Blitz Bureau
NEW DELHI: For the first time in two decades, the US has dropped out of the world’s top 10 most powerful passports, marking a significant dethroning for the global superpower.
According to the latest Henley Passport Index, a ranking that measures how many countries a traveller can visit without needing a visa, the US passport now ranks 12th globally, sharing the position with Malaysia. Just last year, the US was in seventh place, before slipping to 10th in July of this year. Ten years ago, it was at the top of the list.
Asian countries currently dominate the upper ranks. Singapore leads with visafree access to 193 destinations, followed by South Korea with 190, and Japan with 189.
The drop coincides with stricter US immigration and travel policies under the Trump administration, which initially targeted unauthorized migration but have since extended to wider crackdowns on tourism, foreign workers and international students. Reciprocity plays a big role in a country’s rankings, Henley & Partners noted, pointing out that while US passport holders can currently access 180 destinations visa-free, the US itself allows only 46 other nationalities to enter its borders without a visa.
Recent access changes have contributed to lower rankings across the board. In April, Brazil ended visa-free entry for Americans, Canadians and Australians, citing a lack of reciprocity.
Other countries have expanded visa waivers, but not for Americans. China and Vietnam, for instance, have excluded the US from newly expanded lists of countries eligible for visa-free tourism.
