Passport index 2026: Murblz ranks 199 passports

The strongest passports in the world, scored on travel, residence rights and risk. Here is who leads the November 2026 edition, how the score is built and what it means for choosing a second citizenship.

Most passport rankings count one thing: how many borders a passport opens without a visa. That number matters, but it explains only part of a passport's value. A family choosing a second citizenship also asks where it can settle, where it can work without a permit, and whether the passport brings tax or banking problems. The Murblz Passport Index puts all of this into one score, so 199 passports can be compared on the terms that matter when you move, not only when you take a holiday.

What the Murblz Passport Index measures

Each passport receives a score from 0 to 100, built from three blocks.

Travel, up to 90 points. The index counts the destinations a passport enters without arranging a visa in advance. Visa-free entry, visa on arrival and electronic travel authorisations of the ESTA and eTA type count. An e-visa and a consular visa do not, because both require an application and can be refused. The passport with the highest count receives the full 90 points, and every other passport receives a share in proportion to its own count. The formula reads: score = 90 × visa-free destinations ÷ the highest count + live and work − deductions, and it never falls below zero.

Live and work, up to 10 points. Citizens of the EU, the EEA and Switzerland receive the full 10, because the passport gives them the right to settle and take a job across the EU, the EEA and Switzerland without a permit. Other passports score in proportion to the size of the economies their regional agreements open to them: the Common Travel Area between the UK and Ireland, the Trans-Tasman arrangement between Australia and New Zealand, the Gulf free movement, the Caribbean single market, Mercosur residence, the Compacts of Free Association, and the open border between India, Nepal and Bhutan.

Deductions, up to 10 points. A passport loses 5 points when citizenship itself creates a tax liability abroad, 5 for international sanctions or a place on the high-risk blacklist for money laundering, 2 for the monitoring grey list and 2 for the EU list of high-risk third countries. Banking restrictions are capped at 5 in total. In the November edition, 33 passports carry deductions.

The strongest passports in the world in 2026

Thirteen passports share first place with 97.2 points: Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Spain, Sweden and Switzerland. Each opens 187 destinations without a visa, which gives 87.2 travel points, and adds the full 10 for the right to live and work across Europe.

Austria, Greece, Malta and Portugal follow in fourteenth place with 96.7 points and 186 destinations. Hungary and Poland share eighteenth with 96.3 and 185. The Czech Republic, Latvia, Slovakia and Slovenia stand twentieth with 95.8. The first 31 places all belong to EU, EEA and Swiss passports, closing with Cyprus.

Why Singapore leads on travel but ranks 32nd

Singapore holds the widest visa-free access of any passport: 193 destinations, the benchmark that earns the full 90 travel points. It still ranks 32nd with 90.0, because a Singaporean passport gives no automatic right to settle or work in another country. Japan, with 189 destinations, follows at 88.1 for the same reason. This is the clearest example of what the index adds: a passport built for travel is not automatically a passport built for relocation.

The United Kingdom, the Emirates and the United States

The UAE passport stands 34th with 88.0 points and 187 destinations, and gains 0.8 from Gulf free movement. The British passport takes 36th with 86.1: it opens 184 destinations and adds 0.3 through the Common Travel Area with Ireland. Canada stands 38th with 85.8 and Australia 39th with 85.4.

The US passport opens 180 destinations, worth 83.9 travel points, yet finishes 47th with 78.9. The gap comes from a 5-point deduction: the United States taxes its citizens on worldwide income wherever they live, and banks abroad treat American clients with extra caution. For an investor who lives outside the US, this burden weighs more than a dozen extra visa-free countries.

Latin America, Asia and the lower half of the table

Chile leads Latin America in 42nd place with 82.5 points and 173 destinations. Argentina follows in 44th with 80.9 and Brazil in 45th with 80.6, and both gain points from Mercosur residence, which lets citizens settle across the bloc with a simple procedure. Uruguay stands 53rd, Mexico 55th and Paraguay 63rd with 70.4 points, 147 destinations and 1.9 points of residence rights.

The median passport opens 92 destinations, and the gap between the top and the bottom of the table is wide. Turkey stands 94th with 107 destinations, Saudi Arabia 102nd with 88, China 109th with 83, India 145th with 58 and Nigeria 173rd with 43. The last four places go to Iraq, Yemen, Afghanistan and Syria: the Syrian passport scores 6.7 and opens 23 destinations. For citizens of countries in the lower half, a second passport changes the map of the world more than any other single decision.

How to read the index

The score answers one question: how much freedom a passport gives its holder. Three rules make it easier to use.

• Compare blocks, not only totals. Two passports with similar scores can be very different: one wins on travel, the other on the right to live and work. If the goal is relocation, the rights block decides.
• Check the deductions. A passport that loses points for tax or banking risk will cost its holder time and money every year, regardless of how many borders it opens.
• Look at what is left. For every passport the index also shows how many destinations require an e-visa and how many a consular visa, so the score can be checked against the trips and markets that matter to you.

The index is updated monthly, on the 1st of each month. The November 2026 edition took effect on November 1, and the next one is due on December 1. Visa rules change quickly: a new visa waiver or a suspended agreement moves a passport within a single edition. The data is open under the CC BY 4.0 licence, so researchers and journalists can use it with attribution to Murblz.

What the ranking means for a second passport

A second citizenship is chosen for a purpose, and the index shows which passport serves which purpose. An EU passport gives the full package: top-tier travel and the right to live, work and study across Europe. Malta and Portugal sit in 14th place, and both are realistic targets for families who build residence first and naturalise later. Our overview of second citizenship programmes sets out the grounds, timelines and documents for each country.

Caribbean and Latin American passports work differently. Grenada stands 65th with 149 destinations, and Paraguay 63rd with 147 and Mercosur residence rights. These passports do not compete with Europe on the score, but they are obtained faster, and for a citizen of a country in the lower half of the table they can double the number of visa-free destinations. The Paraguay citizenship route starts with permanent residence and suits families who plan to spend time in South America.

Residence is often the first step. A residence permit in a country with a strong passport starts the clock towards naturalisation and gives the family a legal base abroad years before citizenship. The residence permit catalogue compares grounds by country, from investment and remote work to retirement income.

How Murblz helps you choose a passport

A passport score is a starting point, not a decision. The right choice depends on your current citizenship, the countries where your family will live, your tax residence and the time you are ready to invest. A weak file, a missed residence requirement or a tax plan built after the move costs years. It is more reliable with professionals. Murblz experts compare the routes that fit your passport, build the residence and citizenship plan step by step, and prepare every file, with a clear, transparent process. The cost is available on request from a manager.

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