Black Immigrant Daily News
With visa-free access to 163 countries, Barbados yet again ranks best with the most powerful Caribbean passport.
In its report, Henley & Partners said its index is the “original and most authoritative ranking of all the world’s passports according to the number of destinations their holders can access without a prior visa.”
The index includes 199 passports and 227 travel destinations.
“The ranking is based on exclusive data from the International Air Transport Association (IATA), which maintains the world’s largest and most accurate database of travel information and is enhanced by the Henley & Partners Research Department,” the report said.
Jamaica continues to rank outside the top 10 most powerful Caribbean passports, despite being one of the top travel destinations for visitors.
The Jamaican passport ranks 63rd globally for 2023, according to a new quarterly report released by London-based global citizenship and residence advisory firm Henley & Partners, with visa-free access to 87 destinations, including Cook Islands, Russia, Serbia, Bangladesh, Indonesia, Philippines, Argentina, Colombia, Mexico, Kenya, and South Africa.
Despite the global ranking for 2023, it is an improvement for Jamaica, which was placed 65th last year and 68th in 2021.
According to the just released Henley Passport Index ranking, Barbados reigns another year as the most powerful passport in the Caribbean region. Barbados is positioned globally at number 24 with its visa-free access to 163 destinations.
The country with the least powerful passport in the Caribbean is Haiti, ranking 94th globally, with visa-free access to 49 destinations.
Also finishing with Jamaica and Haiti outside the top 10 Caribbean passports is the Dominican Republic, which has a ranking of 76 and visa-free access to 70 countries.
Likewise, Cuba is outside the top 10 most powerful passports in the Caribbean, ranking 80th globally, with 65 nations where no visa is currently required for travel to these destinations.
The top 10 most powerful Caribbean passports in 2023 are:
Barbados: ranking at #24 with visa-free access to 163 destinationsSt Kitts and Nevis: ranking at #26 with visa-free access to 157 destinationsBahamas: ranking at #27 with visa-free access to 155 destinationsSt Vincent and the Grenadines: ranking at #30 with visa-free access to 152 destinationsAntigua and Barbuda tied with Trinidad and Tobago: ranking at #31 with visa-free access to 151 destinationsSt Lucia: ranking at #33 with visa-free access to 147 destinationsGrenada: ranking at #34 with visa-free access to 146 destinationsDominica: ranking at #35 with visa-free access to 145 destinationsBelize: ranking at #54 with visa-free access to 103 destinationsGuyana: ranking at #62 with visa-free access to 88 destinations
Now, how are the scores determined?
Each passport is scored on the total number of destinations that the holder can access visa-free.
For each travel destination, if no visa is required, then a score of one is allowed for that passport. This also applies if passport holders can obtain a visa on arrival, a visitor’s permit, or an electronic travel authority (ETA) upon entry.
When a visa is required, or where a passport holder must apply for a government-approved electronic visa (e-visa) before departure, a score of zero is assigned.
The same applies if they need pre-departure approval for a visa on arrival.
And, in case you were wondering, the country with the most powerful passport in the world continues to be Japan.
Japan has held on to this spot for the past six years with visa-free access to 193 destinations compared to Afghanistan, which ranked 109th with only 27 visa-free access destinations.
The 10 most powerful passports in the world, according to the Henley Passport Index, are:
Japan – visa-free access to 193 destinationsSingapore and South Korea – visa-free access to 192 destinations Germany and Spain – visa-free access to 190 destinationsFinland, Italy and Luxembourg – visa-free access to 189 destinationsAustria, Denmark, Netherlands and Sweden – visa-free access to 188 destinationsFrance, Ireland, Portugal, and United Kingdom – visa-free access to 187 destinations Belgium, New Zealand, Norway, Switzerland, United States, and Czech Republic – visa-free access to 186 destinationsAustralia, Canada, Greece and Malta – visa-free access to 185 destinationsHungary and Poland – visa-free access to 184 destinationsLithuania and Slovakia – visa-free access to 183 destinations
The least powerful passports to hold in 2023, according to the Henley Passport Index, are:
North Korea – visa-free access to 40 destinationsNepal and Palestinian territory – visa-free access to 38 destinationsSomalia – visa-free access to 35 destinationsYemen – visa-free access to 34 destinationsPakistan – visa-free access to 32 destinationsSyria – visa-free access to 30 destinationsIraq – visa-free access to 29 destinationsAfghanistan – visa-free access to 27 destinations
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