U.K. Passport Is as Good as Uzbek One, New Ranking Shows 

(Bloomberg) -- Singapore may have one of the world’s most-powerful passports but that’s little comfort as Covid curbs travel to many destinations.

In fact, under current restrictions, a Singapore passport is less useful than one from Namibia, Belarus, Kazakhstan or Malawi, according to the Henley Passport Index.

In theory, a Singapore passport gets you visa-free, or visa-on-arrival, access to 192 nations, the best score of any country globally after Japan, whose passport ranks No. 1 with hassle-free entry into 193 places.

In practice, taking into account coronavirus limitations, it would permit such entry to only 70 destinations, the data show, equal to having a passport from the Dominican Republic.

There’s a similarly gloomy outlook even in countries with more advanced Covid vaccine rollouts. The U.K. and the U.S. share joint 7th place on the index, with passport holders theoretically able to access 187 destinations around the world.

Under current travel bans, however, U.K. passport holders can access fewer than 60 destinations -- a passport power equivalent to that of Uzbekistan. U.S. passport holders have a passport power equivalent to Rwanda.

Henley & Partners Chairman Christian Kaelin said it’s clear that global mobility will be “seriously hampered throughout 2021 at least.”

“In many countries, serious doubts have arisen as to the ability to handle a global crisis, with the subsequent embrace of more inward-looking priorities,” Kaelin said. “It is clear that more than ever, people need to expand their residence and passport options.”

©2021 Bloomberg L.P.