Which world passport is best for itenerant expats?

Nowadays, the expat life is likely to include travel between a far larger number of world countries than ever before.

In the increasingly mobile world of expat professionals and digital nomads, the best passport is one giving the highest number of countries allowing visa free entry, thus making international travel far easier and less expensive. Planning an itinerary without having to worry about visas is a feature of today’s mobile workforce, whether globetrotters or experts travelling between company offices worldwide. Put together with the ease of purchasing a golden visa in order to get the best visa-free entry passport, choosing the right destination could be a guarantee of success.

As with every other aspect of expat life, surveys are useful in identifying the most convenient passports allowing the largest number of visa-free entries across the entire world. One recent study placed European Union member states’ passports as the world’s strongest, allowing visa-free entry to some 185 world countries. Unfortunately, should Brexit become an unpleasant reality, the formerly well-rated British passport will only list 158 visa-free destinations instead of its former 184, thus causing issues for expat professionals formerly able to travel freely to all 27 EU member states.

The strongest world passports are those of Japan and Singapore, both of which allow easy entry to 190 world countries, with South Korea, Finland and Germany in second place with 188 countries. Luxembourg, Italy and Denmark clock up 187 in total, followed by Sweden, France and Spain with 186. Portugal, the Netherlands and Austria support 165 visa free entry countries, with the USA, UK, Ireland, Greece, Canada, Belgium and Norway now on 184. As regards the weakest passports as regards visa-free entry, most are far from being on expats’ travel lists and most are considered unsafe, with Afghanistan’s 25 visa-free travel countries at the bottom of the listings.