Source: Espresso (Story by Yohann Thiou)
Canada Climbs in Global Passport Rankings
Canadian passport holders now enjoy visa-free access to more destinations than their American neighbors, according to the Henley Passport Index published in October 2025.
Canada ranks ninth in the global classification, while the United States finds itself in twelfth place. Just a year ago, both countries shared seventh place in this international ranking system
New American Restrictions Partly Explain This Gap
Henley and Partners, which has published this ranking for two decades, attributes this change partly to reciprocal policies imposed by certain countries in response to new American visa restrictions.
Canadians can now access Belarus, Papua New Guinea, and Uzbekistan without a visa, unlike Americans. Additionally, they can also avoid the requirement to obtain a visa on arrival in Bolivia and Rwanda.
A Widening Gap in Detailed Rankings
When the index data is analyzed in more detail, Canada ranks thirty-second for visa-free travel. The United States occupies thirty-seventh position. Last year, both countries shared twenty-sixth place in this same classification.
Henley’s ranking system groups countries into blocks when they have access to the same number of destinations, which explains the differences between general and detailed rankings.