The world’s most powerful passports are out for 2026 – here’s where Australia lands

If you’ve ever cursed your passport while stuck in immigration overseas, this one’s for you. The mid-year Henley Passport Index update is out, revealing which countries hold the most powerful passports in the world right now. While the top spot hasn’t changed, there have been a few big shake-ups. 

According to the 20th edition Henley Passport Index – which compares the visa-free access of 199 nations’ passports to 227 global locations – the average passport now unlocks 108 destinations. While this is a major jump from just 58 locations in 2006, the gap between the world’s most and least powerful passports is greater, with a record-breaking 170-destinations dividing the two.

Australia’s passport remains one of the world’s strongest travel documents, holding steady in seventh place since July 2025. Our trusty little blue book grants us visa-free or visa-on-arrival access to 183 destinations, placing Australia in a tie with Canada, Latvia, Malaysia, New Zealand, Slovakia and Slovenia. While multiple ties put 24 countries ahead of us, Australia is still among the top 16 per cent.

Once again, Singapore has clung to its title as the world’s most powerful passport, granting visa-free travel to 192 destinations. The United Arab Emirates joins Japan and South Korea in second place after pulling off the greatest improvement in the Index’s 20-year history – adding 153 visa-free destinations over the past 20 years. Meanwhile, the United States has plummeted from first in 2014 to tenth in 2026, as more countries enforce strict reciprocal visa requirements on American travellers.

Want to see where your passport lands? You can check out Henley’s full report here. 

The most powerful passports in the world (June 2026):

1. Singapore
2. Japan, South Korea, United Arab Emirates
3. Sweden
4. Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Norway, Spain
5. Austria, Greece, Malta, Portugal, Switzerland
6. Hungary, Poland, United Kingdom
7. Australia, Canada, Czechia, Latvia, Malaysia, New Zealand, Slovakia, Slovenia
8. Croatia, Estonia
9. Liechtenstein, Lithuania
10. Iceland, United States

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