For the primary time in 20 years, the US has dropped out of the world’s prime 10 strongest passports, marking a major dethroning for the worldwide superpower.
In keeping with the newest Henley Passport Index, a rating that measures what number of nations a traveler can go to with no need a visa, the US passport now ranks twelfth globally, sharing the place with Malaysia.
Simply final yr, the US was in seventh place, earlier than slipping to tenth in July of this yr. Ten years in the past, it was on the prime of the listing.
“The declining power of the US passport over the previous decade is greater than only a reshuffle in rankings – it indicators a basic shift in world mobility and comfortable energy dynamics,” Christian H Kaelin, chair of Henley & Companions and creator of the index, stated in a press release. “Nations that embrace openness and cooperation are surging forward, whereas these resting on previous privilege are being left behind.”
Asian nations at present dominate the higher ranks. Singapore leads with visa-free entry to 193 locations, adopted by South Korea with 190, and Japan with 189.
Henley & Companions, a London-based agency specializing in citizenship and residency consulting, has compiled these rankings for about 20 years utilizing knowledge from the Worldwide Air Transport Affiliation.
The drop coincides with stricter US immigration and journey insurance policies beneath the Trump administration, which initially focused unauthorized migration however have since prolonged to wider crackdowns on tourism, overseas staff and worldwide college students.
Reciprocity performs a giant function in a rustic’s rankings, Henley & Companions famous, mentioning that whereas US passport holders can at present entry 180 locations visa-free, the US itself permits solely 46 different nationalities to enter its borders with no visa.
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