Paraguay helps Singapore overtake Germany for the top spot.

MONTREAL, Oct. 25, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Paraguay removed visa requirements for Singaporeans, propelling Singapore's passport to the top of Passport Index' most powerful ranking with a visa-free score of 159.

Historically, the Top 10 most powerful passports in the world were mostly European, with Germany having the lead for the past two years. Since early 2017, the number one position was shared with Singapore, which was steadily going up. Other Asian passports in the Top 20 include those of South Korea, Japan and Malaysia.

According to The Hon. Philippe May, Managing Director of Arton Capital's Singapore office, "For the first time ever an Asian country has the most powerful passport in the world." "It is a testament of Singapore's inclusive diplomatic relations and effective foreign policy," shared May.

While Singapore quietly climbed the ranks, the US passport has fallen down since Trump took office. Most recently Turkey and the Central African Republic revoked their visa-free status to US passport holders.

The Passport Index is the world's reference on everything passports. Developed by Arton Capital, a leading global advisory for residence and citizenship solutions, the Passport Index has become the most popular interactive online tool to display, sort and rank the world's passports. The Index ranks national passports by the cross-border access they bring, assigning a "visa-free score" according to the number of countries a passport holder can visit visa-free or with visa on arrival. You can compare the power of different passports and even see how you can improve yours by adding a second one.

"Visa-free global mobility has become an important factor in today's world," shared Armand Arton founder and president of Arton Capital at the recently held Global Citizen Forum in Montenegro. "More and more people every year invest hundreds of thousands of dollars in a second passport to offer better opportunity and security for their families," added Arton.

New Top 10 Passport Power Ranking:

159 - Singapore 158 - Germany 157 - Sweden , South Korea 156 - Denmark , Finland , Italy , France , Spain , Norway , Japan , United Kingdom 155 - Luxemburg , Switzerland , Netherlands , Belgium , Austria , Portugal 154 - Malaysia , Ireland , Canada , United States of America 153 - Austria , Greece , New Zealand 152 - Malta , Czech Republic , Iceland 150 - Hungary 149 - Slovenia , Slovakia , Poland , Lithuania , Latvia

About Passport Index

Passport Index is the world's most popular online interactive tool, which collects, displays and ranks the passports of the world. It is the only real-time global ranking of passports, updated as frequently as new visa waivers and changes are announced. Visitors can dive in the fascinating world of passports, explore their designs, sort them by country, region and even by color. For the first time ever, visitors can compare passports side by side and discover how to improve their Global Mobility Score.

(www.passportindex.org)

About Arton Capital

Arton Capital empowers individuals and families to become Global Citizens by investing in a second residence or citizenship. As a global financial advisory firm, specializing in investor programs for residence and citizenship Arton plays a critical role in helping governments, partners and investors to meet their goals quickly, efficiently and more effectively. Arton's global operations are spread in over 15 offices around the world and have helped attract over US $3 billion foreign direct investment by countries. Curator or the Global Citizen Forum, and founder of the Global Citizen Foundation, Arton Capital is a member of The Arton Group, which comprises of fully licensed international banking, financial advisory and investment consulting companies tailored to the needs of global citizens.

For further information: Media Enquiries, Mr. Rupert Wright, media@passportindex.org, +44 (0) 7557 371908