Unleash your global potential with Malaysia’s powerful passport. Discover how it ranks globally and opens doors to the world!
Passport Power Boost
The Malaysian passport has climbed in the global rankings, now standing at 11th place, according to the Henley Passport Index for Q3 2023. This is a notable improvement from its 13th place position in 2021 and 2022. The index, which ranks the world’s passports based on the number of destinations their holders can access without a prior visa, shows that Malaysia’s passport now provides visa-free access to 180 of 227 travel destinations worldwide.
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Visa-Free Access
Among the countries a Malaysian passport holder can access without a visa are France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Qatar, UAE, and the United Kingdom. This visa-free score of 180 marks an improvement over the years. In 2021 and 2022, Malaysia’s passport ranked 13th and only gave visa-free access to 176 countries.
Regional Comparison
In comparison, other Southeast Asian passports rank significantly lower. Thailand and Indonesia stand at 64th and 69th spot, respectively. Brunei, however, ranks fairly high at 20th place. Singapore tops the list with a visa-free score of 192.
Index Methodology
The Henley Passport Index ranks all 199 passports of the world based on exclusive data from the International Air Transport Authority (IATA), cross-checking each against all 227 travel destinations in the world, including those that do not issue their own passports. For each travel destination that does not require a visa or can obtain an electronic travel authority (ETA) or visitor’s permit upon arrival, a passport’s mobility score increases by one.
Historical Performance
Based on the historical data shared by Henley, the highest ranking that Malaysia’s passport achieved previously was eighth, in 2014. The position for Malaysia’s passport declined in the following years, and it did not manage to reach the top 10 rank since. However, the number of countries that a Malaysian passport can access visa-free is far higher now (between 177 to 180 countries and destinations from 2018 to 2023) as compared to the past (120 in 2006, 145 in 2008, between 151 to 166 countries from 2010 to 2017).
Looking Ahead
As of the 2023 index, the 180 destinations that a Malaysian passport holder will have visa-free access to include those involving an ETA upon entry (Australia, New Zealand, Pakistan, South Korea, Sri Lanka) and those involving visa on arrival (Marshall Islands, Palau Islands, Solomon Islands, Tuvalu, Samoa, Tonga, Armenia, Bahrain, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Yemen, Azerbaijan, St Lucia, Bangladesh, Maldives, Nepal, Tajikistan, Timor-Leste, Bolivia, Burundi, Cape Verde Islands, Comoro Islands, Djibouti, Guinea-Bissau, Madagascar, Mauritania, Mozambique, Rwanda, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Somalia, St. Helena, Sudan, and Togo). This upward trend in the global passport ranking signifies the increasing global mobility of Malaysian citizens.