Overview

• The latest Henley Passport Index places the U.S. 12th, tied with Malaysia, with visa-free access to 180 of 227 destinations, as the methodology groups ties so multiple countries rank ahead despite equal scores.
• Brazil’s reinstated visa requirement, China and Vietnam’s exclusion of the U.S. from new visa-free lists, and policy tweaks in Papua New Guinea and Myanmar, plus Somalia’s new eVisa, reduced U.S. access this year.
• Americans can enter 180 destinations without a visa, yet the U.S. admits only 46 nationalities visa-free, placing it 77th on Henley’s Openness Index and underscoring a reciprocity gap.
• Singapore leads the 2025 ranking with access to 193 destinations, followed by South Korea (190) and Japan (189), while the U.K. slides to a record-low eighth place.
• China has climbed from 94th in 2015 to 64th in 2025, adding 37 visa-free destinations, a trend Henley’s chair says reflects shifting global mobility and soft power dynamics.