Vietnam passport power jumps 4 places on Henley Index

The Vietnamese passport has risen four notches to rank 88th on the list of the world’s most powerful passports, according to the latest Henley Passport Index report.

According to its Global Mobility Report Q1/2023, Vietnam has climbed four places compared to Q3/2022.

The country shared its rank with Equatorial Guinea, Guinea, Madagascar and Togo in the new listing. The index covered 199 different passports and 227 different travel destinations.

Vietnamese citizens holding ordinary passports currently enjoy free access to 55 countries and territories.

Southeast Asian countries that scored lower than Vietnam were Cambodia, Laos and Myanmar, ranking 89th, 93th, and 96th, respectively.

Japan held on to the number one position with the most powerful passport in the world, with citizens able to visit 193 countries and territories without a visa.

In contrast, the world’s weakest passports were from poor countries mired in conflict, including Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan. Passport holders from these nations can only visit 27-30 countries and territories without visas.

Vietnam’s visa-free destinations include Cook Islands, Micronesia, Niue, Barbados, Haiti, Oman, Saint Vincent & the Grenadines, Dominica, Brunei, Cambodia, Singapore, Laos, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Thailand, Chile, Ecuador and Panama.

The Henley Passport Index is an original, authoritative ranking of all the world’s passports according to the number of destinations their holders can access without a prior visa. The index is based on exclusive data from the International Air Transport Association (IATA) - the largest, most accurate travel information database - and enhanced by Henley & Partners’ research team.

In March 2022, the country completely reopened tourism activities, welcoming international visitors earlier than many countries in the region. The tourism market has gradually recovered, while domestic tourism has rebounded strongly.

However, the number of international tourists to Vietnam fell sharply in 2022 to only 3.5 million, hitting 70% of the year’s five million target, according to the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism.

The decrease was derived from China’s ‘Zero-covid’ policy, Vietnam’s limited visa policy, the Ukraine- Russia war, and the global economic downturn in the last months of the year.

In December, 2022, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism proposed the government extend the temporary stay period for international visitors to Vietnam from 15 days to 30 days.

The 15-day visa exemption period is very short compared to other countries in Asean, and not suitable for the long-term travel needs of international tourists, especially markets as far away as Europe, who often travel for three to four weeks, it argued.