Passport Power 2026: SA loses visa‑free access to five countries

South Africa’s passport has lost some ground in terms of raw access, but not in its overall ranking. If you use your Green Mamba for travel, as the South African passport is affectionately known, you can now travel visa-free or with a visa on arrival to 101 destinations - down from 106 a year ago, after it lost access to Pakistan, Mauritania, Nigeria, Somalia and Kosovo.

Despite this drop, South Africa has retained its 48th position in the Henley Passport Index for 2026, unchanged from January last year. This does, however, reflect the global tightening of visa policies, specifically for African nations. 

The declines for SA are largely administrative rather than diplomatic in nature. Several of the affected countries have shifted from visa-free or visa-on-arrival entry to eVisa systems, a trend increasingly reshaping how passport “power” is calculated.

Across Africa, countries including Malawi, Nigeria and Namibia have cited a lack of reciprocity as a reason for tightening entry, often through eVisa rollouts. The result is a more fragmented mobility landscape, where passport rankings increasingly reflect geopolitics and digital border controls rather than simple freedom of movement.    

At the same time, South Africa has quietly improved its openness score, granting visa-free access to citizens of eight European countries. These include Croatia, Romania and the Baltic states, while revoking access for Palestine, resulting in a net gain of seven points. South Africa was also among a small group of countries to retain visa-free access to Bolivia after it moved to an eVisa model.

Top 10 most powerful passports in 2026 - based on visa‑free or visa‑on‑arrival access globally

1. Singapore (192 destinations)
2. Japan, South Korea (188)
3. Denmark, Luxembourg, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland (186)
4. Austria, Belgium, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway (185)
5. Hungary, Portugal, Slovakia, Slovenia, United Arab Emirates (184)
6. Croatia, Czech Republic, Estonia, Malta, New Zealand, Poland (183)
7. Australia, Latvia, Liechtenstein, United Kingdom (182)
8. Canada, Iceland, Lithuania (181)
9. Malaysia (180)
10. United States (179)

U.S. Passport improves power, but its entry controls set to increase 

While the United States has returned to the top 10 most powerful passports list, after dropping out last year, the country's "America First" agenda sees it further tighten its border controls. Analysis commissioned for the Henley Global Mobility Report 2026, alongside the latest Henley Passport Index, warns that a late-2025 proposal by U.S. Customs and Border Protection could effectively end visa-free travel to the U.S.

The plan would require citizens of 42 nations, including the UK, France, Germany and Japan to submit extensive personal data under the Visa Waiver Program, with implementation possible as early as February following a public consultation.    

EU Visa Reforms Reinforce Bias Against Africans

Recent EU visa reforms are deepening the global mobility divide for African travellers, according to added data commissioned by Henley.  

Authored by Prof Mehari Taddele Maru of the European University Institute and Johns Hopkins University SAIS, the study shows that access to Schengen visas is becoming increasingly restrictive even as mobility pressures intensify.  

Eurostat data reveals that between 2015 and 2024, Schengen visa rejection rates for African applicants climbed from 18.6% to 26.6%, while application volumes rose only marginally. The exact outline of rejection percentages for South Africa wasn't available at the time of publishing.

Reforms implemented since 2024, including higher fees, slower processing, expanded surveillance, and increased sanctions, are expected to increase rejection rates further and widen mobility inequality.

“These policies do not simply regulate mobility - they institutionalise it”, says Prof Maru. “What we are witnessing is a form of conditional racial discrimination in visa policymaking, shaped by geopolitical power rather than individual risk.”