American passport is not as powerful as before, going to 10th place in an annual classification
The United States is about to get out of the top 10 in an annual ranking of the most powerful passports in the world for the first time in the 20 years of index history.
American passports fell to a 10th place, jointly held by Iceland and Lithuania, in the Henley Passport index of this year – which bases its classification on the number of destinations that a passport holder can enter without visa. The United States has fallen into the rankings every year since 2014, when its passports were classified as the most powerful.
The United States has an access without visa to 182 destinations, while a Passport de Singapore, which holds first place, grants access without a titular visa to 193 destinations, according to the index. In a press release on Tuesday, Henley, a world group of London-based migration consultants, noted that countries like the United States and the United Kingdom “seem to be withdrawn behind more restrictive entrance policies.”
“Your passport is no longer just a travel document – it is a reflection of the diplomatic influence of your country and international relations,” said Henley & Partners CEO, Dr Juerg Steffen in a press release.
American travelers can discover which countries need a visa using the American State Department to learn more about your destination research tool.
The United States also ranks low on “opening”, allowing only 46 other nationalities to visit a visa without visa.
The State Department did not immediately respond to the request for comments from CBS News.
In second place on this year’s list, Japan and South Korea, with passports from these countries, grant holders without visa to 190 other countries. Most of the 10 best locations, which include several linked rankings, are held by European countries, with the exception of the United Arab Emirates and Canada for eighth place and the United States in 10 place.
Afghanistan is ranked last. Its passport grants access without visa to only 25 countries.
Henley says her index is based on exclusive data from the International Air Transport Association, an important database of travel information.
“The consolidation that we see at the top underlines that access is won – and must be maintained – through active and strategic diplomacy,” said Dr. Christian H. Kaelin, inventor of the Passport -Index concept, in a press release. “The nations which proactively negotiate the derogations from visas and nourish reciprocal agreements continue to increase, while the reverse applies to those which are less engaged in such efforts.”
