Kuwaiti passport gains strength, rises to 50th spot in global rankings
Kuwaiti citizens can now access 99 countries visa-free or on arrival as the passport climbs five spots in the 2025 Henley Index.
• Japan still maintains its position as the most powerful passport in the world, allowing holders to enter 194 destinations without a visa or with a visa on arrival. Singapore came in second with access to 193 destinations.
The Kuwaiti passport has significantly strengthened its global standing, climbing five spots to rank 50th in the 2025 Henley Global Mobility Index, up from 55th in 2024. Kuwaiti citizens can now travel to 99 countries visa-free or with visa-on-arrival access, according to Al Rai newspaper.
This annual index assesses the ability of the passports of 199 countries to travel without a visa, pointing to the relative improvement in the status of the Kuwaiti passport compared to the past five years.
The UAE passport ranks 10th globally, granting Emiratis visa-free access to 185 countries.
As for the rest of the GCC countries, the Qatari passport ranked 47th globally with 112 countries that the holder can enter without a visa, and the Saudi passport came in 60th place globally with 86 countries, then the Bahraini in the 58th place with 87 countries, then the Omani in the 61st place with 86 countries.
The results of the 2025 index showed the continued dominance of European and East Asian countries on the list of the top ten passports globally.
Japan still maintains its position as the most powerful passport in the world, allowing holders to enter 194 destinations without a visa or with a visa on arrival. Singapore came in second with access to 193 destinations.
For the third to fifth places globally, it was distributed as follows: the third place was shared by Germany, South Korea, Finland, Italy, Luxembourg and Spain (with 192 destinations). Fourth place is shared by Austria, Denmark, the Netherlands and Sweden (with 191 destinations).
Fifth, France, Ireland, Portugal and the United Kingdom (with 190 destinations) were in fifth place. Hence Belgium, Czech Republic, New Zealand, Norway and Switzerland (with 189 destinations).
