Best Passport Lists Count Differently. That Is the Whole Drop.
Henley counts visa-on-arrival one way, Arton another. A three-place slip is often a recount, not a policy shift.
Verdict: missing context.
Primary source: Henley Passport Index methodology →
A dropped-passport headline can be a recount, not a policy change. The method footnote tells you which.
“Passport falls three places.” I see it each quarter. Holders panic. Agents repost. Policy did not move. Counting did.
Henley Passport Index (IATA data) counts visa-free plus visa-on-arrival plus eTA as one pot. Arton Passport Index weights visa-free and visa-on-arrival apart and updates on its own cycle. Same passport, two totals. In July, a South Asian passport showed 68 under Henley and 71 under Arton. Same week. Same border rules. Different math.
Three slips I logged this year:
- An eTA became mandatory for one destination. Henley kept it in the pot. Arton paused it for two weeks pending confirm. Rank gap opened, then closed. No law changed for holders.
- A visa-on-arrival desk closed for a month for works. One index cut it day one. The other cut it after airline notice. Headlines ran in the gap.
- A new e-visa portal launched with a 72-hour queue. Counted as access by one list, not by the other until first approvals cleared. Travelers felt the queue. Lists argued the label.
What to ask before you quote a rank:
- Visa-free, on arrival, or eTA? Lumped or split?
- IATA feed date? Lists stamp it small at the foot.
- Access or ease? A 30-day on-arrival with a $50 fee and a two-hour line is not “free.”
These same questions apply to all rankings. Learn how to read rankings without getting fooled before sharing any “best” list.
I track this for readers who book flights. If your passport “dropped,” open both lists, check foot dates, and call the airline desk. The desk knows. The map often lags.
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