When you’re looking to travel around the world, one of the primary requirements that you need to be cognizant about is visa requirements and restrictions while traveling to your dream destination. Having a powerful passport always helps as it gives you easy access to most countries around the world. The US passport has enjoyed a great run when it comes being in the top echelons of passports for travel around the world. However, the US has now slipped out of the top 10 for the very first time!
US Passport Power Plunges
The Henley Passport index is one of several other rankings that ranks global passports based on their ease of travel. The key factor they cite is ‘travel openness’. The Henley Passport Index has been publishing rankings for 20 years. For the first time in the history of its rankings, the US has now fallen out of the top 10. As per this report cited by CNN, the US has now slipped to 12th place, tied with Malaysia.
Three Asian passports now command the top of the leaderboard: Singapore, with visa-free access to 193 destinations worldwide; South Korea, with access to 190; and Japan, with 189.
The United States, meanwhile, is down in 12th place in the latest quarterly ranking, tied with Malaysia.
The Decline from the Top Spot
Back in 2014, the US Passport topped these very rankings. However, over the last few years a few things have happened. Firstly, Asian countries like Singapore, South Korea and Japan have continued to climb the rankings. Secondly, China’s rapid rise has meant that the Asian nation has jumped from 94th place in 2015 to 64th place in 2025, all in a span of just 10 years. In the meanwhile, countries like the UK have slipped, while the UAE has been on a steady ascent.
The UAE is another one of the biggest success stories on the index, having risen 34 places in the past decade, from No. 42 to 8th place.
Asia Rising
So what’s caused the US Passport to lose its charm? It’s partially due to the rise of the rest of the world, particularly Asia, coupled with a lack of reciprocity from other nations.
“It’s down to a series of access changes. In April, Brazil withdrew visa-free access for citizens from the US, Canada and Australia due to a lack of reciprocity. China has been introducing more welcoming policies, offering visa exemptions for dozens of mostly European countries, including Germany and France, but the US hasn’t made the cut.
The final blow, the latest report from the index says, was Somalia’s launch of a new eVisa system and Vietnam’s exclusion of the US from its latest visa-free additions.”
The Pundit’s Mantra
The US Passport still continues to be one of the most desirable passports in the world. However, what this report confirms is the fact that there’s a clear shift happening globally, with a lot of Asian countries moving up in the rankings.
Also, some analysts have indicated that a lot may have to do with recent actions around trade and immigration by the Trump administration. It will be interesting to see how these rankings change in the long run, if that assumption is indeed true.
“Can we make a linkage, if you will, to immigration policies of the Trump administration?” said Quest. “Yes, you probably can, at some level, say there is a direct relation between one and the other.”
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Perfect illustration of how partisan politics make people stupid: “So the fact that Trump is now actually enforcing U.S. immigration laws means a U.S. passport isn’t as valuable anymore.”
If you think that’s sane, you have incurable #TDS.
So much winning. The golden age of America folks.