Henley and Partners downgrades Malta’s passport ranking

A global index drawn up by Malta’s cash-for-passports scheme concessionaires, Henley and Partners, has downgraded the island’s rank by two places. Published annually, the Henley Passport Index, unveiled last week, ranked Malta’s passport as the ninth strongest in the world, down from seventh place last year. The country’s passport was awarded 182 points, which according to the concessionaires is based on “exclusive data” from the International Air Transport Association (IATA). For the second-year running, Japan was ranked as having the strongest passport, followed by Singapore and South Korea in second place and France and Germany in third place. At the other end of the scale, Afghanistan’s passport was ranked as the least powerful of all countries, with Somalia and Syria just ahead. According to the Switzerland-based company, the index and its contents are based on data provided by the International Air Transport Authority (IATA) and “supplemented, enhanced and updated using extensive in-house research and open-source online data”. The scores are determined by the number of countries holders of the different passports can visit without needing a visa. Read: 2,500 golden...