Ireland has the strongest passport on this planet, in accordance with the Nomad Passport Index 2025.
It’s the primary time that the northern European country has held the solo No. 1 spot within the annual rating from Nomad Capitalist, a tax and immigration consultancy. Ireland did, nevertheless, come close in 2020, when it tied for the highest spot alongside Luxembourg and Sweden.
“Ireland shook up the rankings, because of the country’s strong international popularity, business-friendly tax policies, and overall citizenship flexibility,” the corporate’s research associate Javier Correa told CNBC Travel.
Unlike other rankings, which regularly evaluate passports based solely on their visa-free travel strength, Nomad Capitalist’s rating analyzes five criteria:
- Visa-free travel — 50%
- Taxation — 20%
- Global perception — 10%
- Ability to carry dual citizenship — 10%
- Personal freedom (freedom of the press, mandatory military service, etc.) — 10%
Those aspects allow people considering a special, or additional, passport to higher understand the “true value” of citizenships world wide, and ultimately to “go where they’re treated best,” in accordance with the index.
The passport rating
The ninth edition of the list ranks 199 countries and territories using 20 sources, similar to country tax authorities for tax rankings, and the World Happiness Report and the United Nations’ Human Development Index for perception rankings, in accordance with the index.
Scores range from 10 to 50, aside from the visa category, which is the number of nations that passport holders can enter with no need a visa.
Here’s the list from first to forty ninth place:
European countries hold nine of the highest 10 spots, from the perennial powerhouse of Switzerland to the small nations of Luxembourg and Malta.
The very best ranked passports outside of Europe are the United Arab Emirates and Recent Zealand, that are each tied for tenth place.
The complete list may be viewed at Nomad Capitalist’s website.
Greece rises, UAE falls
Greece (tied for 2nd), Slovenia (tied for thirteenth) and Spain (tied for thirty second) rose within the 2025 rankings, fueled by changes to every countries’ tax scores.
“In a turbulent yr marked by shifting geopolitics and policy upheaval, Greece surged dramatically from sixth into joint second with Switzerland, reflecting its growing credibility amongst high-net-worth individuals, retirees, and global investors,” in accordance with a press release announcing the rating.
Nevertheless, other countries — including Lithuania, Netherlands, Germany and Hungary — moved down the rating. Notably, the UAE — which was No. 1 in 2023 and tied for No. 6 in 2024 — moved to tenth place in 2025.
“Recently introduced taxes … have tarnished [the UAE’s] allure for global entrepreneurs,” the discharge stated.
Countries which top other lists — like Singapore and Japan — rank lower in Nomad Capitalist’s list. Each rating low for dual citizenship, which is restricted in Japan and not recognized in Singapore. Japan can also be dinged within the taxation category, while Singapore has lukewarm scores for private freedoms.
Singapore ranked 126 out of 180 countries in Reporters Without Borders’ 2024 World Press Freedom Index and requires male residents and everlasting residents to serve roughly two years within the military once they turn 18 years old. The island nation, nevertheless, has top scores for “perception.”
The weakest passports on the list, ranked from 195 to 199, are Pakistan, Iraq, Eritrea, Yemen and Afghanistan.
— CNBC’s Bella Stoddart contributed to this report.
