No visa needed: Where Australia ranks in most powerful passports
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The world’s most powerful passports have been ranked for 2026, as airlines prepare to carry a record 5.2 billion passengers.
The Henley Passport Index is marking 20 years of listing passports according to the number of destinations their holders can access without a prior visa.
The No.1 passport in 2026 is again Singapore’s, for the third year in a row. The Asian nation enjoys access to 192 destinations visa-free.
Japan and South Korea share second, each offering visa-free access to 188 destinations, reinforcing Asia’s standing.
Denmark, Luxembourg, Spain, Sweden, and Switzerland follow in third place with access to 186 destinations.
For the first time a group of 10 European countries is tied for fourth — Austria, Finland, Belgium, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Netherlands and Norway.
The remainder of the upper-tier passports continue to underscore Europe’s dominance, with notable exceptions including UAE (fifth), New Zealand (sixth), Australia (seventh), Canada (eighth), and Malaysia (ninth).
Australia dropped one position from its standing at no.6 for the past two years. Australians have access to 182 visa-free destinations.
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The US returned to the top 10 — sitting in 10th place — after briefly dropping out for the first time in late 2025. But its recovery masks a longer-term decline for both the US and Britain, which jointly held first place in 2014.
In the past year, both countries have had their steepest annual losses in visa-free access, shedding seven and eight destinations, respectively.
The US has suffered the third largest ranking decline in the past two decades — after Venezuela and Vanuatu — falling six places from fourth to 10th. Britain ranks as the fourth-biggest faller, down four places from third in 2006 to seventh in 2026.
“Passport power ultimately reflects political stability, diplomatic credibility, and the ability to shape international rules”, Misha Glenny, from the Institute for Human Sciences in Vienna, said.
“As transatlantic relations strain and domestic politics grow more volatile, the erosion of mobility rights for countries like the US and UK is less a technical anomaly than a signal of deeper geopolitical recalibration.”
While a record number of passports cluster at the top of the ranking, those at the bottom remain increasingly isolated, underscoring a widening global mobility gap.
Afghanistan once again ranks last, with its passport holders able to travel to just 24 destinations without a prior visa.
The index noted that the 168-destination gap between the top and bottom countries starkly illustrates the widening divide.
Biggest risers and fallers
The UAE stands out as the strongest performer in the past 20 years, adding 149 visa-free destinations since 2006 and climbing 57 places to fifth, driven diplomatic engagement and visa liberalisation.
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Countries across the Western Balkans and Eastern Europe have also made significant gains in the past two decades, led by Albania, which climbed 36 places to rank 43rd.
Ukraine has risen 34 places (to 30th), followed by Serbia (+30 to 34th), North Macedonia (+27 to 38th), and both Bosnia and Herzegovina (+29) and Georgia (+26), which share 42nd place.
Together, these advances highlight the impact of regional integration and closer alignment with key partners.
Bolivia is the only country on the index to have had an overall decline in visa-free access in the past 20 years, losing five visa-free destinations and falling 32 places to rank at 61st in 2026.
Another notable climber is China, which has risen 28 places (from 87th to 59th) over the past 10 years.
Open borders, closed doors
While US passport holders can travel visa-free to 179 destinations, the US itself allows only 46 nationalities to enter without a prior visa.
This disparity between outbound mobility and inbound openness is among the widest globally, second only to Australia and marginally ahead of Canada, New Zealand, and Japan.
By contrast, China has risen rapidly, granting visa-free access to over 40 additional countries over the past two years alone. Now ranked 62nd, China permits entry to 77 different nationalities — 31 more than the US — signalling a strategic pivot towards openness as a tool of diplomacy and economic engagement.
US borders
A late-2025 proposal by US Customs and Border Protection could effectively end visa-free travel to the US in all but name.
The plan would require citizens of 42 allied nations — including Australia, Britain, France, Germany, and Japan — to submit extensive personal data, with implementation possible as early as February.
If adopted, travellers will be required to disclose five years of social media activity, 10 years of e-mail addresses, phone numbers, and IP addresses, as well as detailed family information and biometric data — including facial recognition, fingerprints, and DNA — retained for up to 75 years, far exceeding current Electronic System for Travel Authorisation requirements.
These proposals follow a series of recent US measures, including visa bans on former European Commission Vice-President Thierry Breton and several European activists, and the most extensive simultaneous expansion of US travel bans in modern history.
From January 1, full or partial entry restrictions apply to 39 countries.
