US passport falls behind 36 countries as travel advantage erodes

Thirty-six countries now offer their citizens greater travel freedom than the United States, according to the July 2026 Henley Passport Index. Although the U.S. is officially tied for 10th place, that ranking groups together passports with identical visa-free scores, leaving America behind dozens of countries that now match or surpass its mobility.

The latest rankings highlight how other governments have steadily expanded visa-free agreements while the U.S. has taken a more restrictive approach toward foreign visitors. Henley analysts say countries that provide broad travel access for their own citizens without offering comparable access in return risk weakening their diplomatic influence over time.

Singapore retained the world’s most powerful passport with visa-free or visa-on-arrival access to 192 destinations. Japan, South Korea and the United Arab Emirates shared second place with access to 188 destinations, followed by a large group of European countries. Henley’s top 10 now contains 38 passports, up from 26 when the index debuted in 2006.

When Henley published its first passport rankings, the U.S., Denmark and Finland shared the top spot with access to 130 destinations. The U.S. returned to No. 1 in 2014 before beginning a prolonged decline. It briefly fell out of the top 10 in late 2025 for the first time before returning to a tie for 10th in January 2026. Henley identified America’s six-place drop since 2006 as the third-largest decline among countries tracked by the index, behind Venezuela and Vanuatu.

The broader trend has moved in the opposite direction. In 2006, the average passport provided visa-free or visa-on-arrival access to 58 destinations. By July 2026, that figure had risen to 108. Henley found that nearly every passport improved over those two decades, with Bolivia the only country to record a net decline. The U.S. also gained access to additional destinations during that period, but other countries advanced more quickly, reducing America’s relative advantage.

Americans continue to enjoy extensive travel access abroad but relatively few foreign travelers receive similar treatment when entering the U.S. Henley’s January 2026 Openness Index found that U.S. passport holders could visit 179 destinations without obtaining a visa in advance while citizens of only 46 countries could enter the U.S. under comparative terms. That ranked the U.S. 78th out of 199 countries and territories for openness.

The Trump administration has instead moved toward tighter screening for visitors. A Customs and Border Protection proposal disclosed in late 2025 would require travelers from 42 Visa Waiver Program partner countries, including Japan, South Korea, France, Germany and the U.K., to submit five years of social media history, 10 years of email addresses and phone numbers as well as expanded family and biometric information. Henley’s report said that the proposal could significantly increase the burden on visa-free travelers even if the program itself remains in place.

The proposal also comes as measures of U.S. international standing have weakened. Gallup reported earlier this year that the global approval of U.S. leadership had fallen below China’s for only the third time since the survey began nearly two decades ago, with much of the decline occurring among longtime American allies.

The U.S. also remains one of the few countries near the top of Henley’s rankings whose citizens still need a visa to enter China. By July, the U.K. and Canada had climbed in the passport rankings after securing visa-free access to China and Malawi, while the U.S. remained tied for the 10th. Beijing, meanwhile, had expanded visa-free entry to citizens of more than 40 additional counties over the previous two years, bringing the total to 77 by January, compared with 46 nationalities admitted visa-free by the U.S.

Singapore’s rise illustrates how quickly passport strength can change through sustained diplomacy. It ranked eighth in Henley’s inaugural 2006 index and now holds first place outright. Japan and South Korea also remain among the world’s strongest passports, giving Asia three of the four passports occupying the top two positions in the latest rankings. Europe still dominates the upper tier overall, but Henley says Asia’s presence among the mobility leaders has expanded substantially over the past two decades.

China remains well behind its East Asian neighbors, but its passport has recorded one of the fastest recent gains. Between 2016 and January 2026, China climbed 28 places to 59th after gaining visa-free or visa-on-arrival access to 31 additional destinations, bringing its total to 141.

Beijing has paired those travel gains with broader diplomatic outreach. During this year’s Iran conflict, Chinese officials drew on longstanding economic ties in the Gulf states to help broker ceasefire negotiations.

No passport has improved more over the full 20 years than the UAE’s. Henley said Emirati citizens gained visa-free or visa-on-arrival access to 153 additional destinations between 2006 and July 2026, lifting the country into a tie for second place. Christian H. Kaelin, Henley & Partners chairman and creator of the index, called passport strength “one of the clearest expressions of a country’s geopolitical capital,” adding that it reflects “the value other countries place on their relationship with you.”