Banff 
The latest ranking of the world’s most powerful passports by Passport Index puts Canada in the top 30 countries with high mobility and in the group of countries with 5th most powerful passports.
A powerful passport means if you hold a passport from that country you are free to travel to many countries without a visa.
Canada remains in the 5th most powerful group as last year.
As per Passport Index, Canadians can now travel to 94 countries without a visa – an increase from 87 last October. Canadians can get visa-on-arrival at 45 countries, and need a visa for travel to 56 countries. Electronic Travel Authorization (eTA)is required to travel to 3 countries.
The increase this year is due to countries opening up once again after COVID-19.
As per the Passport Index website, at the time of publishing this article, only citizens of the United States, Hungry and Iceland can visit Canada visa-free and without an eTA. But according to Immigration and Citizenship Canada website only U.S. citizens can visit Canada without an eTA.
eTA requirements and rules vary per country. As per Canadian rules, “an Electronic Travel Authorization is an entry requirement for visa-exempt foreign nationals travelling to Canada by air. An eTA is electronically linked to a traveller’s passport. It is valid for up to five years or until the passport expires, whichever comes first. If you get a new passport, you need to get a new eTA.”
“With a valid eTA, you can travel to Canada as often as you want for short stays (normally for up to six months at a time). You do not need an eTA for travel within Canada.”
Credit: Passport Index
Passport Index says the data on the website reflect the temporary and often disruptive geo-political or pandemic-related travel restrictions in real-time.
Most Powerful Passports
UAE is the world’s most powerful passport with a reach of 76 per cent of the world. Emirati citizens can travel visa-free to 95 counties.
New Zealand comes in second and its citizens can travel visa-free to 93 countries.
Canada is in the 5th most powerful group with France, Malta, Czech Republic, Greece, Poland, Hungary, U.K., and the U.S.A.
Third most powerful passports
- Germany
- Finland
- Austria
- Luxembourg
- Spain
- Italy
- Switzerland
- South Korea
- Australia
Fourth most powerful passports
- Sweden
- Netherlands
- Denmark
- Belgium
- Portugal
- Ireland
Fifth most powerful passport
- France
- Malta
- Czech Republic
- Greece
- Poland
- Hungary
- United Kingdom
- Canada
- United States Of America
