The world’s most powerful passports

[Windwaver]

https://edition.cnn.com/2025/01/08/travel/worlds-most-powerful-passports-for-2025/index.html

Who’s the itty-bitty city-state with the global passport the world thinks is great?

There’s new year cheer for Singapore as it reclaims its place at the top of a quarterly ranking of the world’s most powerful passports.

Holders of this desirable red travel document enjoy visa-free access to 195 out of 227 destinations worldwide, according to the Henley Passport Index, more than citizens of any other place on the planet.

Japan is second in the ranking, with an open door to 193 destinations, having secured the silver medal by regaining visa-free access to neighboring China for the first time since the Covid-19 lockdowns.

The EU member states of France, Germany, Italy and Spain are at No. 3, along with Finland and South Korea, with access to 192 destinations with no prior visa needed.

The fourth position in the rankings is a testament to the power of the European Union’s border-free Schengen area, which guarantees free movement to more than 425 million EU citizens. It’s held by seven EU countries, each with visa-free access to 191 destinations: Austria, Denmark, Ireland, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Norway and Sweden.

Squeaking into fifth place are five countries — Belgium, New Zealand, Portugal, Switzerland and the United Kingdom — all of which have visa-free access to 190 destinations.

The mobility gap

Now in its 20th year, the index, created by London-based global citizenship and residence advisory firm Henley & Partners, tracks global freedoms in 227 countries and territories around the world, using exclusive data from the International Air Transport Association (IATA).

At the opposite end of the ranking, at No. 106, Afghanistan remains locked in bottom place, with visa-free access to just 26 destinations, two fewer than a year ago. Syria is at No. 105 (with 27 destinations) and Iraq is at No. 104 (with 31 destinations).

This means that the gap between the travel freedoms enjoyed by the citizens at the top and bottom of the ranking has never been wider.

“The very notion of citizenship and its birthright lottery needs a fundamental rethink as temperatures rise, natural disasters become more frequent and severe, displacing communities and rendering their environments uninhabitable,” said Christian H. Kaelin, chair of Henley and Partners, in a press release.

“Simultaneously, political instability and armed conflicts in various regions force countless people to flee their homes in search of safety and refuge.”

Climbers and fallers

The rest of the top 10 is dominated by European countries, with a few exceptions. Australia and Greece are tied at No. 6, while Malta, Poland and Canada are at No. 7.

Eighth place is shared by Czechia and Hungary, the United States and Estonia are at No. 9, and No. 10 is held by Latvia, Lithuania, Slovenia and the United Arab Emirates.

The UAE is one of the index’s biggest success stories in global mobility, having secured access to an additional 72 destinations since 2015, allowing it to climb 32 places to 10th spot with visa-free access to 185 destinations.

China is also a big climber, having jumped up the list from 94th place in 2015 to No. 60 in 2025.

Only 22 of the world’s 199 passports have fallen down the ranking in the past decade and some surprising names are at the top of the list.

Venezuela is at No. 1, followed by the United States as the second-highest faller. It’s dropped seven places from No. 2 to No. 9.

The South Pacific archipelago of Vanuatu is at No. 4, followed by the British passport at No. 5 — a former No. 1. Canada is No. 5 on the losers list, having dropped three places in the ranking in the last decade.

Henley & Partners’ list is one of several indexes created by financial firms to rank global passports according to the access they provide to their citizens.

Arton Capital’s Passport Index takes into consideration the passports of 193 United Nations member countries and six territories — Taiwan, Macao, Hong Kong, Kosovo, the Palestinian territories and the Vatican. Territories annexed to other countries are excluded.

It’s also updated in real-time throughout the year, but its data is gathered by close monitoring of individual governments’ portals.

Arton’s Global Passport Power Rank 2025 puts the United Arab Emirates in the top spot, with a visa-free/visa-on-arrival score of 180. Second place is held by Spain, with a score of 179.

The most powerful passports for 2025

1. Singapore (195 destinations)

2. Japan (193)

3. France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Finland, South Korea (192)

4. Austria, Denmark, Ireland, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Sweden, Norway (191)

5. Belgium, New Zealand, Portugal, Switzerland, United Kingdom (190)

6. Greece, Australia (189)

7. Canada, Poland, Malta (188)

8. Hungary, Czechia (187)

9. Estonia, United States (186)

10. Lithuania, Latvia, Slovenia, United Arab Emirates (185)

[Windwaver]

https://travel.nine.com.au/latest/worlds-most-powerful-passports-henley-index-ranking/abf05daf-eb47-4dc0-8400-c7cb88c568d9

This small country's passport is the world's 'most powerful'

It may be one of the smallest countries on the planet, but Singapore is still punching well above its weight when it comes to its passport.

Citizens of the city-state hold the world's most powerful passport, according to the Henley & Partners Index. It analyses data from the International Air Transport Association (IATA) for its measurements, covering 199 passports and 227 travel destinations.

Singapore stays at number one with visa-free access to 195 of those destinations.

Japan moves into second on its own with 193 after China resumed access to its citizens for the first time since the Covid lockdowns. In joint third are France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Finland, South Korea with 192.

New Zealand is also staying strong with access to 190 destinations, placing it in joint fifth, or joint 15th depending on how you read the rankings.

Landing just behind our neighbours across the pond, Australia and Greece are tied at sixth, while Malta, Poland and Canada are in seventh.

At the bottom yet again is Afghanistan with just 26 destinations. It lost access to two countries over the last year, creating the largest disparity between top and bottom in the history of the index.

Other big losers in recent years are Venezuela, down 15 places since 2015 to 45th, the US down seven to ninth overall and Vanuatu, which falls six to 54th.

Going in the other direction, Kosovo has jumped up 40 places to 63rd, Timor-Leste up 39 spots to 51st, and Colombia rises up 38 to 37th.

This year will see a "digital overhaul" with the way we travel and a "pivotal uplift in digital border control" with the recently expanded UK electronic travel authorisation now covering 48 more countries, including New Zealand, with most of Europe following in April. The long-delayed European Travel Information and Authorisation System (ETIAS) is also due to start this year.

Nick Careen, senior vice president of operation, safety and security at IATA, said the transition to digital travel "is more than just a technological upgrade — it's a paradigm shift".

"By leveraging digital identity and biometrics, the aviation industry can deliver a level of efficiency and personalisation that was previously unimaginable.

"But the impact goes beyond airports. A seamless travel experience could strengthen global connectivity, boost tourism, and support economic growth."

The Henley Passport Index isn't the only measure of the "power" of a passport.

Another ranking, the Passport Index, looks at the passports of 193 United Nations member countries and six territories. It updates more regularly throughout the year and currently has the United Arab Emirates leading with New Zealand in joint sixth, or joint 25th depending on how you want to view the rankings.

The Global Passport Index rates passports not only on how many countries their holders can visit either without a visa or a visa on arrival, but also on quality of life and investment opportunities. Data is gleaned from organisations such as the World Bank, World Economic Forum and Sustainable Development Forum.

Topping the list is Sweden, ahead of the Germany in second and Finland in third. New Zealand is 21st in this ranking.

The most powerful passports for 2025

Singapore (195 destinations)

Japan (193)

France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Finland, South Korea (192)

Austria, Denmark, Ireland, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Sweden, Norway (191)

Belgium, New Zealand, Portugal, Switzerland, United Kingdom (190)

Greece, Australia (189)

Canada, Poland, Malta (188)

Hungary, Czechia (187)

Estonia, United States (186)

Lithuania, Latvia, Slovenia, United Arab Emirates (185)

[Windwaver]

https://www.forbes.com/sites/duncanmadden/2025/01/08/henley-passport-ranking-the-worlds-most-powerful-passports-in-2025/

The World’s Most Powerful Passports In 2025, According To Henley Index

In 2025, Singapore has reclaimed its crown as the world’s most powerful passport with visa-free access to an extraordinary 195 of the 227 global destinations included in the list.

As reliable as fireworks at midnight to ring in January 1st, the new year also brings with it the annual results of the Henley Passport Index. Based on unique Timatic data from the world’s largest and most accurate database of travel information, the International Air Transport Association (IATA), backed up by in-house research, it ranks all 199 of the world’s most powerful passports based on how many of 227 global travel destinations they grant visa-free access to.

After the congestion of countries vying for the top spot in 2024 with no fewer than six sharing the same level of visa-free global access, competition has thinned out considerably in 2025. The impact of major wars, political upheaval and climate concerns continue to play their part in the statuses and accessibility of many countries and the rights of their citizens to travel. This year’s Henley Index shows us just how much.

The Top Five Most Powerful Lassports

In 2025, Singapore has reclaimed its crown as the world’s most powerful passport with visa-free access to an extraordinary 195 of the 227 global destinations included in the list. This sees it open a clear gap to second-ranked Japan, which now grants access to 193 destinations without a visa, including for the first time since the global travel lockdown, China.

Having shared the number one spot in 2024, the EU member states of France, Germany, Italy and Spain all drop two places to share third position. They’re joined by Finland and South Korea, with all six passports granting visa-free access in 2025 to 192 destinations.

Things are equally crowded in fourth place with a seven-nation cohort of EU countries all offering access to 191 destinations without the need for a visa. These include Austria, Denmark, Ireland, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Norway and Sweden.

Rounding out the top five ranked places are Belgium, Portugal, Switzerland, the UK and straying out of Europe, New Zealand, which all allow for travel to 190 destinations visa-free. This represents yet another downturn for the U.K. in particular, which has seen its passport power fluctuate and wane greatly over the last decade from its previous long-held number one position.

U.S. among the biggest fallers in world’s most powerful passports

Noticeably absent from the top five is the U.S. passport, which now sits in ninth position—a significant drop from its traditional first and second ranking a decade ago. Today, U.S. passport holders can visit 186 destinations without prior need for a visa.

To put that in context, of the world’s 199 passports, only 22 have dropped down the ranking in the last decade. The U.S. is the second biggest faller, beaten only by Venezuela (45th), and just ahead of the tiny island nation of Vanuatu (54th), the UK and Canada, which has dropped from fourth to seventh.

By contrast, the biggest climbers up the ranking over the last decade include the UAE, which has become the first and only Arab state to crack the top ten in the passport power index. It has secured visa-free access to 72 more destinations since 2015 and has climbed 32 places to round out the passport power top ten with 185 global destinations.

China too has risen from a lowly 94th in 2015 to 60th in 2025. The global superpower has also risen on the Henley Openness Index, which ranks all 199 countries and territories worldwide according to the number of nationalities they permit entry to without a prior visa. China granted visa-free access to 29 new countries over the past year alone, and now sits in 80th position with visa-free entry for 58 nations. Compare this to the U.S., which ranks below it in 84th, allowing citizens of just 46 countries access without a prior visa.

Notably, U.S. citizens now rank first in applications for second citizenship and alternative residence. They account for a staggering 21% of all investment migration program applications made to Henley in 2024.

CEO Dr. Juerg Steffen says the firm has more U.S. clients than the next four biggest nationalities (Turkish, Filipino, Indian and British) combined. “Faced with unprecedented volatility, investors and wealthy families are adopting a strategy of geopolitical arbitrage to acquire additional residence and/or citizenship options to hedge against jurisdictional risk and leverage the differences in legal, economic, political, and social conditions across countries to optimize their personal, financial, and lifestyle outcomes.”

The least powerful passports in the world

Still rooted to the bottom of the Henley Index in 2025 is Afghanistan. Losing visa-free access to two more destinations in 2024, this has created the largest mobility gap in the index’s 19 year history. To put that in context, if you hold a Singaporean passport you have access to 169 more destinations around the world without the need for a visa than if you’re an Afghan passport holder.

It’s a stark reminder of the privilege that comes with birthright, as Dr. Christian H. Kaelin, Chairman of Henley & Partners and the inventor of the passport index concept, notes. “The very notion of citizenship and its birthright lottery needs a fundamental rethink as temperatures rise, natural disasters become more frequent and severe, displacing communities and rendering their environments uninhabitable. Simultaneously, political instability and armed conflicts in various regions force countless people to flee their homes in search of safety and refuge. The need to introduce Free Global Cities to harness the untapped potential of displaced people and other migrants, transforming them from victims of circumstance into architects of their own futures has never been more pressing or apparent”.

The key travel trend in 2025 is digitalization

Travel is taking more steps in 2025 towards its inevitable total digital overhaul. New digital border controls will see the UK’s Electronic Travel Authorization (ETA) system expanded alongside the European Travel Information and Authorisation System (ETIAS).

January 2025 will see the UK’s ETA scheme expanded to eligible non-European travelers including citizens from the U.S., Canada and Australia who will now need an ETA to travel to the UK. After several delays, Europe’s equivalent ETIAS scheme is expected to kick off in May 2025, with those authorized able to enter 30 European countries as often as they like for short-term stays up to 90 days in any 180 day period.

Nick Careen, Senior Vice President, Operation, Safety and Security at IATA, explains: “The transition to digital travel is more than just a technological upgrade—it’s a paradigm shift. By leveraging digital identity and biometrics, the aviation industry can deliver a level of efficiency and personalization that was previously unimaginable. But the impact goes beyond airports. A seamless travel experience could strengthen global connectivity, boost tourism, and support economic growth.”

[Jman888]

Dun leave home without it! 

wait, now dun even need to bring it out when going through the immigration, just show face can liao 

[mersaylee]

Due for a new one...hope no price hike due to the rekindled fame...😂

[13177]

On 1/9/2025 at 10:53 AM, Jman888 said:

Dun leave home without it! 

wait, now dun even need to bring it out when going through the immigration, just show face can liao 

But still need to show it in other country. Lol.