Despite ranking seventh overall, the Canadian passport has made the biggest “losers list” of the world’s most powerful passports, having dropped three spots over the past decade, according to the influential Henley Passport Index, which for the past 19 years has been ranking passports according to the number of destinations their holders can access without a prior visa.
Based on data from IATA, the just-released 2025 Index ranks Canada 7th for 2025, the same as last year. This country reached a lofty No. 2 in the rankings in 2014, dropping to No. 4 a year later, but has settled in between sixth and ninth since 2016. That puts this country on the Top 5 losers list for the last decade, behind only Venezuela, the US, Vanuatu, and Britain.
Henley notes that only 22 of the world’s 199 passports have fallen down its Passport Index ranking over the same period.
Context
Despite the dubious distinction, Canadian passport holders need not scramble to find dual citizenships. Consider:
- Canadians can still visit 188 countries world-wide visa-free
- Canada has actually gained a net total of 18 visa-free destinations since 2015 (it has simply not gained added as many as others – and started with a higher number in the first place)
- And Canadians are only five destinations from second place and seven from first; but we also rank higher than the U.S. (9th)
- Some destinations that require visas from Canada, like Benin and Azerbaijan, may cause little stir; but adding Cuba to the list would certainly be useful.
2025 ranking
Singapore and Japan broke away from the group of six countries that shared top spot last year to secure gold and silver, respectively, on the 2025 Index. Singapore reclaims its crown as the most powerful passport in the world with visa-free access to 195 out of 227 destinations worldwide, leaving Japan in the runner-up spot with a score of 193 but still ahead of the rest after it regained visa-free access to neighboring China for the first time since the Covid lockdowns.
Several EU member states – France, Germany, Italy, and Spain – drop two places in the ranking to 3rd position, and are joined by Finland and South Korea, which each lost a place over the past 12 months and now have access to 192 destinations with no prior visa required.
A seven-nation EU cohort, all with visa-free access to 191 destinations – Austria, Denmark, Ireland, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Norway, and Sweden – share 4th place, while five countries – Belgium, New Zealand, Portugal, Switzerland, and the UK – come in 5th with 190 visa-free destinations.
Least powerful passport
On the other end of the mobility spectrum, Afghanistan, unsurprisingly, remains firmly entrenched at the bottom of the Henley Passport Index, having lost visa-free access to a further two destinations over the past year, creating the largest mobility gap in the index’s 19-year history, with Singaporeans able to travel to 169 more destinations visa-free than Afghan passport holders.
Biggest climbers
The UAE, the first and only Arab state to ever make it into the upper echelons of the rankings, is one of the biggest climbers on the index over the past decade, having secured access to an additional 72 destinations since 2015, enabling it to climb 32 places to 10th spot with visa-free access to 185 destinations worldwide.
China is also among the biggest climbers over the past decade, ascending from 94th place in 2015 to 60th in 2025, with its visa-free score increasing by 40 destinations in that time.
The Trump effect
Interestingly, US nationals currently constitute the single largest cohort of applicants for alternative residence and citizenship, accounting for a staggering 21% of all investment migration program applications received by Henley & Partners in 2024.
CEO Dr. Juerg Steffen says the firm has more American clients than the next four biggest nationalities – Turkish, Filipino, Indian, and Brits – combined.
Commenting in the Henley Global Mobility Report 2025 Q1, Prof. Peter J. Spiro of Temple University Law School in Philadelphia and a leading expert on dual citizenship says the Trump reprise magnifies another element of value for alternative residence or citizenship rights: political risk insurance.
“This time around, the stakes are higher. During the first Trump administration, legacy political guardrails were still in place. Now, many are gone. There is a sense that what Trump wants, Trump will be able to get. His political agenda is mercurial, to say the least, and political uncertainty is the result. Americans can no longer take stability for granted.
“Trump can be fickle with outsiders, too. It is almost certain that he will resurrect the infamous ‘travel ban,’ which he put in place a week after he first took office, early in the new administration. The ban precluded targeted nationals from securing permanent residence in the USA as well as a range of temporary-stay visas. But the bans did not apply to citizens of targeted states if they held an additional citizenship of a non-targeted state. The carve-out for dual citizens made sense.”
If this article was shared with you by a friend or colleague, you may enjoy receiving your own copy of Travel Industry Today with the latest travel news and reviews each weekday morning. It’s absolutely free – just CLICK HERE.