Blitz Bureau
THE UAE passport has been ranked among the world’s 10 strongest in 2025 with visa-free access and visaon-arrival to 185 countries, rising one position from last year, according to the latest ranking released by Henley & Partners.
However, it was ranked No. 1 by Passport Index, an interactive online tool that provides users with insights on passports enabling them to compare and rate passports of different nations. The ranking is based on freedom of movement and visa-free travel for passport holders. The UAE’s ranking has been improving, rising from the 15th position in 2022 and 2023 to the 11th in 2024 and 10th in 2025, H&P said.
The nation saw the biggest increase in 2018 when its ranking jumped from the 38th in 2017 to the 21st. Latvia, Lithuania and Slovenia also joined the UAE in the 10th position.
Some popular countries where UAE passport holder can go visa-free are Canada, China, Denmark, Finland, Germany, Greece, Japan, Maldives, Mauritius, Morocco, New Zealand, Norway, Singapore, Spain, Switzerland, Thailand, Turkiye and UK.
Among other Gulf countries, Qatar is ranked 47th, Kuwait 50th, Bahrain and Saudi Arabia stand the at 58th, whereas Oman is at the 59th position. Globally, Singapore’s passport remained strongest with 195 visa-free destinations. In 2024, the passports of France, Germany, Italy, Japan and Spain were also ranked strongest, but this year they all slipped from the top position.
In 2025, Japan ranked second followed by Finland, France, Germany, Italy, South Korea and Spain ranked 3rd with 192 visa-free destinations.
