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The UAE passport is now the most powerful in the world, according to a new index.
The country climbed more than 30 places from last year’s ranking to bag the number one spot in the 2023 passport index by tax and immigration consultancy Nomad Capitalist.
The index, which ranks 199 passports around the world, gave the UAE the highest score due to the country’s latest initiatives that allow foreigners to apply for a dual citizenship.
Combined with travel freedoms afforded by a UAE passport, the new residency reforms, coupled with the UAE’s business-friendly environment and “enviable” tax regime, put the UAE at the top of the index, Nomad Capitalist said.
“The UAE has entered the top ten for the first time this year, jumping straight to number one from 35th last year,” the consultancy said.
Unlike other passport rankings, Nomad Capitalist’s ratings are based not only on visa-free travel, but also on international taxation laws, global perception, dual citizenship and personal freedom.
In January 2021, the UAE government announced it would allow investors, specialised talents and professionals, including scientists, doctors, engineers, artists, authors and their families to obtain a UAE citizenship.
European countries continue to dominate the rankings, with Luxembourg and Switzerland sharing the second spot, followed by Ireland and Portugal in the fourth position, and Germany and Czech Republic in the sixth.
New Zealand came in the 8th position, followed by Sweden, Finland and the Netherlands, all ranked in the 9th place.
Nomad Capitalist ranked the passports based on aggregated data from nearly 20 “unique” sources, and based on priorities that the consultancy believes are important to citizens and potential citizens of each given country.
At least five factors were taken into account in assigning scores to each country: visa-free travel (50%), taxation of citizens (20%), perception (10%), dual citizenship (10%) and personal freedom (10%).
The UAE passport landed the 16th position in the Henley & Partners’ passport index for 2023, with visa-free access to 178 destinations.
(Reporting by Cleofe Maceda; editing by Daniel Luiz)
