All ttavellers know that not all passports are equal. Some people have free access to foreign countries via via-on-arrival agreements, while others have to go to a lot of trouble and expense to organise visas in advance.
Every year, Arton Capital releases its Passport Index, which ranks the useful of national passport on the basis of the number of countries they can get you into. This year’s figures has just been released, and you may be surprised which documents are the most powerful.
Germany is the clear winner, allowing unhindered access to 157 countries. Singapore is the most valuable Asian passport, and second overall in a tie with Sweden.
Here’s the full list.
- 157 – Germany
- 156 – Singapore, Sweden
- 155 – Denmark, Finland, France, Spain, Switzerland, Norway, UK, USA
- 154 – Italy, Netherlands, Belgium, Austria, Luxembourg, Portugal, Japan
- 153 – Malaysia, Ireland, Canada, New Zealand
- 152 – Greece, South Korea, Australia
- 151 – Czech Republic, Iceland
- 150 – Hungary
- 149 – Malta, Poland
- 148 – Slovenia, Slovakia, Lithuania, Latvia
Not in the top 10, but the most valuable in the Arabian Gulf region is the United Arab Emirates with access to 122 countries, followed by Kuwait (81) and Qatar with a score of 77.
In a media release, John Hanafin, CEO of Arton Capital, said the statitsics showed the value of purchasing dual citizenship through investment in another country.
“The desire to improve opportunity and security transcends borders,” he said.“As such, having a second citizenship has never been more relevant.”
He noted that citizenship by investment has become a US$2billion industry, with more than 20,000 investors seeking a second residency or citizenship around the globe very year.
