New Zealand has one of the biggest gaps in the index between the number of countries that its citizens get visa-free access to versus the number of international visitors it allows to enter this country without a visa.
Kiwis have access to 186 nations visa-free, putting our passport in sixth place on the latest Henley Passport Index. Photo /123rf
Henley & Partners chairman and index creator Christian Kaelin said visa reciprocity matters.
“Nations that embrace openness and co-operation are surging ahead, while those resting on past privilege are being left behind.”
New Zealand ranked 73rd in openness, only allowing visa-free access to citizens from 61 countries. Benin, Ghana and Guyana also ranked 73rd.
The United States fell out of the world’s top 10 most powerful passports ranking for the first time in 20 years. A decade ago, the US passport topped the index.
The drop coincides with the crackdown on US immigration and travel policies under the Trump administration. While American passport holders can currently access 180 destinations visa-free, the US itself allows only 46 other nationalities to enter without a visa.
Australia has the widest disparity between visa-free access and openness on the index, followed by the US, which is just ahead of Canada, New Zealand and Japan.
Singapore maintained its reputation for having the world’s “most powerful passport”, occupying the top spot, followed by South Korea in second and Japan in third.
This year New Zealand edged in front of Australia, which is tied for seventh alongside the Czech Republic, Malta and Poland.
In the 2024 index, released last January, New Zealand placed equal sixth alongside the Czech Republic, Poland and Australia.
New Zealand’s ranking peaked at number four in the index in 2015.
Jaime Lyth is a multimedia journalist for the New Zealand Herald, focusing on crime and breaking news. Lyth began working under the NZ Herald masthead in 2021 as a reporter for the Northern Advocate in Whangārei.
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