A new survey by a world leading offshore consulting firm has ranked world passports on visa-free travel, taxation, perception, dual citizenship and overall freedom, five factors more than any other passport index currently available.
According to research conducted by Nomad Capitalist , Luxembourg passports are the best ones to own, out of the 199 passports ranked by the company, with the Irish passport coming in second place.
The passports have been assessed on five factors, more than any other passport index. Each citizenship has been ranked on how many countries they can travel to without a visa, tax freedoms, the world’s perception of the country and its citizens, the ability to maintain other citizenships and the ability of its citizens to live freely.
The Luxembourgish passport has climbed its way from number 10 to the top spot thanks to visa-free travel to 177 countries, the ability to hold both dual and multiple citizenships and excellent passport reputation, which means minimal hold ups at passport control.
Last year’s number one, Switzerland dropped to third as the country introduced military conscription which caused the freedom score to decline.
The current top ten ranking passports are: 1, Luxembourg, Score: 109.5; 2, Ireland, Score: 109; 3, Switzerland, Score: 109; 4, Portugal, Score 108.5; 5, Sweden, Score: 108; 5, Italy, Score: 108; 5, Spain, Score: 108; 5, Finland, Score: 108; 5, Denmark, Score: 108; 10, Germany, Score: 107.5; 10, New Zealand, Score: 107.5.
Dropping six places to 22nd this year is the British Passport. The drop is due to decreased personal privacy and concerns among many in the population over Brexit.
However the passport still ranks highly as citizens can visit 177 countries visa-free, are almost always allowed to hold another citizenship, have relatively high levels of personal freedom and are thought about quite highly abroad.
By contrast, the US passport which held its position at number 35, allows visitors to visit 176 countries visa-free, but its citizens are taxed on their worldwide income no matter where they live and are not perceived as highly as their British counterparts.
According to the firm that consults six and seven figure entrepreneurs from countries such as the United States, where the quality of nationality matters, the worst passport to own is the Afghan passport.
This passport only allows entry into 24 countries visa-free, its citizens are often refused entry to a substantial number of countries and also encounter substantial hostility, its citizens are strictly forbidden to hold other citizenships and they also experience less freedom.
Iraq is second worst, with travel permitted to 27 countries, low perception from other countries and low levels of freedom and Eritrea is third from the bottom.
