This European Passport Just Leapfrogged Switzerland to Become the “Strongest” In the World

The Swiss passport might be one of the prettiest, most well-designed travel documents ever assembled — but it’s no longer the strongest, according to Nomad Capitalist. Weighing factors like travel freedom, taxation, and other factors, the firm’s annual report now puts Ireland atop its rankings.

• The firm’s rankings are based on the number of countries that a nation’s passport can access without a visa (50%), taxation (20%), and other factors such as global perception (10%), the ability to hold dual citizenship (10%), and personal freedoms (10%).
• Ireland came in a narrow second in last year’s report, only leapfrogging into first this year by adding one additional visa — it can now access 176 of the 199 passport-issuing countries and territories tracked by the company.

What about the US? The US fell one spot from 44th (tied with Brazil) to 45th (tied with San Marino) as the country lost one visa-free travel destination. The country ranked so low due to a number of factors, including the country’s demanding global tax regime and difficulties with holding dual citizenships.

I thought Singapore was first… While Singapore tied for 24th on the Nomad list, ranking low due to lower freedom scores and difficulties with dual citizenships, the city-state still holds first place on a separate ranking of passports, the Henley & Partners Global Passport Ranking. Other Asian countries like Japan and South Korea flanked the Pacific city-state. And Ireland came in a seven-way tie for third. On that list, the US tied for ninth.