The U.S. passport provides visa-free access to 180 of 227 countries and territories, but only allows for 46 countries and territories access to the United States visa-free or with little restriction. File Photo by Keizo Mori/UPI | License Photo
WASHINGOTN, Oct. 16 (UPI) — For the first time since the Henley Passport Index was created 20 years ago, the United States has fallen out of the world’s Top-10 most powerful passports — ranking 12th alongside Malaysia.
Previously sitting at No. 1 in 2014, the U.S. passport provides visa-free access to 180 of 227 countries and territories, but only allows for 46 countries and territories access to the United States visa-free or with little restriction. But that isn’t enough to achieve a higher ranking.
Compared to Singapore, South Korea and Japan, which occupy the Top-3 spots, the United States has far less reciprocity, according to Henley & Partners, a London-based global citizenship and residency advisory firm that specializes in investment migration programs.
The Henley Passport Index is updated monthly using exclusive data from the International Air Transport Association, ranking passports by the number of countries holders can enter without a prior visa. The index includes 199 passport and 227 travel destinations.
Henley analysts attribute the U.S. drop in rank to recent losses of visa-free access, such as for Brazil, and not being included in China’s expanding visa-free list.
Kate Hooper, senior policy analyst at the Migration Policy Institute, said the Brazilian change was a significant factor because Americans now need visas to visit. She noted a decline in U.S.-Brazil relations, and that the United States has visa integrity fees, making it expensive for Brazilians to travel to this country.
Also, Somalia rolled out a new electronic visa system, and countries like Vietnam, Myanmar and Papua New Guinea continue extending visa-free requirements to other countries, but exclude the United States.
“I would look at this drop in the ranking as both a slight decline in visa-free travel for the U.S., and also a reflection of other countries really trying to prioritize this and expanding the number of countries that people able to travel to and from without a visa,” Hooper told UPI.
Since January, President Donald Trump has suspended issuing visas to 12 countries across Africa, Middle East and Southeast Asia, imposed hefty restrictions on seven countries and threatened bans on 36 more countries — most in Africa.
“Even before a second Trump presidency, U.S. policy had turned inward. That isolationist mindset is now being reflected in America’s loss of passport power,” said Annie Pforzheimer, senior associate at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, in a Henley press release announcing the rank decline.
With the hefty restrictions on seven African countries, potential visitors would have to pay a $5,000 visa bond, refundable upon departure. On Sept. 30, the Electronic System for Travel Authorization price rose from $21 to $40, and there is a proposal to introduce a standard $250 visa integrity fee for most non-immigrant visa applications.
“Steep visa fee hikes could create a barrier for one of our country’s largest exports — international travel spending,” Erik Hansen, senior vice president of government relations at the U.S. Travel Association, told UPI.
“We know the Trump Administration wants international visitors to come for the World Cup and America250 to experience American greatness, spend their money at American businesses, and tell their friends and family to do the same when they return.
“The more obstacles Congress creates to visiting America, the more the U.S. stands to lose from visitors who will choose other destinations instead.”
Although the United States has lost visa-free access in several regions, other countries have rapidly moved in the opposite direction. Hooper noted that China, for example, has gone to great lengths to expand visa-free travel with partners.
“I think that visa-free travel can be a signal and also an effort to expand markets,” Hooper said, adding that such policies often carry economic and foreign policy motivations. By broadening travel access, countries strengthen trade ties, encourage reciprocity and project openness — advantages that can have tangible impacts for their citizens.
Hooper cautioned against overstating the decline, noting that Americans still enjoy visa-free access to most countries worldwide and “why it’s such a desired passport.”