The United States has made a partial comeback in the latest global passport power rankings, re-entering the top ten after a brief fall in late 2025. However, this modest recovery obscures a more troubling decade-long slide for American and British travel document prestige.
A Decade of Decline for Anglo-American Passport Power
According to the newly released 2026 Henley Passport Index, the US now sits in 10th place, with visa-free or visa-on-arrival access to 179 destinations out of 227 worldwide. The United Kingdom holds 7th place. This marks a stark contrast to 2014, when the two nations jointly held the coveted top spot. Over the past ten years, the US has suffered the third-largest decline in ranking, surpassed only by Venezuela and Vanuatu.
The index, powered by data from the International Air Transport Association (IATA), is a key barometer of global mobility. "Passport power ultimately reflects political stability, diplomatic credibility, and the ability to shape international rules," says Misha Glenny, Rector of the Institute for Human Sciences in Vienna. He suggests the erosion of rights for the US and UK is a signal of "deeper geopolitical recalibration."
Strict US Entry Proposals Threaten Visa-Free Travel
Compounding the issue is America's poor performance on a related metric: openness. The Henley Openness Index, which measures how many nationalities a country admits without a visa, places the US 78th out of 199, allowing only 46 nationalities visa-free entry.
Research for the Henley Global Mobility Report 2026 highlights a looming threat to the Visa Waiver Program. A late-2025 proposal by US Customs and Border Protection could, in practice, end visa-free travel for citizens of 42 allied nations, including the UK, France, Germany, and Japan.
If implemented after public consultation, possibly as early as February 2026, travellers would face unprecedented data demands. These would include:
- Five years of social media activity history.
- Ten years of email addresses, phone numbers, and IP addresses.
- Detailed family information and biometric data (facial recognition, fingerprints, DNA).
This sensitive information could be retained for up to 75 years, far exceeding current ESTA requirements.
"For Europeans long accustomed to near-frictionless travel, the implications go far beyond inconvenience," warns Greg Lindsay of the Atlantic Council. "This level of data collection enables real-time ideological screening and creates the risk that personal information could be shared, repurposed, or weaponised."
The New Global Leaders in Passport Power
The top of the 2026 ranking is dominated by Asian and European nations. Singapore leads with access to 192 destinations visa-free. It is followed by a tie for second between South Korea and Japan (188). Third place is shared by a clutch of European nations: Denmark, Luxembourg, Spain, Sweden, and Switzerland (186).
Dr. Christian H. Kaelin, Chairman of Henley & Partners and creator of the index, notes the uneven distribution of mobility benefits. "Today, passport privilege plays a decisive role in shaping opportunity, security, and economic participation," he states, pointing out that advantages are increasingly concentrated among the world's most stable and powerful nations.
While the US passport remains a powerful document, its trajectory signals a shifting world order where historical Anglo-American influence on global mobility norms is facing sustained pressure from both geopolitical shifts and domestic security policies.
