Vietnamese passport up 10 places - good news but still low

Vietnam rose 10 places in the 2023 global passport rankings but remains low even in the region, while visa-free or visa-on-arrival destinations and e-visas remain the same.

According to the ranking announced by the UK-based immigration consultancy Henley & Partners on July 19, the Vietnamese passport ranked 82 out of 103 places, up 10 places compared to 2022 and 6 places compared to the first quarter of this year. The number of places increased, but the number of destinations exempted or requiring only a visa at the border, e-visa for Vietnamese passport holders remained unchanged from the beginning of the year, with 55 destinations. 2006 and 2007 were the two years when Vietnam had the highest passport ranking, 78th with 18 accepted destinations.

Vietnam's new ordinary passport, the green cover has been changed to purple. Photo: Pham Du — Vietnam's new ordinary passport, the green cover has been changed to purple. Photo: *Pham Du*

Head of the Tourism Advisory Board (TAB) Secretariat Hoang Nhan Chinh said that Vietnam's increase in passport ranking is a "good sign". However, not only Vietnam, the remaining 10 Southeast Asian countries also increased from one to five places. According to Mr. Chinh, the increase in passport ranking "may be due to the world's high appreciation of the economic, political, security and safety stability of Southeast Asian countries, including Vietnam" and "many other countries have dropped in rank due to instability".

Compared to Southeast Asian countries, Mr. Chinh pointed out that the Vietnamese passport "is still at the bottom of the region", higher than Laos (87th), Myanmar (89th) and equal to Cambodia. Vietnam ranks behind Singapore (1st), Malaysia (11th), Brunei (20th), East Timor (55th), Thailand (64th), Indonesia (69th), Philippines (74th).

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

The TAB representative added that the passport ranking is just "an assessment by a reputable organization", "it does not mean that the increase in ranking makes it easier to apply for visas to enter countries". Countries around the world are not required to rely on this assessment to ease visa issuance for citizens of any country.

If Vietnamese tourists want to get visas more easily, "each citizen must be aware when going abroad, and travel companies also need to manage tourists closely to avoid illegal stay and work, creating a bad impression with other countries," said Mr. Chinh.

A representative of a travel agency in Vietnam said that the increase in the Vietnamese passport's rank "is an exciting thing". Vietnamese tourists will be more confident when traveling internationally. The more Vietnamese tourists go abroad, the more widely known Vietnam's reputation will be. However, this person assessed that international travel by Vietnamese people "does not bring much economic benefit to the country" because money "flows" abroad.

"If we want the country's economy and tourism to develop, Vietnamese tourists should actively travel domestically," this person said.

Vietnam's passport ranking in the world from 2006 to present. Photo: Henley Passport Index — Vietnam's passport ranking in the world from 2006 to present. Photo: *Henley Passport Index*

Singapore has become the country with the most powerful passport in the world, allowing its citizens to enter visa-free to 192 destinations worldwide. Germany ranked second with 190 destinations. Champion Japan dropped to third place, with 189 destinations, equal to Finland, France, Luxembourg, South Korea, Austria and Sweden. Afghanistan ranked last, 103rd with 27 countries and territories accepting visa-free or applying for e-visas, visas at border.

Henley & Partners ranks 199 passports and 227 destinations around the world and updates them in real time throughout the year, as well as the latest changes in visa policies that come into effect.

Henley & Partners' ranking draws on data from the International Air Transport Association, the world's largest and most accurate database of travel information, and has been published annually since 2005. The company publishes the rankings twice a year, at the beginning of the first and third quarters. The methodology differs from other passport indexes, such as the one published by financial advisory firm Arton Capital, which placed the United Arab Emirates at the top last year.

Phuong Anh

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