Vietnam climbs 10 positions in the 2023 global passport ranking.

DNHN - Hoang Nhan Chinh, head of the Tourism Advisory Board's (TAB) Secretariat, described Vietnam's rise in passport rank as a "welcome sign."

According to the ranking published on July 19 by the UK-based settlement consulting firm Henley & Partners, Vietnamese passports ranked 82 out of 103, up 10 places from 2022 and 6 places from the first quarter of this year. The number of steps increased, but the number of destinations exempt or only requiring Vietnamese passport holders to apply for a border-gate visa and an e-visa remained unchanged at 55 destinations since the beginning of the year. In 2006 and 2007, Vietnam's passport is ranked 78th with 18 acceptance destinations, its highest ranking.

Hoang Nhan Chinh, head of the Tourism Advisory Board (TAB) Secretariat, described Vietnam's rise in passport rank as "a good sign." Not only Vietnam, but the remaining ten Southeast Asian nations also climbed from position one to five. According to Mr. Chinh, the rise in passport rank "could be attributable to the world's high regard for the economic, political, security, and safety stability of Southeast Asian nations, including Vietnam" and "many other nations have been downgraded due to instability".

In comparison to other Southeast Asian nations, Chinh noted that Vietnamese passports "remain at the top of the region," ranking above Laos (87th), Myanmar (89th), and on par with Cambodia. Vietnam is positioned behind Singapore (first), Malaysia (11), Brunei (20), East Timor (55), Thailand (64), Indonesia (69), and the Philippines (74).

"We need to strive to surpass the Philippines or Indonesia, and then Thailand," said Chinh.

The National Assembly of Vietnam recently passed a law amending and supplementing several articles of the Law on Exit and Entry of Vietnamese Citizens and the Law on Entry, Exit, Transit, and Residence of Foreigners to promote socio-economic development by attracting international tourists. The law entered into force on August 15.

Accordingly, the visa validity period has been extended from 30 days to 90 days, with multiple entries. In addition, the National Assembly agreed to increase the temporary stay at the border gate from 15 to 45 days for individuals entering the country visa-free.

It is common knowledge that some countries in the region, such as Thailand and Singapore, offer visa-free entry for stays of up to 45 or 90 days.

The "Henley Passport Index" is a ranking of "freedom of movement without a visa" (visa) that has been compiled by the London-based global citizenship and residency consulting firm Henley & Partners since 2005.

For evaluation and ranking, statistics are compiled from 199 passports of countries/territories and 227 different tourist destinations around the world. The evaluation and ranking of passports are determined by the International Air Transport Association's (IATA) exclusive data. For each visa-free destination, one point will be added to the passport of that country.

Singapore has surpassed Japan in this ranking to become the nation with the most powerful passport in the world. Singaporeans can travel visa-free to 192 of 227 international destinations.

Japan, the nation with the strongest passport in the world for the past five years, has fallen to third place, with visa-free access to 189 destinations. Austria, Finland, France, Luxembourg, South Korea, and Sweden tie for third with Japan.

With visa-free entry to 190 destinations, Germany, Italy, and Spain rose to second place, surpassing the United States. The United Kingdom climbed two spots to take fourth place in the ranking of power passports.

In contrast, the United States continued to fall in rank, falling two positions to eighth place. Citizens of the United States are exempt from visa requirements at 184 international destinations.

Afghanistan continues to possess the "weakest" passport in the world. Citizens of this country are permitted visa-free travel to 27 countries and territories. Iraqi and Syrian passports are ranked 102 and 101, respectively, with 29 and 30 points.

Thu Minh (t/h)