Canadian passport becomes more powerful, beats US passport in global ranking
If you have a Canadian passport or look forward to having one soon, here’s some good news.
Based on exclusive data from the International Air Transport Authority (IATA), the Henley Passport Index just released its 2024 edition. Though it’s based on several factors, one major determinant of a passport’s rank depends on how many countries its holder can visit without a visa.
The index includes 199 passports and 227 travel destinations. It is considered “the standard reference tool for global citizens and sovereign states when assessing where a passport ranks on the global mobility spectrum,” according to a report accompanying the index. Several countries can occupy the same rank.
The Canadian passport has become even stronger than last year, ranking at #7, up from #8. The US, in seventh position last year, now occupies the eighth.
This is the first time Canada’s passport has ranked higher on the Henley Index in many years. The two countries’ passports tied for sixth place in 2019, but before and after that, Canada ranked lower than the US. In 2014, the US shared the top spot with the UK.
The passport index page only shows data from 2016 at the earliest. In 2018, it switched from being called the Henley Visa Restrictions Index to the Henley Passport Index. Daily Hive found older versions of the index using the Web Archive, which still showed Canada ranking lower than the US.
We have contacted Henley & Partners for further historical data.
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Canadian passport holders can access 187 countries without needing a visa, getting an Electronic Travel Authorization (ETA), or obtaining a visa on arrival, compared to 185 last year.
There are still a few countries for which Canadians may need a visa, such as Algeria, Venezuela, Afghanistan, Chad, and China. Some other countries, like Cameroon, Vietnam, Egypt, and Benin, require an e-visa.
Singapore has dethroned Japan and now holds the strongest passport position.
The second strongest passports are those of France, Japan, Italy, Spain, and Germany.
Seven countries shared the third rank: Austria, Finland, Ireland, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, South Korea, and Sweden. Meanwhile, Belgium, Denmark, New Zealand, Norway, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom shared the fourth spot.
Though our dark blue travel document isn’t in the top five, there’s much to be thankful for.
The access scores for the five lowest-ranking countries mean that travelling and immigrating can be a massive pain, filled with extensive visa processes and security checks that may span over several years.
Often, passport holders from the following countries have to pay for flights and lodging to apply for a visa, yet there isn’t a guarantee it will be approved.
Spontaneous trips to most countries are next to impossible.
Henley & Partners
Annie Pforzheimer, a former career diplomat with the US State Department and a senior non-resident associate at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, noted that business groups in immigration- and tourism-dependent industries in America are extremely concerned about the upcoming US election.
“Their major worries relate to measures likely to be imposed under a second Trump administration, including ending the Temporary Protected Status regime, rolling back the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals status, and consequent mass deportations for up to 1 million people now eligible for those programs,” she told Henley & Partners.
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