The United Arab Emirates (UAE) passport has been ranked the second most powerful in the world, according to the Henley Passport Index 2026, published on May 7, 2026.
The UAE stands alongside Japan and South Korea at second place, with holders able to access 187 destinations without arranging a visa in advance – just five fewer than the world’s top-ranked passport, Singapore.
The ranking places the UAE ahead of every European nation, every other Gulf state, and every other country in the Arab world, cementing the Emirates’ position as a nation whose passport carries as much weight as those of long-established travel powers.
Second most powerful passport in the world is now the UAE, Henley 2026 Passport Index confirms
Only Singapore, with a visa-free score of 192, sits above the UAE in a ranking that covers 199 passports and 227 travel destinations worldwide.
The index, described by Henley & Partners as “the original and most authoritative ranking of all the world’s passports,” measures the number of destinations a passport holder can enter without obtaining a prior visa. A score of 187 means that holders of a UAE passport can travel to 187 of the world’s 227 tracked destinations without the need to apply for a visa before departure.
That places the UAE one destination ahead of Sweden, which sits at third with 186, and two ahead of a cluster of 12 European nations – including Germany, France, Italy, and Spain – that share fourth place with 185.
The gulf between the UAE’s score and the bottom of the table is considerable. Afghanistan, ranked last at 103rd, has a visa-free score of just 23. A UAE passport holder can access 164 more destinations without a prior visa than the holder of an Afghan passport.
The UAE’s second-place standing is far ahead of any other Gulf Cooperation Council nation. Qatar sits at 46th with a score of 112 – 75 destinations fewer than the UAE. Kuwait ranks 48th with 96, Saudi Arabia 51st with 88, and Bahrain 52nd with 87.
The contrast underlines the scale of the UAE’s diplomatic achievement in securing visa-waiver agreements across the globe, from Europe and the Americas to Africa and Asia.
