Favourite migration destination of Indians—Australia and Canada

Favourite migration destination of Indians—Australia and Canada—gain ‘passport power’

Chandigarh: The global citizenship and residence advisory company Henley & Partners yesterday ranked Indian passports at 80th place. The strength of the Indian passport moved up from 87th place to 80th, giving its holders visa-free access to 57 countries, as per the report by Henley and Partners.

Interestingly, the favourite migration destination of Indian citizens—Australia and Canada—also saw improvement in the power of their passports. While Australia overtook Canada to land the sixth spot on the list, Canada too moved up from the last ranking to the seventh spot with access to 185 destinations visa-free. However, the “world’s most powerful country”—the USA—slipped to the eighth spot.

Around 10 years back the UK and the US were the joint holders of the top spot on the index.

Notably, the latest edition saw the passports of many countries become more “powerful”, which many saw as an indication of improvement in the “soft power” and the “current geo-political situation” in the world.

Australian passport

Australia now holds the sixth place in the passport power list with access to 186 countries.

According to reports, the improvement in the Australian passport is due to the increase in visa-free access to 186 destinations from 185 destinations earlier. While it lost visa-free access to Ethiopia, Papua New Guinea and Uganda, it gained on Japan, Mongolia, Suriname and Djibouti, they state, calling this as Australia’s “highest ranking since 2015”.

Canadian passport ‘stagnant’

Though the number of destinations for people having the Canadian passport did not change, the document improved ranking to emerge seventh in the list, higher than neighbouring USA, counted among the world’s top five “superpowers”.

Though Canada’s passport was judged as “stagnant” due to this very reason, experts said other countries are getting stronger. In 2022, Canada was tied for the eighth spot with the Czech Republic, Greece, Malta and Australia, most of which improved ranking.

While Australia has the sixth place in the list, Malta and the Czech Republic are placed fifth with 187 countries. Greece is on the seventh spot with Canada.

Erosion of US’ global trajectory, say experts

While Australian and Canadian passports rated stronger, the US which was the seventh most powerful in the earlier ranking declined to the eighth place.

Experts attribute this to the fact that the US “secured visa-free access to just 12 additional destinations between 2013 and 2023”. In contrast, Singapore increased it by adding 25 more to its list.

Experts also attribute the decline in the “power” of the US passport to lack of a demand from inside the country for a change in travel/tourism policy which has been “over-cautious”. Tourism is surging in the post-pandemic period, they say, warning that restrictive visa waiver programmes could be perceived as a “decline” in US’ soft power.

“Add to that the growing reputation of the US as ridden with gun violence and one can project a long-term trajectory in which US global standing further erodes,” says Prof Peter J. Spiro from the Temple University commenting in the Henley Global Mobility Report 2023 Q3.

America’s extension of visa-free access is low, even by the standard of developed economies.

While American passport holders can access 184 (out of 227) destinations visa-free, it only allows 44 other nationalities to pass through its borders visa-free, putting it way down the Henley Openness Index in 78th place (compared to 8th place on the Henley Passport Index), according to the report.

“When comparing the two rankings, the USA’s disparity in access versus its openness is the second biggest, narrowly trailing only Australia (and barely outpacing Canada),” it says.

“EU states grant visa-free privileges to more than twice the number of states than does the US, for example. For those not enjoying visa exemptions, there are qualitative aspects of the visa system that are impacting US competitiveness in the global system. Processing delays, high refusal rates, and a reputation for disagreeable customer service are tarnishing the attractiveness of the US as a destination for those for whom visas are required.

For example, prospective international students are increasingly drawn to competitor institutions in Canada, the UK, and the EU over their US counterparts. Add to that the growing reputation of the US as ridden with gun violence and one can project a long-term trajectory in which US global standing further erodes,” the report quoted Spiro as saying.

Rankings are based on the number of destinations holders of the passport of any country can travel without a prior visa. While it signifies “freedom of movement” for travellers, opening doors to travel possibilities, experts say it also signifies the “soft power” of the country.

Visa-free travel enables passport holders to enter a country without the hassle of having to obtain a visa before, though they may stillpass through an immigration control facility where their passports are checked for validity and also stamped.

Basically it is all about how freely citizens of a country can travel across boundaries. Delayed visa processing hampers mobility and impacts choices and possibilities of travellers.