The ‘Land of the Rising Sun’, Japan, has left the world behind, and emerged at the top in the list of the countries with the most powerful visa. Yeah you guessed it right, now the Japanese passport is the most powerful passport in the whole world!
In doing this Japan has left Singapore behind that had the most powerful passport till it got dethroned by the Japanese passport. Significantly, previously, before Singapore, Germany had the world’s most powerful passport. At the bottom of the heap, Iraq & Afghanistan find a place, with a visa-free tally of only 30.
The ranking comes thanks to a new study done by a firm that ranks passports according to the figure of nations it allows guests to gain entry, minus a visa.
As per the latest list from the concerned organization, the citizens of Japan may now make a trip to an astonishing 189 out of a possible 218 countries visa-free, leaving Singapore and Germany behind both at 188.
At present, Australia is placed at the sixth spot, together with Greece, with a visa-free total of 183. The most recent list also reportedly reveals a noticeable change from the preceding years, which saw Germany comprehensively lead the rank.
As per the report from the organization behind the study, the latest changes in visa policies saw the nations of Asia surge ahead and rise to the top of the global ranking.
According to the report, even as Schengen Area nations have usually dominated the index–thanks to their open access to Europe–developed Asian nations have managed to get an equally high total in the past couple of years, courtesy of their strong global trade and diplomatic relations.
Significantly, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) is another nation that has vroomed ahead to the top in the list in 2018. It reportedly jumped 38 places over the previous 10 years. As per the report, the UAE is the quickest general climber even as China is also quickly climbing the list.
Australia has also been on the rise, having zoomed ahead from a total of 153 on the list yearly during the year gone by, to its present total of 183.
A key factor for that change is that Indonesia has lately amended its visa requirements for the nationals of Oz, allowing them to visit it for a maximum period of 30 days minus having to shell-out $50 for a visa on arrival.
The study report continues that while not much has changed in Europe and North America, numerous new immigration and border rules have been enacted by the different nations in Asia and the former Soviet Union during the past couple of months, and also in Africa and in the Caribbean.
