Austria ranks fifth in 2026 passport index as Singapore leads the field

Austrian passport holders share fifth place in the latest Henley Passport Index, released in October 2026 by Henley & Partners. Singapore takes the top position, offering visa-free access to 193 destinations, while India climbs one place to 84th despite fewer visa-free options than before.

Key facts

• Austria shares fifth place with Greece, Malta, Portugal and Switzerland.
• Singapore ranks first, with visa-free access to 193 destinations.
• India moved up from 85th in 2025 to 84th in 2026, with visa-free access falling from 57 to 55 destinations.
• The index measures 199 passports against 227 travel destinations.
• Rankings draw on data from the International Air Transport Association (IATA), supplemented by Henley & Partners' research and online datasets.

Which passports rank highest in 2026?

Singapore leads the table with visa-free access to 193 destinations. Japan, South Korea and the United Arab Emirates share second place, each with access to 188 destinations without a prior visa, and Sweden ranks third.

Eleven countries — including Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg and the Netherlands — share fourth place. Hungary, Malaysia, Poland and the United Kingdom are tied for sixth, while Australia, Canada, Czechia, Latvia, New Zealand, Slovakia and Slovenia rank seventh. Croatia and Estonia are eighth, Liechtenstein and Lithuania ninth, and Iceland and the United States round out the top 10.

Where does Austria place?

Austria sits in joint fifth place alongside Greece, Malta, Portugal and Switzerland. The index does not give a destination count for passports ranked below second place, so it does not state how many destinations Austrian passport holders can enter without a visa.

How are passports scored?

A passport scores one point for a destination when no visa is required. The same point applies when travellers can obtain a visa on arrival (VOA), a visitor's permit or an electronic travel authorisation (ETA). If a visa is required, the passport scores zero for that destination, as it does when pre-departure government approval is needed for a visa on arrival.

Each passport's total score is simply the number of destinations for which no visa is required.

What is happening with India's passport?

India improved by one place, from 85th in 2025 to 84th in 2026, but its visa-free reach dropped from 57 to 55 destinations. India shares its current rank with Algeria and Mauritania.

What this means for travellers

The ranking is a guide to how widely a passport travels without a prior visa rather than a change to entry rules. Travellers can use it to see how their passport compares and which destinations may require advance paperwork, but individual entry requirements should be checked for each country before booking.

No further updates to the index are mentioned in the source.