ISIDORA CIRIC (ABU DHABI)

The UAE passport has yet again been crowned the world's most powerful, this time in Arton Capital's 2026 Passport Index.

The latest ranking, published on Wednesday, places the UAE ahead of 198 countries, including Singapore, the United States and major European economies, with its mobility score rising from 179 in 2025 to 182 this year.

According to the index, UAE passport holders can now travel to 128 destinations without arranging a visa in advance. Of those, 128 destinations are completely visa-free, 44 allow visas on arrival in 44 and the remaining 10 require only an electronic travel authorisation (eTA).

That means Emirati citizens get easier access to 91% of the 199 destinations assessed, with just 16 requiring a visa in advance - down from 19 last year.

The UAE leads both the Global Passport Power Rank and Individual Passport Power Rank this year, maintaining its position at the top of the rankings for the seventh consecutive year since 2021.

In the 2026 Global Passport Power Rank, Singapore and Malaysia share second place with mobility scores of 175, followed by Spain in third with 174. Several European countries, including Germany, France and Belgium, share fourth place with 173, while Poland, Malta and others occupy fifth with 172.

In the 2026 Individual Passport Power Rank, the UAE is followed by Singapore in second place, Malaysia in third, Spain in fourth and Belgium in fifth.

Developed by Arton Capital, the Passport Index evaluates passports from 193 UN member states and six territories, using information from government sources and international travel requirements.

Its mobility score measures access through visa-free travel, visas on arrival, electronic travel authorisations and qualifying electronic visas. The Individual Passport Power Rank, meanwhile, uses the UN Development Programme's Human Development Index to distinguish between passports with similar access arrangements.

The UAE first topped the index in 2018, when its mobility score stood at 167, and kept that spot in 2019 before pandemic-related travel restrictions temporarily disrupted its global standing in 2020.

The UAE then quickly reclaimed the top position in 2021 and has remained the world’s highest-ranked passport in the index ever since.