SOURCE TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO GUARDIAN: Brent Pinheiro
If you’re a Trinidad and Tobago passport holder planning to take a trip this year, you may need to add “apply for a visa” to your to-do list.
According to the latest Henley Passport Index update, the T&T passport now only allows visa-free access to 146 countries and territories across the globe.
In 2025, that number was 152. Overall, T&T’s passport remains ranked 28th on the list, but because multiple countries can occupy a single spot in the standings, there are actually 63 countries that outrank T&T.
This reduced access to the globe has also impacted its ranking among Caribbean passports, with the T&T passport now the seventh most powerful one in the region—a drop by one place.
Meanwhile, Barbados maintains its status as the most powerful passport in the Caribbean, with passport holders able to access 165 destinations visa-free.
This also puts it at 19 (alongside Brunei) on the overall standings.
The Bahamas, St Vincent and the Grenadines, St Kitts and Nevis, Antigua and Barbuda, and Grenada occupy spots two-six of the Caribbean rankings.
As for the top three passports, well, they come from Asia—Singapore in first position with access to 192 destinations and Japan and South Korea tied for second with access to 188 destinations.
Afghanistan remains at the bottom of the rankings with access to a mere 24 destinations.
“Passport power ultimately reflects political stability, diplomatic credibility and the ability to shape international rules,” says Misha Glenny, award-winning journalist and Rector of the Institute for Human Sciences in Vienna, in a release from Henley & Partners.
T&T’s passport strength was impacted by last year’s decision by the UK Government to revoke visa-free access for nationals.
Ireland followed suit within weeks, the Minister of State for Migration Colm Brophy said, despite operating an independent visa regime, the move would “bring Ireland into closer alignment with the United Kingdom.”
Minister of Foreign and Caricom Affairs Sean Sobers has been working with UK officials to restore visa-free access since the Kamla Persad-Bissessar-led administration took office.
He told Guardian Media last year that the core issue was the absence of legislation to notify the UK in advance of travellers departing T&T.
Created 20 years ago, the index ranks all the world’s passports according to the number of destinations their holders can access without a prior visa.
It’s based on Timatic data from the International Air Transport Association (IATA) and enhanced by extensive, ongoing research by the Henley & Partners Research Department.
