While Britons flying to Europe and the Schengen Zone are now having to gradually get used to the new EES biometric entry and exit system, it has been revealed that the British passport, along with the American, has dropped down the rankings of powerful passports. The UK passport has fallen to its lowest-ever position on the Henley Passport Index, slipping two places since July, from 6th to 8th place, despite also once holding the top spot (in 2015).
And, for the first time since the Henley Passport Index was created 20 years ago, the United States is no longer ranked amongst the world’s Top 10 most powerful passports. Once unrivalled at No.1 in 2014, the American passport has now slumped to 12th place, tied with Malaysia, with visa-free access to only 180 of 227 destinations worldwide.
The Asian trifecta of Singapore (access to 193 destinations visa-free), South Korea (190 destinations), and Japan (189 destinations) now occupy the top three spots on the index powered by exclusive data from the International Air Transport Association (IATA) and ranking all the world’s passports based on the number of destinations their holders can enter without a prior visa.
Four times each year, the Henley Passport Index from Henley & Partners ranks 199 of the world’s passports based on how easily their holders can travel. And in the latest ranking, published on October 14, the British and Northern Irish passport has slipped to it’s lowest place ever.
With visa-free access to 184 countries, the United Kingdom now ranks eighth in the world alongside Croatia, Estonia, Slovakia, Slovenia and the United Arab Emirates. That’s two spots down since the index was last published in July, when Brits had access to 186 countries and six positions down since last year. UK passports still grant holders a lot of privilege when travelling the world, but gone are the glory days when the British passport ranked first for three years in a row (from 2013-2015).
The Henley Passport Index top 10 strongest passports in the world, October 2025
Singapore
South Korea
Japan
Germany; Italy; Luxembourg; Spain; Switzerland;
Austria; Belgium; Denmark; Finland; France; Ireland; Netherlands
Greece; Hungary; New Zealand; Norway; Portugal; Sweden
Australia; Czechia; Malta; Poland
United Kingdom, Croatia, Estonia, Slovakia, Slovenia, United Arab Emirates
Canada
Latvia