The US Passport Just Fell Out of the Top 10 — And It's Trump's Own Doing

Trump's back in the White House, and he's doing what he does best: swinging the tariff stick around like a weapon, bullying anyone in his path, and making enemies left and right. The world's had enough. And now we're seeing the consequences play out in real time — America's once-dominant soft power is crumbling. 

Case in point is the latest global passport rankings. The US passport has dropped clean out of the top 10, landing at the 12th place. That's a 12-spot plunge from where it sat a decade ago when it held the number one position. You can call it what you want, but "freefall" seems about right.

The reason: more and more countries are pulling visa-free access for American passport holders. Meanwhile, as the West stumbles, the East rises. China's passport ranking keeps climbing. Hong Kong's SAR passport also moved up one spot from last year. A friend who works in immigration told me we can expect even more countries to grant visa-free access to SAR passports soon. The rankings could climb higher still — closing the gap with the US and UK.

The US passport has crashed to the12th place in the latest global rankings. Those glory days at number one? Long gone. This is what declining soft power looks like.

When Number One Becomes Number Twelve

Every year, London-based immigration consultancy Henley & Partners releases its "Global Passport Index," ranking passports by their "power" — essentially, how many countries you can enter visa-free. 

According to the latest ranking just published, the US passport sits at the 12th place, officially out of the top 10. Sure, countries move up and down all the time. But America's drop is particularly striking. Ten years ago, it held the top spot. For years, it stayed near the top. Who would've thought it'd ever sink below the 10th place?

Experts point to a major factor: in recent years, the US government has tightened its immigration policies, and the number of countries offering reciprocal visa agreements hasn't increased — it's decreased. Right now, US passport holders have visa-free access to 180 destinations. That's 13 fewer than Singapore, which holds the first place.

Trump's recent tariff wars have burned bridges everywhere. He's alienated nation after nation, and the result is predictable: countries that once offered visa-free access to Americans are quietly pulling back. Take Brazil, for example. Fed up with Trump's relentless bullying, Brazil revoked its visa-free arrangement in April this year. It's clear as day — the US passport's declining ranking is directly tied to Trump's behavior.

China, by contrast, has been busy signing visa-free agreements with more countries — across Europe, the Middle East, and South America. China's passport now ranks 64th, up from 94th a decade ago. The correlation with rising national power couldn't be clearer.

A Shift in Global Soft Power

Christian Kaelin, chairman of Henley & Partners and creator of this passport ranking system, put it perfectly: "The declining strength of the US passport over the past decade is more than just a reshuffle in rankings — it signals a fundamental shift in global mobility and soft power dynamics. Nations that embrace openness and cooperation are surging ahead, while those resting on past privilege are being left behind." He didn't name names. But everyone knows exactly who he's talking about.

The UK passport hasn't fared much better. Its latest ranking? Eighth place, down from sixth. It once held the top spot back in 2015, but those glory days are over. The decline started a few years ago. Since Brexit, the UK passport's convenience within Europe has taken a hit — it's not what it used to be.

Hong Kong's SAR passport, on the other hand, performed well in this ranking. It moved up one level from last year to 18th place — just 6 positions behind the US. 

Hong Kong's Passport on the Rise

A friend who knows immigration affairs well told me Hong Kong's passport ranking has been quite solid in recent years, with minimal fluctuation. Whether it can climb higher depends on China's diplomatic development and whether the Hong Kong government can secure visa-free treatment from more countries. 

Recently, Hong Kong has been aggressively developing economic and trade ties with Belt and Road countries, including those in the Middle East and Central Asia. There's a strong chance these countries will grant visa-free access to SAR passports. If that happens, Hong Kong's passport ranking could climb even higher.

Hong Kong's SAR passport climbed another spot to the18th place — and with more Belt and Road nations granting visa-free access, it's only going higher. Catching up to America? Not as far-fetched as it sounds.

So the idea of Hong Kong's SAR passport catching up to the US in rankings? Not so far-fetched after all. Trump, blinded by his own arrogance, keeps making blunder after blunder, undermining America's soft power bit by bit. And that's creating an opening — for China and Hong Kong SAR to accelerate and catch up.

What Say You?

What Say You?

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Grief remains raw a week after the "once‑in‑a‑century" Wang Fuk Court inferno. But while locals pray, overseas agitators plot. They are cynically hijacking the tragedy to rebrand their stalled anti-embassy campaign as a "mourning event."

Think of it as a "triplet" strategy: by bundling the vigil with BNO residency demands, these agitators aim to pump up turnout and force London’s hand. It is a desperate bid to build clout that risks channeling discontent right back to Hong Kong—and authorities need to be watching.

Calculated Pivot: UK agitators hijack the fire tragedy to pump life into their flagging anti-embassy march.

Opportunists Hijack Tragedy for Politics

Make no mistake: the overseas "yellow camp" is going all-out. Major player Hong Kong Watch has issued marching orders to so-called "Hong Kong Community Centres" in Los Angeles, Toronto, and Berlin. Don't let the neutral "community center" branding fool you. These are operational bases for hardline opposition supporters.

Saturday's Toronto event exposes the political underbelly. Alongside the usual protest regulars, you have heavy hitters like Hong Kong Watch Canada chair Aileen Calverley. The theme—"pursuing accountability"—screams politics, not prayer. Expect to see former entertainer Joseph Tay, who fled to Canada in 2020 and now sits on a National Security wanted list.

But the main event is in Britain. The group "Hongkongers in Britain" is staging a massive "memorial" in London, expecting hundreds. The ringleader is Simon Cheng, a former employee of the British consulate with a murky past who secured swift asylum in 2020. Now a fugitive on the police wanted list, he is mixing mourning with his separatist agenda.

Fugitive on the Attack: Simon Cheng weaponizes tomorrow's memorial to strike at the Hong Kong government.

Friday is just the warm-up act. The real play comes Saturday, when various BNO holder groups converge for a "large march." The mourning angle? That was a last-minute add-on. Their original, stated goals were purely political: protecting BNO settlement perks and killing China’s "super embassy" plan in London.

Shifting goalposts is their only constant. Previous marches relied on a motley crew of anti-China politicians and separatists to sour UK-China relations. But here is the cold reality: British intelligence greenlit the embassy, and Prime Minister Keir Starmer looks ready to approve it. With the opposition campaign hitting a dead end, turnout is nose-diving.

To arrest the decline, organizers are tapping into anxiety among Hong Kong BNO holders about tougher residency rules. By adding a "no change to settlement conditions" demand, they hope to drag more bodies into the street and pad their shrinking numbers.

Fading Relevance Desperate for Numbers

Then came the fire. It was a "once-in-a-century" disaster, and these groups wasted no time weaponizing the grief. By co-opting the tragedy, they aim to lure in regular Hong Kong people who just want to mourn, oblivious to the hardline agenda. It makes their "triplet" protest look far bigger than it actually is.

The playbook is predictable. Once the crowd gathers to mourn, organizers will pour political fuel on the fire, steering the anger toward the HKSAR Government. The goal is simple: export this manufactured outrage back to Hong Kong, triggering "brothers-in-arms" to reignite the ashes of the 2019 turmoil.

This isn't the first time they have built a platform on tragedy. It won't be the last. Authorities need to keep their eyes wide open.

Lai Ting-yiu