If you’ve ever cursed your passport while stuck in immigration overseas, this one’s for you. The latest Henley Passport Index is out, revealing which countries hold the most powerful passports in the world right now. While the top spot hasn’t changed, there’s been a big shake-up. The United States has dropped out of the top ten list for the first time in the ranking’s 20-year history, with the UK also falling. Read on to see where Australia lands.
Although Australia’s passport ranked sixth in the index's first quarterly update this year, it remains one of the world’s strongest, holding steady in seventh place since July. Our trusty little blue book grants us visa-free or visa-on-arrival access to 185 destinations, placing Australia in a tie with Czechia, Malta, and Poland.
Overall, this places us in the top 12.5 per cent of countries analysed in the Henley Passport Index, which uses data from the International Air Transport Authority to compare the visa-free access of 199 nations’ passports to 227 global locations.
Once again, Singapore has clung to its title as the world’s most powerful passport, granting visa-free travel to 193 destinations. South Korea takes second place, with its citizens free to travel to 190 global destinations without a visa, while Japan slips to third at 189 destinations.
In a major shake-up, the United States has dropped out of the top ten for the first time in 20 years, now tied for 12th place with Malaysia at 180 destinations. That’s a big fall from its seventh-place ranking in 2024 and an even bigger drop from the number one spot it held in 2014. According to the index, the decline is linked to several factors, including the loss of visa-free access to Brazil in April due to a lack of reciprocity, exclusion from China and Vietnam’s visa-free lists and the introduction of a new e-visa system in Somalia.
The British and Northern Irish passport has also slipped to its lowest-ever position, dropping from sixth in July 2025 to eighth in October. So, long gone are the days when it held the top spot for three consecutive years from 2013 to 2015. Want to see where your passport lands? You can check out Henley’s full report here.
The most powerful passports in the world, according to the Henley Passport Index
- Singapore
- South Korea
- Japan
- Germany, Italy, Luxembourg, Spain, Switzerland
- Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Ireland, Netherlands
- Greece, Hungary, New Zealand, Norway, Portugal, Sweden
- Australia, Czechia, Malta, Poland
- Croatia, Estonia, Slovakia, Slovenia, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom
- Canada
- Latvia, Liechtenstein