The 2025 Henley Passport Index has ranked Thailand as 61st or 62nd in the world (depending on the source), allowing visa-free travel to 80 countries. Visa-free can include visas on arrival, but excludes countries which require a prior application for permission to enter. The survey attempts to categorize worldwide geographical mobility.
The Thai ranking shows little change from previous years. Many of her visa-free countries are Asean partners and a number of Latin American states such as Brazil, Chile and Peru. But they also include Russia and China which are important sources of tourism. Visa requirements for Thai nationals remain firmly in place for the European Union, UK, US and Australia.
Other news in the Index, compiled from data of the International Air Transport Association, include the United States dropping out of the top 10 for the first time, now typing with Malaysia at number 12. This is partly due to president Trump’s perceived “anti-foreigner” policies which have led to both China and Vietnam declining to place Americans on their expanding visa-free policies.
The 20 year-old Index is becoming harder to monitor as countries introduce requirements which fall between extremes. For example Thailand has introduced the TDAC, or digital landing card, which is not a vetting procedure but could be used with other computerized data to refuse entry. Similar moves are afoot in Europe and elsewhere.
The Index also notes that there is increasing interest worldwide in Golden Visas or buying a second passport by investment. For example, the United States is set to introduce a US$5 million bar to work and live there without restrictions. Thailand does not currently offer second-citizenship in this way.
Henley notes that the total number of countries counted in the survey is 199. There are 28 other territories, not included, which are microstates or venues which do not issue their own passports. The least valuable passport, according to the survey, is Afghanistan’s which offers visa-free access to only 26 countries.
