNN in 2022.

Arton’s Global Passport Power Rank 2024 puts the United Arab Emirates in the top spot, with a visa-free/visa-on-arrival score of 179.

As for second place, that’s held by Spain (with a score of 178), while France, Germany, Italy Netherlands, Luxembourg, Austria and Switzerland each have a score of 177 and are jointly at No.3.

Vietnam, Dominica Sign Visa Exemption Agreement Vietnam and the Commonwealth of Dominica have signed an agreement on visa exemption for holders of diplomatic and official passports.

Henley Passport Index Ranks The World’s Most Powerful Passports The Henley Passport Index ranks the world’s most powerful passports, which is based on the number of destinations passport holders can access without a visa.