Singapore has the 'most powerful' passport in the world, Malaysia at No 6

This is the first time an Asian country has the most powerful passport.PHOTO: ST FILE.

SINGAPORE: With Paraguay removing visa requirements for Singaporeans, the Singapore passport is now the "most powerful" in the world, with a visa-free score of 159.

This marks the first time an Asian country has the most powerful passport, according to the index, which was developed by global advisory firm Arton Capital.

"It is a testament of Singapore's inclusive diplomatic relations and effective foreign policy," said managing director of Arton Capital's Singapore office Philippe May, of the development.

The index ranks national passports by the cross-border access they bring, assigning a "visa-free score" based on the number of countries a passport holder can visit visa-free, or with visa on arrival.

Passports of 193 United Nations member countries and six territories were considered.

Historically, the top 10 most powerful passports in the world tend to be European, with Germany in the lead for the past two years, according to a press release issued on Wednesday (Oct 25).

Since early 2017, the No. 1 position was shared with Singapore, which was steadily moving up the ranks.

Other Asian passports in the top 20 include those of South Korea, Japan and Malaysia.

The United States passport has fallen in ranking since American president Donald Trump took office, according to the index. Most recently, Turkey and the Central African Republic revoked their visa-free status to US passport holders.

"Visa-free global mobility has become an important factor in today's world," said founder and president of Arton Capital Armand Arton at the recently held Global Citizen Forum in Montenegro.

"More and more people every year invest hundreds of thousands of dollars in a second passport to offer better opportunity and security for their families," he added.

Singapore was also fourth this year in the Visa Restrictions Index, another ranking of travel freedom, which uses a different method of calculating how “powerful” a passport is.

The index says that Singapore passport holders enjoy visa-free access to 173 countries.

Germany is No. 1 on  this year's Visa Restrictions Index, published by Henley & Partners. It has visa-free access to 176 countries out of a possible 218, according to the index.

TOP 10 PASSPORT POWER RANKING (SCORE IN BRACKETS):

1. Singapore (159)

2. Germany (158)

3. Sweden, South Korea (157)

4. Denmark, Finland, Italy, France, Spain, Norway, Japan, United Kingdom (156)

5. Luxemburg, Switzerland, Netherlands, Belgium, Austria, Portugal (155)

6. Malaysia, Ireland, Canada, United States of America (154)

7. Australia, Greece, New Zealand (153)

8. Malta, Czech Republic, Iceland (152)

9. Hungary (150)

10. Slovenia, Slovakia, Poland, Lithuania, Latvia (149)