Passport The United States passport has fallen to a historic low following an updated ranking of the world’s most powerful passports.
US passports fall out of the world’s top 10 most powerful passports for the first time, According to the latest Henley Passport IndexWhich was released this week and has been compiled using data from the International Air Transport Association (IATA). The US passport ranked 12th and gives Americans visa-free access to 180 out of a total of 227 destinations around the world.
This was a significant decline compared to the beginning of the year America came at number 9 in this listAccording to the index, the US is now tied with Malaysia.
“The declining strength of the U.S. passport over the past decade is more than a shuffling of the rankings – it signals a fundamental shift in global mobility and soft power dynamics,” Dr. Christian H. Kellin, president of Henley & Partners, said in a statement. “Nations that embrace openness and cooperation are moving forward, while nations that cling to the privilege of the past are falling behind.”
Henley & Partners attributed the decline in the strength of US passports to Brazil’s loss of visa-free travel due to lack of reciprocity and “exclusion from China’s rapidly growing visa-free list”. The US was also excluded from visa-free access to countries such as Vietnam.
When it comes to visiting the US, only travelers from 46 other countries can enter without a visa.
Where did the world’s most expensive passport come from? SingaporeWhich provides visa-free access to 193 different destinations. South Korea ranked second with visa-free access to 190 destinations, and Japan ranked third with visa-free access to 189 destinations.
When traveling internationally, many countries require a US passport to be valid for at least six months beyond the travel dates and some airlines will not allow passengers to board a flight if it is not. According to the State Department. currently, passport processing time Coming in four to six weeks for regular service and two to three weeks for expedited service. The State Department recently began accepting Renewal Request Online,
Passports serve as documents for entering a country, but they have also become a popular souvenir. However, some countries are phasing out beloved passport stamps. For example, the European Union has just started Introducing a new entry and exit system (EES) in which travelers use biometric data to gain entry into 29 European countries.
