A recent study by Nomad Capitalist has revealed that the United Arab Emirates (UAE) has the most powerful passport in the world. This ranking is due to the UAE’s visa-free travel privileges,
rapidly growing economy, and the fact that there are no income taxes. The study ranked nearly 200 countries' passports based on five factors, which were: the availability of visa-free travel, the taxation on residents living in foreign countries, perception, the availability of dual citizenship, and personal freedom. The UAE has added 106 new visa-free countries in the past decade, making it a zero-tax country. Its passport is regarded as one of the most difficult to obtain.
The United States came in 43rd in the study largely due to its taxation policies. It taxes citizens who live in foreign countries, and this practice was assigned the lowest score. The study assigned scores of 20-30 to countries that allow citizens to relocate to avoid taxes, while countries that do not tax foreign incomes scored 40. Countries with zero taxes scored 50. Countries that strictly forbid dual citizenship, like China, received scores of 10, while those that allow for naturalization received a score of 50.
The United Kingdom ranked 30th in the study, with a score of 30 for its taxation policy, 20 for its public perception, and 30 for personal freedom. Australia ranked 39th with a score of 20 for taxation and 30 for perception. In previous studies, both the UK and the US ranked higher, but these studies only took into account how many countries a passport holder can enter without a prior visa.
Nomad Capitalist assigned the most weight to the availability of visa-free travel, but it also put emphasis on how much citizens are taxed, the perception of the country, the availability of dual citizenship, and personal freedoms that residents enjoy. It relied on data from the World Happiness Report and Human Development Index to determine how each country was perceived, and on data and news reports on mandatory military service, government surveillance, and press freedoms to determine the availability of personal freedoms.
The UAE’s global perception has improved due to an influx of rich and famous people who have moved to the Middle East country. It has become a go-to destination for most people that have crypto-based businesses. More recently, the UAE has gained 10 points in the personal freedom category from the 2022 ranking, due to a series of reforms in the country. However, personal freedom remains the UAE's weakest category. In 2021, the government announced that Emirati citizenship is attainable for foreigners like investors, doctors, scientists, and intellectuals who meet certain requirements.
Canada lost points in the personal freedoms and perception categories after the government started to arrest Freedom Convoy protesters. Meanwhile, the UAE has benefitted from a rapidly growing economy, increasing its standing on the world stage. The UAE’s passport is now the most valuable in the world, according to Nomad Capitalist's recent study. Photo by Wikiemirati, Wikimedia commons.