Henley & Partners’ latest update (released October 14, 2025) shows the United States falling out of the top 10 for the first time in the index’s 20-year history, sliding to 12th alongside Malaysia with visa-free access to 180 of 227 destinations. Asia leads: Singapore holds No. 1 with access to 193 destinations, followed by South Korea (190) and Japan (189) in the 2025 table. The Henley Passport Index ranks 199 passports by how many destinations citizens can enter without a prior visa, using International Air Transport Association (IATA) data and Henley research.
Henley attributes the U.S. drop to a run of reciprocity setbacks: the loss of visa-free access to Brazil in April, exclusion from China’s expanding visa-free list, and changes by Papua New Guinea, Myanmar, Somalia (eVisa), and Vietnam—all trimming the U.S. score while boosting others. The firm also notes a wide openness gap: Americans can enter 180 destinations visa-free, but the U.S. offers visa-free entry to only 46 nationalities; the U.K. also hit a series low at 8th place in this edition.
