Which are really the strongest passports in the world?

[Maciamo]

Every year I see different companies making lists of the most powerful passports in the world. The most famous of them is probably the Henley Passport Index by Henley & Partners, which has been ranking countries according to the travel freedom allowed by those countries' ordinary passports for their citizens since 2006. The problem with such ranking is that it only takes into account access to foreign countries as a tourist, not the right to live and work visa-free, as is the case for EU citizens in other EU countries.

According to Henley these are the 30 strongest passports in 2024.

[TABLE=collapse]
[TR]
[TH]2024
rank[/TH]
[TH]Passport issuing country[/TH]
[TH]Visa-free
destinations[/TH]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]1[/TD]
[TD]

France[/TD]
[TD]194[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]1[/TD]
[TD]

Germany[/TD]
[TD]194[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]1[/TD]
[TD]

Italy[/TD]
[TD]194[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]1[/TD]
[TD]

Japan[/TD]
[TD]194[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]1[/TD]
[TD]

Singapore[/TD]
[TD]194[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]1[/TD]
[TD]

Spain[/TD]
[TD]194[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]2[/TD]
[TD]

Finland[/TD]
[TD]193[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]2[/TD]
[TD]

Netherlands[/TD]
[TD]193[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]2[/TD]
[TD]

South Korea[/TD]
[TD]193[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]2[/TD]
[TD]

Sweden[/TD]
[TD]193[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]3[/TD]
[TD]

Austria[/TD]
[TD]192[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]3[/TD]
[TD]

Denmark[/TD]
[TD]192[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]3[/TD]
[TD]

Ireland[/TD]
[TD]192[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]3[/TD]
[TD]

Luxembourg[/TD]
[TD]192[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]3[/TD]
[TD]

United Kingdom[/TD]
[TD]192[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]4[/TD]
[TD]

Belgium[/TD]
[TD]191[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]4[/TD]
[TD]

Norway[/TD]
[TD]191[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]4[/TD]
[TD]

Portugal[/TD]
[TD]191[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]5[/TD]
[TD]

Australia[/TD]
[TD]190[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]5[/TD]
[TD]

Greece[/TD]
[TD]190[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]5[/TD]
[TD]

Malta[/TD]
[TD]190[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]5[/TD]
[TD]

New Zealand[/TD]
[TD]190[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]5[/TD]
[TD]

Switzerland[/TD]
[TD]190[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]6[/TD]
[TD]

Canada[/TD]
[TD]189[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]6[/TD]
[TD]

Czech Republic[/TD]
[TD]189[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]6[/TD]
[TD]

Poland[/TD]
[TD]189[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]6[/TD]
[TD]

United States[/TD]
[TD]189[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]7[/TD]
[TD]

Hungary[/TD]
[TD]188[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]7[/TD]
[TD]

Lithuania[/TD]
[TD]188[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]8[/TD]
[TD]

Estonia[/TD]
[TD]187[/TD]
[/TR]
[/TABLE]

But the passports of EU, EEA and Schengen countries are clearly stronger than non-EU passports as they provide their carriers not only to travel visa-free for as long as they want (not just 30 days or 90 days as usual tourists) to all 27 EU countries + 3 Schengen countries (Switzerland, Norway, Iceland) + 4 micro-nations (Liechtenstein, Monaco, San Marino, Vatican). They can also live, study, work, get social security, health insurance and do basically anything they would be able to do in their home country throughout the European Union.

So EU passports are in a category of their own and are always stronger than a non-EU passport with an equal number of visa-free destinations.

Citizen of Switzerland, Iceland, Norway and Liechtenstein can also freely live in an EU country without an EU passport, although they don't have all the rights of EU citizens.

Which countries?

Another thing to take into account when comparing the power of passports is which specific countries are in the list of travel-free destinations. It goes without saying that having the right to travel to a huge and populous country like the USA, India or China is more advantageous than being able to travel to tiny island nations like Tuvalu, Nauru, Niue or Palau, which are all less populous than Gibraltar, San Marino or Monaco. So not all destinations should get the same score. If micronations like that get one point, then regular countries should get maybe 3 points and large countries of over 300 million people like the US, India and China at least 10 points. That would also bring more balance with the EU passports.

I can imagine Americans say that they can live and work in 50 states, which is as good as the EU/Schengen's 30 countries. That's not completely true because the EU + Schengen is still considerably more populous than the USA (462 million vs 338 million), but it also provides more cultural, social, economic and political diversity - not to mention the huge historical heritage of European countries compared to the US, where a single country like Italy or Spain or France easily beats the US for its touristic attractivity.

So which passports are the strongest?
Ideally I should have attributed a certain score to each country based on its size and population, but that would take me too long and I leave it to companies like Henley who specialise in the passport ranking to do it. Nevertheless it's easy to sort at least the top 5 countries.

Among the countries with 194 visa-free destinations, Singapore and Japan are not EU countries and therefore their passports are less powerful than those of
France, Germany, Italy and Spain, which also have 194 visa-free destinations. Furthermore Japanese people can no longer travel to China without a visa since 2020. All five other countries can travel to China visa-free.

French, German, Italian and Spanish passport holders have basically all the same destinations in their lists with the same length of stay allowed in every country. In other words, these four passports are the strongest in the world.

The Dutch passport could also be considered as strong as Dutch people are among a handful of European countries who obtained visa-free travel to China from December 1, 2023 to November 30, 2024. It thus completes the top 5.

Other EU citizens who can travel to China visa-free are the Irish, Belgians, Luxembourgers, Austrians. On the other hand Danish, Swedish, Finnish and Portuguese citizens still cannot, and neither can British and Norwegian people.

Apart from visa requirements for China, there are only minor differences between Western and Northern European countries for travel limitations. I used the compare my passport tool on Henley & Partners to see which visas were needed for countries outside the top 5 (France, Germany, Italy, Netherlands, Spain):

• Austrian, Belgian, Dutch, Greek, Luxembourg, Maltese, Portuguese and Swiss citizens need an e-visa for Vietnam.
• Belgian, Danish, Greek and Portuguese citizens need a visa to go to Pakistan.
• Norwegian and Swiss citizens need a visa for Gabon.
• Swiss citizens need a visa to enter Sierra Leone.
• Norwegians need to a visa for Iraq and Senegal.
• Greek citizens need a visa for Lesotho.
• Maltese citizens need a visa for Guyana, Namibia and Kiribati, but don't need one for Uganda (unlike other Western countries).
• British and Irish citizens need an e-visa for Tajikistan.
• British people need a paper visa to enter Iran and Russia, while other Europeans can get an easier to obtain e-visa.

Regarding other Western countries:

• Americans, Australians, Canadians and New Zealanders all need a paper visa for Russia and China and an e-visa for Vietnam.
• Americans and Canadians need a visa to travel to Iran and Venezuela.
• Canadians need a visa to travel to Egypt.
• Australians and New Zealanders need to a visa to enter Sao Tome & Principe.
• New Zealanders need a visa for Gabon.
• Americans can't travel to North Korea.

And East Asian countries:

• Japanese, South Koreans and Singaporeans don't need any visa for Azerbaijan (unlike other developed countries).
• Japanese and South Koreans don't need any for India (unlike other developed countries).
• South Koreans don't need any visa for Russia (unlike other developed countries).
• Singaporeans don't need any for Cuba, Ghana and Guinea (unlike other developed countries).
• Japanese and South Koreans need a visa for China and Burkina Faso.
• Japanese citizens need a visa for the Gambia.
• Singaporeans need a visa for Gabon, Guyana, Iraq, Ukraine and Venezuela.

Singaporeans can travel to Cuba visa-free for 30 days, but it's not really more advantageous than EU citizens who get a 90-day tourist card, which is not properly speaking a tourist visa as it can be freely purchased online or through a travel agency and does not require approval from an embassy.

The Henley ranking failed to mention that South Koreans cannot travel to 8 countries (Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria, Libya, Yemen, Somalia, Sudan and Ukraine) deemed too dangerous by the South Korean government. Apart from the US government prohibiting its citizens to travel to North Korea, South Korea is the only developed country that imposes complete travel bans to some destinations. From the way it is formulated the ban seems to apply to all South Korean citizens without exception, therefore also for humanitarian purposes, journalists, soldiers, etc. Among those 8 countries, Iraq and Ukraine do not require South Koreans to have a visa, but as they are banned from going there by their governments, there should be two countries less in the visa-free destinations than listed by Henley & Partners.

 

[Maciamo]

I thought it would also be interesting to compare the price of passports by country. I checked the cost and validity period for each of them for adults (ordinary passports), then calculated the price per year in euro for each country. I chose the cheapest option when there were two prices (cheaper for online applications in Finland and Singapore, while Malta charges more between April and August!).

[TABLE=collapse]
[TR]
[TD]Country[/TD]
[TD]Cost[/TD]
[TD]Validity[/TD]
[TD]Price per year[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Czechia[/TD]
[TD]600 CZK (€23.5)[/TD]
[TD]10 years[/TD]
[TD]€2.30[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Latvia[/TD]
[TD]€28.46[/TD]
[TD]10 years[/TD]
[TD]€2.84[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Spain[/TD]
[TD]€30[/TD]
[TD]10 years[/TD]
[TD]€3.00[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Poland[/TD]
[TD]140 zł (33€)[/TD]
[TD]10 years[/TD]
[TD]€3.30[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Slovakia[/TD]
[TD]€33[/TD]
[TD]10 years[/TD]
[TD]€3.30[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Hungary[/TD]
[TD]14000 HUF (€35)[/TD]
[TD]10 years[/TD]
[TD]€3.50[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]South Korea[/TD]
[TD]50000 KRW (35€)[/TD]
[TD]10 years[/TD]
[TD]€3.50[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Bulgaria[/TD]
[TD]€20[/TD]
[TD]5 years[/TD]
[TD]€4.00[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Estonia[/TD]
[TD]€40[/TD]
[TD]10 years[/TD]
[TD]€4.00[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Croatia[/TD]
[TD]€42,47[/TD]
[TD]10 years[/TD]
[TD]€4.24[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Romania[/TD]
[TD]258 RON (€52)[/TD]
[TD]12 years[/TD]
[TD]€4.30[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Singapore[/TD]
[TD]$80 (€55) or $70 (€48 online)[/TD]
[TD]10 years[/TD]
[TD]€4.80[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Slovenia[/TD]
[TD]€48[/TD]
[TD]10 years[/TD]
[TD]€4.80[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Lithuania[/TD]
[TD]€50[/TD]
[TD]10 years[/TD]
[TD]€5.00[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Norway[/TD]
[TD]570 NOK (€50)[/TD]
[TD]10 years[/TD]
[TD]€5.00[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Netherlands[/TD]
[TD]€63,42[/TD]
[TD]10 years[/TD]
[TD]€6.30[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Cyprus[/TD]
[TD]€70[/TD]
[TD]10 years[/TD]
[TD]€7.00[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Germany[/TD]
[TD]€70[/TD]
[TD]10 years[/TD]
[TD]€7.00[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Malta[/TD]
[TD]€70 or 80[/TD]
[TD]10 years[/TD]
[TD]€7.00[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Sweden[/TD]
[TD]400 SEK (€35)[/TD]
[TD]5 years[/TD]
[TD]€7.00[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Ireland[/TD]
[TD]€75[/TD]
[TD]10 years[/TD]
[TD]€7.50[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Austria[/TD]
[TD]€75.90[/TD]
[TD]10 years[/TD]
[TD]€7.60[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Greece[/TD]
[TD]€84.40[/TD]
[TD]10 years[/TD]
[TD]€8.50[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]France[/TD]
[TD]86€[/TD]
[TD]10 years[/TD]
[TD]€8.60[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Finland[/TD]
[TD]€50 (€44 online)[/TD]
[TD]5 years[/TD]
[TD]€8.80[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Belgium[/TD]
[TD]€65[/TD]
[TD]7 years[/TD]
[TD]€9.30[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]United Kingdom[/TD]
[TD]£82.5 (€95)[/TD]
[TD]10 years[/TD]
[TD]€9.50[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Japan[/TD]
[TD]¥16,000 (€100)[/TD]
[TD]10 years[/TD]
[TD]€10.00[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Luxembourg[/TD]
[TD]€50[/TD]
[TD]5 years[/TD]
[TD]€10.00[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Canada[/TD]
[TD]160 CAD (€110)[/TD]
[TD]10 years[/TD]
[TD]€11.00[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]New Zealand[/TD]
[TD]199 NZD (€110)[/TD]
[TD]10 years[/TD]
[TD]€11.00[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Italy[/TD]
[TD]€116[/TD]
[TD]10 years[/TD]
[TD]€11.60[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Denmark[/TD]
[TD]890 DKK (€120)[/TD]
[TD]10 years[/TD]
[TD]€12.00[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Portugal[/TD]
[TD]€65[/TD]
[TD]5 years[/TD]
[TD]€13.00[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Switzerland[/TD]
[TD]140 CHF (€140)[/TD]
[TD]10 years[/TD]
[TD]€14.00[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]United States[/TD]
[TD]$165 (€155)[/TD]
[TD]10 years[/TD]
[TD]€15.50[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Australia[/TD]
[TD]346 AUD (€210)[/TD]
[TD]10 years[/TD]
[TD]€21.00[/TD]
[/TR]
[/TABLE]


US and Australian passports are the most expensive, costing three to four times more per year of validity than the average in other rich countries. But compared to the local salaries and cost of life in the country Portugal has the most expensive passports - almost the same price as Switzerland despite having a nominal GDP per capita 4 times lower!

Spain offers one of the cheapest passports and it is also ranked #1 in the world (alongside the ore expensive French, German and Italian passports).

 

[Maciamo]

New ranking of strongest passports in the world

I have computed a new ranking of the most useful passports. I wondered how many extra points I should confer to EU/Schengen members for having unlimited stay, right to study and right to work in 30 countries. I thought it would be worth 3 points per country, so 26 x 3 (78 points) for each EU member state, but that seemed excessive. So I settled on 10 bonus points for EU and Schengen countries. That seems reasonable as it is not easy to obtain a work visa in most of the EU for non-EU citizens (even from other rich countries).

I also decided to award 5 extra points for passports that granted visa-free travel to China or India. I could not give as many extra points as for EU/Schengen members as China and India only allows a few countries visa-free travel, but in no circumstances visa-free work or study. Besides China only grants 15 days of visa-free travel to a few selected European countries, which is really not much. There was no need to add other countries as all developed countries already have visa-free travel to the USA, Canada, Australia, Japan, Brazil, etc. China and India were the only major country where visa policy differed for travellers from developed countries. For India it only concerns Japan and South Korea. Interestingly there isn't any country that has visa-free access to both China and India.

Whenever countries were tied in their score I took into account the price of passports to determine the ranking.

[TABLE=collapse]
[TR]
[TD]Rank[/TD]
[TD]Country[/TD]
[TD]Visa-free travel[/TD]
[TD]EU/Schengen[/TD]
[TD]incl. China/India[/TD]
[TD]Total points[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]1[/TD]
[TD]Spain[/TD]
[TD]194[/TD]
[TD]10[/TD]
[TD]5[/TD]
[TD]209[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]2[/TD]
[TD]Germany[/TD]
[TD]194[/TD]
[TD]10[/TD]
[TD]5[/TD]
[TD]209[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]3[/TD]
[TD]France[/TD]
[TD]194[/TD]
[TD]10[/TD]
[TD]5[/TD]
[TD]209[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]4[/TD]
[TD]Italy[/TD]
[TD]194[/TD]
[TD]10[/TD]
[TD]5[/TD]
[TD]209[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]5[/TD]
[TD]Netherlands[/TD]
[TD]193[/TD]
[TD]10[/TD]
[TD]5[/TD]
[TD]208[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]6[/TD]
[TD]Ireland[/TD]
[TD]192[/TD]
[TD]10[/TD]
[TD]5[/TD]
[TD]207[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]7[/TD]
[TD]Austria[/TD]
[TD]192[/TD]
[TD]10[/TD]
[TD]5[/TD]
[TD]207[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]8[/TD]
[TD]Luxembourg[/TD]
[TD]192[/TD]
[TD]10[/TD]
[TD]5[/TD]
[TD]207[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]9[/TD]
[TD]Belgium[/TD]
[TD]191[/TD]
[TD]10[/TD]
[TD]5[/TD]
[TD]206[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]10[/TD]
[TD]Hungary[/TD]
[TD]188[/TD]
[TD]10[/TD]
[TD]5[/TD]
[TD]203[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]11[/TD]
[TD]Sweden[/TD]
[TD]193[/TD]
[TD]10[/TD]
[TD][/TD]

[TD]203[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]12[/TD]
[TD]Finland[/TD]
[TD]193[/TD]
[TD]10[/TD]
[TD][/TD]

[TD]203[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]13[/TD]
[TD]Denmark[/TD]
[TD]192[/TD]
[TD]10[/TD]
[TD][/TD]

[TD]202[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]14[/TD]
[TD]Portugal[/TD]
[TD]191[/TD]
[TD]10[/TD]
[TD][/TD]

[TD]201[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]15[/TD]
[TD]Norway[/TD]
[TD]191[/TD]
[TD]10[/TD]
[TD][/TD]

[TD]201[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]16[/TD]
[TD]Malta[/TD]
[TD]190[/TD]
[TD]10[/TD]
[TD][/TD]

[TD]200[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]17[/TD]
[TD]Greece[/TD]
[TD]190[/TD]
[TD]10[/TD]
[TD][/TD]

[TD]200[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]18[/TD]
[TD]Switzerland[/TD]
[TD]190[/TD]
[TD]10[/TD]
[TD][/TD]

[TD]200[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]19[/TD]
[TD]Czechia[/TD]
[TD]189[/TD]
[TD]10[/TD]
[TD][/TD]

[TD]199[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]20[/TD]
[TD]Poland[/TD]
[TD]189[/TD]
[TD]10[/TD]
[TD][/TD]

[TD]199[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]21[/TD]
[TD]Singapore[/TD]
[TD]194[/TD]
[TD][/TD]

[TD]5[/TD]
[TD]199[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]22[/TD]
[TD]Japan[/TD]
[TD]194[/TD]
[TD][/TD]

[TD]5[/TD]
[TD]199[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]23[/TD]
[TD]Lithuania[/TD]
[TD]188[/TD]
[TD]10[/TD]
[TD][/TD]

[TD]198[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]24[/TD]
[TD]Estonia[/TD]
[TD]187[/TD]
[TD]10[/TD]
[TD][/TD]

[TD]197[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]25[/TD]
[TD]Latvia[/TD]
[TD]186[/TD]
[TD]10[/TD]
[TD][/TD]

[TD]196[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]26[/TD]
[TD]Slovakia[/TD]
[TD]186[/TD]
[TD]10[/TD]
[TD][/TD]

[TD]196[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]27[/TD]
[TD]South Korea[/TD]
[TD]191[/TD]
[TD][/TD]

[TD]5[/TD]
[TD]196[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]28[/TD]
[TD]Slovenia[/TD]
[TD]186[/TD]
[TD]10[/TD]
[TD][/TD]

[TD]196[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]29[/TD]
[TD]Iceland[/TD]
[TD]186[/TD]
[TD]10[/TD]
[TD][/TD]

[TD]196[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]30[/TD]
[TD]Croatia[/TD]
[TD]184[/TD]
[TD]10[/TD]
[TD][/TD]

[TD]194[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]31[/TD]
[TD]Cyprus[/TD]
[TD]182[/TD]
[TD]10[/TD]
[TD][/TD]

[TD]192[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]32[/TD]
[TD]United Kingdom[/TD]
[TD]192[/TD]
[TD][/TD]

[TD][/TD]

[TD]192[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]33[/TD]
[TD]New Zealand[/TD]
[TD]190[/TD]
[TD][/TD]

[TD][/TD]

[TD]190[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]34[/TD]
[TD]Australia[/TD]
[TD]190[/TD]
[TD][/TD]

[TD][/TD]

[TD]190[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]35[/TD]
[TD]Bulgaria[/TD]
[TD]179[/TD]
[TD]10[/TD]
[TD][/TD]

[TD]189[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]36[/TD]
[TD]Romania[/TD]
[TD]179[/TD]
[TD]10[/TD]
[TD][/TD]

[TD]189[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]37[/TD]
[TD]Canada[/TD]
[TD]189[/TD]
[TD][/TD]

[TD][/TD]

[TD]189[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]38[/TD]
[TD]United States[/TD]
[TD]189[/TD]
[TD][/TD]

[TD][/TD]

[TD]189[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]39[/TD]
[TD]Malaysia[/TD]
[TD]182[/TD]
[TD][/TD]

[TD]5[/TD]
[TD]187[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]40[/TD]
[TD]UAE[/TD]
[TD]184[/TD]
[TD][/TD]

[TD][/TD]

[TD]184[/TD]
[/TR]
[/TABLE]

 

[Gao1111]

Switzerland, Singapore, and Japan have the strongest passports. I heard people who promote immigration say that.

 

[Maciamo]

Switzerland, Singapore, and Japan have the strongest passports. I heard people who promote immigration say that.

Would you care to explain what you mean?

 

[Gao1111]

Would you care to explain what you mean?

Those intermediaries claim that it is very difficult to obtain resident status in Switzerland, Singapore, and Japan.

 

[Maciamo]

Those intermediaries claim that it is very difficult to obtain resident status in Switzerland, Singapore, and Japan.

Depends for whom. Switzerland is in the Schengen area, so all EU citizens and citizens of other Schengen countries can reside indefinitely in Switzerland.

I lived in Japan and obtained permanent residency after only 4 years. That was also relatively easy.

 

[Maciamo]

Those intermediaries claim that it is very difficult to obtain resident status in Switzerland, Singapore, and Japan.

As for Singapore, the country's population has increased from 3.04 million in 1990 to 4.02 million in 2000 to 5.67 million in 2020. That's an increase of 16% in 20 years and 86% in 30 years, although the birth rate is one of the lowest in the world. That means plenty of immigration. No Western country has had an even remotely similar population growth since 1990. The closest would be Australia, which saw its population rise by 47% from 1990 to 2020. That's almost half the growth of Singapore and it's one of the most immigrant-friendly country among Western countries. So it looks like it's much, much easier to migrate to Singapore than to any Western country.

 

[Gao1111]

As for Singapore, the country's population has increased from 3.04 million in 1990 to 4.02 million in 2000 to 5.67 million in 2020. That's an increase of 16% in 20 years and 86% in 30 years, although the birth rate is one of the lowest in the world. That means plenty of immigration. No Western country has had an even remotely similar population growth since 1990. The closest would be Australia, which saw its population rise by 47% from 1990 to 2020. That's almost half the growth of Singapore and it's one of the most immigrant-friendly country among Western countries. So it looks like it's much, much easier to migrate to Singapore than to any Western country.

These three are safe,clean,and no refugees

 

[Maciamo]

These three are safe,clean,and no refugees

In Japan and Singapore may not have a lot of refugees, but Switzerland is the 4th country with the most refugees in all Europe after Sweden, Malta and Norway. You can check the statistics for yourself. 8.45% of the Swiss population are refugees.

There may not be many refugees in Singapore but nearly half of the population is foreign born, which makes it one of the countries with the largest percentage of immigrants in the world (after countries like the United Emirates).

Anyway this thread is about the strengths of passports for citizens of a particular country who wish to travel or live abroad without a visa, not about the quality of life in each country, nor the number of immigrants or refugees in each country.

 

[Maciamo]

There are other criteria to take into account if you want to determine which is the best citizenship to have. Some nationalities have clear disadvantages such as compulsory military service, usually for men only but in some countries also for women (most famously Israel and Norway).

Conscription

In Europe only six countries have active conscription for all men: Finland (between 5 and 1/2 and 11 and 1/2 months), Austria (6 months), Switzerland (a bit over 8 months), Greece (12 months), Cyprus (14 months) and Ukraine (12–18 months). Other countries only draught less than 20% of the population from military service. This is the case of Norway, Sweden, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Belarus, and Russia.

Taxation based on citizenship

Unlike all other countries with the exception of Eritrea, the United States taxes its citizens on worldwide income, even if they are a permanent resident in another country. To deter tax avoidance by abandonment of citizenship, the United States imposes an expatriation tax on high-net-worth and high-income individuals who give up U.S. citizenship. The tax also applies to lawful permanent residents or green-card holders who are considered "long-term residents."

If you don't know about this, it is well explained in this video.

This arguably makes US citizenship one of the least advantages in the world, especially for a US citizen who does not reside in the United States.

Exit tax & emigration tax

Some countries impose an exit tax on citizens who give up their citizenship, which can be a financial burden. In Europe it is usually reserved for a very specific cases and only in a few countries.

For example in Spain, in December 2014, a new 'Exit Tax' was announced which is governed by Article 95 of the Income Tax Act. This applies to departing Spanish resident taxpayers with shares worth more than four million euros or one million if they hold a stake of 25% of a single business and then transfer their habitual residence outside Spain if they have previously lived in Spain 10 of the last 15 years.

The Netherlands has treaties with Belgium and Portugal permitting them to charge emigration tax against Dutch people who move to those countries. The aim is to impose a tax on persons who move abroad and cash out on the tax-free appreciation of their Dutch pensions.

I could not find any other cases.

Countries with mandatory health insurance for its citizens living abroad

There is no risk of the US imposing this on its citizens, but some European countries do have this requirement. This is the case of Germany and the Netherlands. Austrian, Belgian and French citizens may be required to maintain health insurance coverage even if they reside abroad, although the specifics can depend on individual circumstances and the duration of their stay outside of their home country.

Limitation of political rights for citizens living abroad

Greece, Italy and Portugal all have limitations on voting rights for their citizens who have been living abroad for an extended period.

Dual Citizenship Policies

Most Western countries allow dual citizenship nowadays, but some restrictions may apply in some countries. For example Germany only allows dual citizenship with other EU countries and Switzerland but with other countries special permission is required. In Austria a special permission is always necessary. In the Netherlands, dual citizenship is allowed under certain conditions: e.g., foreign citizenship may be kept if obtained at birth or in the event of naturalization via marriage. Lithuania generally prohibits it except in some cases. Bulgaria and Croatia allows dual citizenship but naturalised citizens must renounce their former citizenship. Poland and Ukraine do not have any laws on the matter but do not specifically prohibit it either.

If the information I found is still up to date the only European countries that always forbid dual citizenship are Estonia, Andorra, Monaco, and San Marino.

Non-western developed countries usually prohibit or heavily restrict dual citizenship. It is prohibited in Singapore and Japan and heavily restricted in South Korea. Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan allow dual citizenship for citizens by birth or for its own citizens but do not permit foreign applicants for naturalization to retain their prior citizenship.


If someone wanted to choose a citizenship based on all its advantages and disadvantages these are things to take into account depending on what's important for you.