Singapore passport dethroned as world's most powerful

It lost visa-free access to Kosovo.

Singapore can travel to 188 countries without the need for a visa. It was defeated by Japan with 189 visa-free countries because Singapore lost its visa-free access to Kosovo, according to Henley Passport Index. 

“Although Singapore moved down slightly in ranking due to its loss of visa-free access to Kosovo, with the addition of new destinations to our database, such as Greenland, Faroe Islands, Monaco, Andorra, Liechtenstein, Palestinian Territories, Vatican City, and Monaco, we’ve seen Singapore’s score move up from 180 to 188 since Q1,” Henley & Partners commented.

Also read: Singapore passport is now the ‘world's most powerful

The index surveys a total of 199 different passports against 227 different travel destinations, including countries, territories, and micro-states. According to Henley & Partners Singapore managing partner and Southeast Asia head Dominic Volek, the index is continuously trying to improve its methodology.

Germany is alongside Singapore at second place. Third placers in the category are Finland, France, Italy, Spain, Sweden, and South Korea. Meanwhile, the US, UK, Luxembourg, Netherlands, and Portugal are fourth placers.

According to the Henley index, Schengen area countries have traditionally topped the index as a result of their open access to Europe. But in the recent years, developed Asian nations have been able to secure equally high scores. Henley and Partners attributed this to the nations’ strong international trade and diplomatic relations.