THE IRISH passport is one of the most powerful in the world, granting entry to 186 nations without the need for a visa.
A new study conducted by Henley Passport Index (HPI) found that the Irish passport is the sixth-most powerful in the world, ranking above the United States and the United Kingdom, who can gain entry to 185 countries without a visa.
Portugal, France and Sweden, as well as other European Union members are tied with Ireland for the sixth most-powerful passport, thanks in part to the common travel area within the EU.
The Irish passport is one of the most powerful in the world, giving Visa-free access to 186 countriesBut it is the Japanese passport which was found to be the most powerful in the world, giving access to an incredible 191 countries across the globe without the need for a visa.
But with the coronavirus pandemic continuing to close borders across the world, researchers are concerned the current passport ranking could be redundant as there is no way to see which countries could impose stricter visa and border checks in the future.
For now, though, the world's most powerful passports are ranked as follows:
1 Japan - Access to 191 countries
2 Singapore - Access to 190 countries
3 South Korea, Germany - Access to 189 countries
4 Italy, Finland, Spain, Luxembourg - Access to 188 countries
5 Denmark, Austria - Access to 187 countries
6 - Ireland, France, Sweden, Portugal, Netherlands - Access to 186 countries
7 - Switzerland, United States, United Kingdom, Norway, Belgium - Access to 185 countries
8 - Greece, New Zealand, Malt, Czech Republic - Access to 184 countries
9 - Canada, Australia - Access to 183 countries
10 - Hungary - Access to 182 countries
Originally Published on: Jun 23, 2020 by Rachael O'Connor
