Has Brexit affected UK’s passport power?

Highlights

• Japan and Singapore topped the list of Henley Passport Index that uses data from the international Air Travel Association.
• The UK secured seventh place with Greece, Malta, the US, and Norway with ability to visit 185 countries.
• In 2015, the British passport was ranked the most powerful in the world. Post-Brexit it secured third place in 2016.

British passport has lost its significance since the UK left the European Union post Brexit, according to a latest report by London-based global citizenship and residence advisory firm Henley & Partners. Japan and Singapore have topped the list of Henley Passport Index that based data from the International Air Travel Association (IATA) and is based on the ability to visit 199 countries in the world without visa. The Japan and Singapore Passport holder can visit 192 countries and offers its citizens the most freedom around the world without waiting for a Visa.

The red-coloured British passport was the most powerful passport between 2013 and 2015 because people had visa-free access to a larger number of countries than any other country. In 2016, it first trickled to the third position, while in 2020 it was at #7. At present in Europe, German passport is the most powerful passport with ability to visit 190 countries without visa restriction. South Korea and Germany secured second place.

The third place was secured by Finland, Spain, Italy, and Luxembourg with ability to visit 189 countries without restrictions.

Henley & Partners said that the global passport power in 2021 was significantly affected by the COVID-19 restrictions that have resulted in the widest mobility gap in 16 years globally and had widened the gap between those countries with most powerful passport and those with the least.

Many countries still have restricted travelling due to Covid-19 cases. Japan, with most powerful passport currently, has restricted foreign visitors in the country and Germany currently doesn’t allow the entry of around 100 countries.

Iraq and Afghanistan have the weakest passport around the world with its citizen can only travel 28 and 26 countries, respectively.

Also read: What are the benefits and risks of a ‘vaccine passport’ for UK businesses?

The Decline of the British Passport

 According to Henley & Partners, the primary reason behind the decline in the power of British passport is Brexit deal, which is also one of the reasons for the change in colour of passport to blue. Before Brexit, the country enjoyed various privileges of an EU member state until 31 December 2020.

After Brexit deal, British passport holder do not need visa to travel to 27 remaining EU member states but no longer have right to work or study, live there, and will face limit on how long they may stay without paperwork.

Travellers need to pay a small fee and fill in a form once the EU countries puts in place its US-style pre-authorisation system, which will be launched in 2022.

Geopolitical and trade tensions with Russia, China and Iran also affected the visa policies around the world and after transition period EU states will be treating UK as any other country and the travel will be restricted.         

Europe Dominates

As usual EU countries dominated the list with Denmark and Austria securing fourth place and Ireland, Portugal, France, the Netherlands, and Sweden in fifth place.

The Netherlands, which has recently reported that it is moving away from COVID-19 elimination strategy, secured the sixth place alongside Switzerland and Belgium. 

The UK secured seventh place with Greece, Malta, the US and Norway with ability to visit 185 countries. In 2015, the British passport was ranked the most powerful in the world however, it secured third place in 2016, post-Brexit.

Even after the new Brexit deal, UK citizens can still travel to European Union countries without a visa, which shows that Brexit has not affected its visa-free travel.

Experts say that recent lifting of COVID-19 restrictions in UK will do little to close the widening gap of passport inequality.

Other European countries like Hungary has secured the ninth position, while Poland, Lithuania and Slovakia were at #10.

The EU countries with least accessible passport were Bulgaria and Croatia, with entry to 171 countries, and Cyprus with 174. 

Also read: Wagamama latest to report staff shortage, Brexit curbs blamed for crisis

The Top 10 best passports to hold in 2021

1. Japan, Singapore (192 destinations)
2. South Korea and Germany (190)
3. Italy, Finland, Luxembourg and Spain (189)
4. Austria and Denmark (188)
5. France, Netherlands, Ireland, Sweden and Portugal (187)
6. New Zealand, Belgium and Switzerland (186)
7. United Kingdom, Czech Republic, United States, Greece, Malta and Norway (185)
8. Australia and Canada (184)
9. Hungary (183)
10. Poland, Lithuania and Slovakia (182)

The Worst passport to hold in 2021

109. North Korea (39)
110. Palestinian and Nepal territories (37)
111. Somalia (34)
112. Yemen (33)
113. Pakistan (31)
114. Syria (29)
115. Iraq (28)
116. Afghanistan (26)

Also read: How Brexit has affected the UK banking sector