(CNN) 鈥 When it comes to traveling from country to country without restrictions and enjoying shorter lines at border control, there鈥檚 an elite tier of passports with more clout than others.
The top three passports, says the latest report by the , are Asian countries: Singapore at No. 1 and Japan and South Korea tied at No. 2.
Singaporeans enjoy visa-free access to 192 of the 227 countries and territories tracked by the index, which was created by the London-based global citizenship and residence advisory firm Henley & Partners, and uses exclusive data from the International Air Transport Association.
Japan and South Korea are just behind with visa-free access to 188 destinations.
Henley counts multiple countries with the same score as a single spot in its standings, so five European countries share the No. 3 slot: Denmark, Luxembourg, Spain, Sweden and Switzerland. All have visa-free access to 186 countries and territories.
It鈥檚 an all-European placement at No. 4 also, with the following countries all having a score of 185: Austria, Belgium, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, the Netherlands and Norway.
Fifth place, with a score of 184, is held by Hungary, Portugal, Slovakia, Slovenia and the United Arab Emirates.
UAE climbs the ranks
The UAE is the country with the strongest performance in the 20-year history of the Henley Passport Index, adding 149 visa-free destinations since 2006 and climbing 57 places up the rankings. This, says the report, has been driven by the UAE鈥檚 鈥渟ustained diplomatic engagement and visa liberalization.鈥
At No. 6 are Croatia, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Malta, New Zealand and Poland. Australia has held onto its position at No. 7 in this quarterly update, alongside Latvia, Liechtenstein and the United Kingdom.
The UK is the country with the steepest year-on-year losses on the index, now having visa-free access to 182 destinations, eight fewer than it had 12 months ago.
Canada, Iceland and Lithuania are at No. 8, with visa-free access to 181 destinations, while Malaysia is at No. 9, with a score of 180.
The United States is back in the No. 10 spot, with a score of 179, after briefly dropping out for the first time in late 2025. However, this is not the recovery it might sound like. As multiple countries can occupy a single spot in the standings, there are actually 37 countries that outrank the US on the list, one more than there were in late 2025.
The US is just behind the UK when it comes to year-on-year decline, having lost visa-free access to seven destinations in the past 12 months.
It鈥檚 also endured the third-largest ranking decline over the past two decades 鈥 after Venezuela and Vanuatu 鈥 falling six places from fourth to 10th.
Stability and credibility
鈥淧assport power ultimately reflects political stability, diplomatic credibility, and the ability to shape international rules,鈥 Misha Glenny, journalist and rector of the Institute for Human Sciences in Vienna, says in Henley & Partners鈥 report.
鈥淎s 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.鈥
At the opposite end of the index, at No. 101, Afghanistan remains locked in bottom place, with visa-free access to just 24 destinations. Syria is at No. 100 (with 26 destinations) and Iraq is at No. 99 (with 29 destinations).
That鈥檚 a yawning mobility gap of 168 destinations between the top- and bottom-ranked passports.
鈥淥ver the past 20 years, global mobility has expanded significantly, but the benefits have been distributed unevenly,鈥 says Christian H. Kaelin, chairman at Henley & Partners and creator of the Henley Passport Index.
鈥淭oday, passport privilege plays a decisive role in shaping opportunity, security and economic participation, with rising average access masking a reality in which mobility advantages are increasingly concentrated among the world鈥檚 most economically powerful and politically stable nations.鈥
Dual citizenship
Henley & Partners is one of a number of companies that assists high-net-worth individuals in attaining dual citizenship around the globe. This month it told CNN that in 2025 it had assisted clients of 91 nationalities, but , accounting for 30% of the firm鈥檚 business.
However, several European countries have recently tightened requirements for citizenship by descent and also for 鈥済olden passport鈥 programs, which grant citizenship in exchange for financial and/or property investment. In the US, Ohio鈥檚 Republican senator Bernie Moreno has proposed an 鈥淓xclusive Citizenship Act鈥 that would ban Americans from holding any other citizenship.
The Henley list is one of several indexes created by financial firms to rank global passports according to the access they provide to their citizens.
Arton Capital鈥檚 takes into consideration the passports of 193 United Nations member countries and six territories 鈥 Taiwan, Macao, Hong Kong, Kosovo, the Palestinian territories and the Vatican. Territories annexed to other countries are excluded.
It鈥檚 also updated in real-time throughout the year and its data is gathered by close monitoring of individual governments鈥 portals.
Arton鈥檚 Global Passport Power Rank 2026 puts the United Arab Emirates in the top spot, with a visa-free/visa-on-arrival score of 179. Second place is held by Singapore and Spain, each with a score of 175.
The world鈥檚 most powerful passports for 2026
- Singapore (192 destinations)
- Japan, South Korea (188)
- Denmark, Luxembourg, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland (186)
- Austria, Belgium, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway (185)
- Hungary, Portugal, Slovakia, Slovenia, United Arab Emirates (184)
- Croatia, Czech Republic, Estonia, Malta, New Zealand, Poland (183)
- Australia, Latvia, Liechtenstein, United Kingdom (182)
- Canada, Iceland, Lithuania (181)
- Malaysia (180)
- United States (179)
The-CNN-Wire
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