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On July 7, 2020, Henley & Partners updated the Passport Index, which analyzes the visa rules of 200 countries based on the results of the second quarter of this year and ranks them by the number of countries with visa-free entry.
The fact of global border closures due to the coronavirus pandemic did not affect the rating figures, since the current restrictions are not related to formal agreements on visa-free travel between countries.
But in practice, the coronavirus has had an impact on the movement of people and on the value of some passports, which, according to the rating, are considered influential and provide a formal opportunity for unhindered travel.
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The US passport ranks 7th in the ranking with a formal option for visa-free travel to 185 countries. But as of July 1, 2020, and due to the European Union (EU) ban on the entry of American citizens into the EU, the American passport loses (even temporarily) 27 countries and moves to the 26th place, where it neighbors Mexico.
The rating of passports has not changed in comparison with the indicators for the first and second quarters of 2020. Japan continues to hold the first position with visa-free access to 191 countries of the world, and retains it in reality due to the fact that its citizens can enter the EU from July 1, 2020. The top ten countries are still occupied by the EU countries, the UK, Singapore, the USA, Australia, Canada, etc.
Afghanistan, Iraq and Syria remain at the bottom of the index.
The position of the Russian passport has not changed either formally or due to EU restrictions (50th place), but the Ukrainian passport has lost visa-free access to 27 EU countries until at least July 15, 2020. Georgian citizens who received visa-free access to the Schengen area in 2017 can enter the EU from July 1, 2020, and have not lost their positions.
