The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (SAR) passport is the 19th most powerful in the world, according to an annual list that ranks travel documents by the number of destinations their holders can visit without a prior visa.
Henley & Partners, a UK-based global citizenship and residence advisory firm, released its 2021 Henley Passport Index Tuesday.
The ranking puts Japan in first place, where passport holders have visa-free or visa-on-arrival access to 191 countries and territories. Singapore is a close second, with access to 190 destinations. In third place is Germany and South Korea.
The Hong Kong SAR passport allows visa-free access to 170 destinations, tying at 19th place with Argentina and Brazil.
Coronavirus-related travel bans, the ranking noted, may however take precedence over the visa exemptions.
The British National (Overseas) passport, which Hongkongers flocked to renew amid the 2019 protests and after the national security law was passed last June, is not ranked. According to the UK’s Passport Office, over 216,398 Hong Kong residents received BNO passports in the first 10 months of 2020.
BNO passport holders, who can stay visa-free in the United Kingdom for up to six months as a visitor, can enter 118 destinations without arranging a prior visa.
