Singaporeans continue to hold world's most powerful passport in latest ranking

SINGAPORE — Singaporeans continue to hold the world's most powerful passport, with visa-free or visa-on-arrival access to 193 destinations out of 227 globally, according to the latest Henley Passport Index released on July 22.

The Republic retained its first-place ranking despite a slight dip from 195 destinations in the January 2025 edition of the index.

Singapore lost visa-free or visa-on-arrival access to Pakistan and West African country Mauritania after both switched from visa-on-arrival to e-visa systems.

E-visas, unlike visa-on-arrival arrangements, require travellers to obtain approval before departure and are not counted as visa-free access in the index.

This reduced Singapore's tally by two points, but it retained its lead, as other top-ranked passports were similarly affected.

In second place are Japan and South Korea, with access to 190 destinations. Seven European Union countries — Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy and Spain — share third place with access to 189 destinations.

The UK and US slipped down the index, continuing a long-term downward trend. Once the world's most powerful passports — the UK in 2015, and the US in 2014 — they now rank sixth and 10th, respectively.

The UK offers visa-free access to 186 destinations, while the US has 182. The US is on the verge of falling out of the top 10 for the first time in the index's 20-year history, said Henley & Partners, which compiles the ranking.

At the bottom is Afghanistan, at 99th position, with its citizens able to access just 25 destinations without a prior visa, a stark contrast to the 193 destinations accessible to the top-ranked passport.

Syria is in 98th place with 27 destinations, followed by Iraq at 97th with 30.

Over the past six months, India has made the largest jump in the rankings, climbing eight places from 85th to 77th, despite adding only two new visa-free destinations to take its total to 59.

Saudi Arabia has recorded the biggest gain in visa-free access, adding four destinations since January and rising four places to 54th, with a total of 91 visa-free countries.

Henley & Partners, a global citizenship and residence advisory firm, compiles the ranking using exclusive data from the International Air Transport Association.

It is published twice a year — in January and July — and tracks the number of destinations passport holders can enter without needing a prior visa.

A spokeswoman for Henley & Partners told The Straits Times that the index is dynamic and changes monthly due to shifting visa policies, with new agreements signed or reversed regularly.

"The January index reflected the scores and ranks at the beginning of the year, and we publish the July updated ranking each year to coincide with the summer holidays in the Northern Hemisphere when there is a significant uptick in travel," she added.

The index, launched in 2006, now covers 199 passports and 227 destinations.

This article was first published in The Straits Times. Permission required for reproduction.