
Global Passport Power Rank 2019 - EL_Loco
https://www.passportindex.org/byRank.php
======
arnvald
The "mobility score" is just a number of countries you can visit without visa.
But that's a poor indication of what passport you'd like to own.

For example, Singapore is 4th on the list, 166 countries. But in order to live
in any of these countries, you need a visa. On the other hand, Romania is 9th
on the list, but Romania belongs to EU so its citizens can move to any of
other 26 EU countries without visa. Doesn't it make their passport more
powerful?

Hong Kong citizens can move to China, so while they can go without visa "only"
to 154 countries, they can decide to move to China and freely move around the
area of 10 million square meters, which is twice bigger than EU. Doesn't it
impact the power of their passport?

I guess what I'm saying is: this list is too simple to take it seriously.

~~~
splintercell
SoverignMan's passport index is different, it uses 'area' \+ access to certain
countries (so it comes pretty close to what you are asking for):

[https://www.sovereignman.com/passport-
ranking/](https://www.sovereignman.com/passport-ranking/)

~~~
Balgair
Hmm, maybe then use 3 axes? 1 for the number of countries you can enter, one
for the area of the country you can enter, and 1 for length of visa (maybe not
just length though). Take the line of best fit, see which passport is furthest
above that line?

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js2
This site has been submitted to HN a dozen times but the only time it got much
discussion was in 2015:

[https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=9481026](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=9481026)

Here's a couple related links submitted in the last year with significant
discussion:

"Traveling the World on a Third World Passport":

[https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=17778108](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=17778108)

"Show HN: Compare benefits of a second passport based on the one you have":

[https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=17577386](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=17577386)

~~~
z2
I think one of the most interesting and actionable takeaways from the previous
discussions is that holders of weak passports with a US, Canada, or EU tourist
visa gives tourist access to an increasing list of developing countries. The
thinking seems to be, "If the US/UK/EU/Canada vetted the person, it's good
enough for us, and that person would probably prefer to overstay in those
places, not here." With visa validity periods trending upwards of 5-10 years,
it's a good way to temporarily increase passport power.

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mFixman
Comparing passport power by total number of countries you can enter is a bad
metric.

The UK has a much higher rating than Chile because Britons can enter countries
like Lesotho or Namibia visa-free. On the other hand, Chilean citizens can
enter both Russia and Iran without a visa, which I think makes it more
powerful.

~~~
rmind
IMO, the countries passport holders can travel should be weighted by: 1) their
size and economic strength 2) attractiveness as a tourist destination.

For example, right now, Estonian and Polish passports have the same score.
However, Estonians do not need visa to travel to the USA, while the Polish
need it. This is arguably a significant difference.

How exactly countries should be weighted is a separate debate.

------
Svip
On the country welcoming list,[0] Greenland is coloured black like North Korea
and Afghanistan. But surely as part of the Kingdom of Denmark, it should fall
under the same rules as Denmark? Or since it is not in the EU, maybe not?

Speaking as a Dane, I get unsure. But it is a vast part of the map that looks
completely uninviting.

Edit: According to Wikipedia, Greenland follows the same policy as the EU, and
thus Denmark.[1] Additionally, it seems there is also a Greenlandic and a
Faroese passport, although abroad they count as a Danish passport.[2]

[0]
[https://www.passportindex.org/byWelcomingRank.php](https://www.passportindex.org/byWelcomingRank.php)
[1]
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Visa_policy_of_the_Schengen_Ar...](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Visa_policy_of_the_Schengen_Area#Visa_exemptions)
[2]
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Danish_passport#Physical_appea...](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Danish_passport#Physical_appearance)

~~~
titanomachy
The country corresponding to the selected passport is always shown as black.

~~~
Svip
I did not select Greenland (nor Denmark for that matter, but Denmark was not
black), since it's not possible to select Greenland.

~~~
titanomachy
Ah I misunderstood. Maybe it corresponds to "no data"?

EDIT: probably a bug with their data.

------
woliveirajr
> Add passport(s) to your current one, and see your score improve.

Interesting, but it's not so easy to "add" a passport to you.

~~~
tgtweak
I know some people (freelancers mostly) who seem to be collecting passports as
some kind of expensive complicated beurocratic sport.

Would also be good to see a relative rating on how difficult/lengthy/costly
the process is to get each of these passports. I'm sure there's a known
combination of passports that gets you optimal country coverage with minimal
effort/cost.

~~~
rolltiide
1) Malta - 1.3 million euros. Half of it is in investments so reedeemable. 1
year. No physical residency required. European Union, Schengen Area

2) Portugal - 350k euros OR 500k euros. All in property so reedemable. 6 year.
No physical residency required, but property counts as residence and gives EU
visa for all 6 years until citizenship and passport is possible. European
Union, Schengen Area.

Can also employ 10 Portugal citizens for work. Likely as low as 90k euros per
year. Obtains EU visa and by year 6 you an get passport.

3) Cyprus - similar to Malta and is EU but not Schengen Area. Might take a
little longer too.

4) Austria - informal kickback process, but follows due process. 10 million
euro+

5 - 10) Caribbean countries that are not EU so I don't care. Low 6 figures.
Known to revoke purchased passports when indicted of a crime somewhere else in
the world. Long after having a clean background check and being approved and
not being accused of any crime.

~~~
pgcj_poster
If I'm not mistaken, Maltese citizenship would allow one to live in Britain
even if Brexit happens. So I would call its passport the most valuable.

------
supernova87a
So, what good is this list? To make the people on top feel smug, and the
people on bottom foment revolution to change their country?

It's not like you can easily choose your passport like choosing a sports team
or college or something.

~~~
maccard
If you look at the source (arton Capital) their business is "high net worth
investors" \- so this list is for their high net worth clients to choose which
country they want to invest in.

~~~
yeahitslikethat
Or get citizenship in.

~~~
maccard
Sorry my "invest in" was supposed to be in air quotes - too late to edit. This
is exactly what they want. However they're less concerned about actusl
citizenship and more with the benefits (tax status, access to
countries/properties)

------
crazygringo
Interesting.

#1 (UAE) beats the #2 ones (Finland etc.) in the following countries: Burundi,
Chad, China, Congo, Congo (DR), Guinea, Liberia, Mali, Nauru, Niger, Russia,
Saudi Arabia, Sierra Leone, South Sudan, Sudan, Syria, Yemen. Mostly a handful
of African countries and a handful of countries known for human-rights abuses.
As for the latter, not necessarily something to be proud of.

But measuring "power" by number of countries treats countries equally. More
interesting would be to calculate by the number of _people in the world_ you
can visit without a visa... or number of people multiplied by GDP per capita
-- to reflect the fact that a passport which allows you access to richer
countries could arguably reflect more "power".

------
pledg
Looking forward to seeing the reranking after Brexit

~~~
billpg
So, never, then.

------
VK538FY
The ability to enter another country as a tourist without a visa (or with some
electronic visa) is cool. Obviously problematic for a citizen of a country
with few such agreements.

What I find far more interesting personally is the ability to reside or do
business meaningfully in another country in virtue of the bilateral agreements
between the two countries.

Some examples of which I have read here or elsewhere. \- US citizens can
establish their own business in NL \- US citizens can overstay Schengen limits
in PL due to anterior bilateral agreements \- reduced time to permanent
residency in CH for CA or US citizens.

------
yoz-y
Why is electronic travel authorization (such as ESTA) ranked worse than eVisa
or Visa on Arrival?

I always feared (maybe for no reason) that with visa on arrival one can still
get refused, but now you are already in the country.

~~~
pledg
You can still get refused entry with an ESTA

~~~
raphaelj
Doesn't that hold for a e-VISA too ?

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Gys
A required visa in itself does not have to be problematic? I have been to (for
me) required visa countries like Russia and China without any problem. Cannot
even remember I applied for visa (but it shows required here, so I guess I did
- both were some years ago). At worst its just a bureaucratic process.

But I guess its difficult for some countries. So adding some indication of the
difficulty to get visa for the 'missing' countries would certainly add value.

------
mc32
A bit off-topic but the great majority are center-aligned with a few
exceptions:

Switzerland

Bosnia-Herzegovina

Peru (two columns aligned left)

Sweden

Brazil

and a couple others have some left aligned layout.

But the great majority regardless of script do center-alignment.

------
wickerman
Having a Mercosur passport (Argentina) and EU passport (Spanish) I think I
have a pretty sweet deal - Spanish passport gets me visa free to most of the
countries in the world, and the Argentinian passport gets me to Russia visa-
free (hi Putin!). And then on top of that I can live in any EU country and
also live and work in any (or most I think) Mercosur countries without having
to worry too much about work visas, etc.

When I see the kind of hoops that some of my fellow countrypeople need to go
through just to find work abroad (i.e. come to the EU) I really really
appreciate that my mam was intelligent enough to tell my 15 year old self to
go get the citizenship when we could.

~~~
zwieback
I've got US and German passports, vehemently opposed to Brexit for purely
selfish reasons.

------
jgwil2
Neat! I always find myself trying to get a better look at the designs of
different passports whenever I'm at the airport.

~~~
z2
Yeah, passports are up there alongside currencies in that countries are
increasingly putting a lot of effort into the designs to show off their
culture, history, art, etc. Too bad the fear of forgeries prevents the artwork
from being more commonly shared...

------
CalChris

      Global Passport Power Rank
    
      Passports of the world are sorted by their total Mobility
      Score, which includes visa-free and visa on arrival
      privileges. The higher the MS score, the better global
      mobility its passport bearer enjoys.
    
      Mobility Score (MS) – includes visa-free (VF),
      visa on arrival (VOA), eTA and eVisa

------
dalore
The rank it gives is purely one dimensional yet comparing passport power is
multidimensional. For example I compared Canada, Australia and UK. Canada got
166 just above the others but looking at the compare list some countries give
visa free for fewer days than the others. Is that more or less "power"?

------
Thaxll
"UNITED ARAB EMIRATES" 1st yeah that's some bs, just take the example of a EU
passport where you can live and work indefinitely in any EU country without
visa.

~~~
matteuan
EU benefits have nothing to do with the passport

~~~
Thaxll
To hold a passport you must be citizen. If you're let say American and German,
you have a EU passport which is very powerful since you can live and work in
any EU country.

[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Passports_of_the_European_Unio...](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Passports_of_the_European_Union#/media/File:Visa_requirements_for_the_European_Union_citizens.png)

My point is it's better to hold a EU passport than a UAE one.

~~~
laken
It's a power ranking. The score is based on _travel_ ability. Living and
Working isn't factored into travel, because that's not the point.

~~~
z2
There's value (and power?) to the length of stay though. It's a good starting
measure to see which countries can you just hop on a plane to without a visa,
but after getting off that plane, what if you want to stay for a while? The
UAE passport allows 30 days in Korea or Japan, while many other visa-exempt
passport holders have 90 days. The Schengen zone is a special case where the
entire group of countries together allow at most 90 days every 180 days. As a
tourist traveling between those countries, it would be useful to not need to
leave the EU every 3 months, and go back after another 3 months.

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jorblumesea
So basically, economic power translate into geopolitical power. Or vice versa.
Is there a highly developed nation that isn't ranked highly on the visa-free
list?

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macmac
Why is Greenland dark grey? Greenlanders are Danish citizens and get
(optionally) a variant of the Danish passport with the same privileges and
restrictions.

~~~
seszett
The creators of the site just don't seem to take overseas territories into
account, except for the US ones. French Guiana or Réunion are grey as well for
example while Hawaii and Alaska light up at the same time of the rest of the
US.

~~~
macmac
That appears to be right. At a minimum a neutral color should be applied if
the rank has not been assessed.

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vowelless
Wow, Emiratis made major gains in 2018.

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BorRagnarok
Not coincidentally the bottom six positions on that list are also the
countries the US and NATO decided to invade during the previous two decades.

Can't have those people you want to kill leaving the country now can you?

~~~
derefr
Not so much about leaving the country, as about knowing who from there is in
_your_ country. Most of the point of requiring a visa for entry (at this point
in globalization when very few countries are ever actively at war) isn’t
stopping people from entering, but rather knowing exactly who’s entering, and
then _being able to_ track them from the time they enter until the time they
leave, if you feel the need to.

As well, when you don’t trust a foreign government to ensure that people only
get passports for their own identity, you can’t be sure that a random person
coming in with a passport from said country isn’t _actually_ a Person of
Interest. So, you require they fill out a passport-like form in your own
country, and then try as best as you can to figure out if they are who their
passport says they are. That’s a visa.

