Ireland has the strongest passport in the world, according to the Nomad 2025 passport index.
This is the first time that the country of northern European has occupied the place in solo n ° 1 in the annual classification of Nomad Capitalist, a tax firm and immigration. Ireland was getting closer in 2020, when it equaled first place alongside Luxembourg and Sweden.
“Ireland has shaken the classification, thanks to the strong international reputation of the country, to tax policies adapted to businesses and to the overall flexibility of citizenship,” said Javier Correa, company research partner, at CNBC Travel.
Unlike other rankings, which often assess passports based solely on their travel force without visa, the Nomad Capitalist classification analyzes five criteria:
- Visa without visa – 50%
- Taxation – 20%
- Global perception – 10%
- Ability to hold the dual citizenship – 10%
- Personal freedom (press freedom, compulsory military service, etc.) – 10%
These factors allow people who envisage a different or additional passport to better understand the “true value” of citizens around the world, and finally “go where they are best treated”, according to the index.
The passport classification
The ninth edition of the list of 199 countries and territories using 20 sources, such as the tax authorities of countries for tax rankings, and the World Happiness Report and the United Nations Human Development Index for collection rankings, according to the index.
The scores vary from 10 to 50, with the exception of the Visa category, which is the number of countries to which passport holders can enter without the need for a visa.
Here is the list from the first to 49th place:
European countries hold nine from the first 10 places, from the perennial power of Switzerland to the small nations of Luxembourg and Malta.
The best classified passports outside Europe are the United Arab Emirates and New Zealand, which are both equal for 10th place.
The full list can be viewed on the Nomad Capitalist website.
Greece rises, the United Arab Emirates
Greece (equally for the 2nd), Slovenia (tied to the 13th) and Spain (equally in the 32nd) increased in the 2025 classification, fueled by modifications to the tax scores of each country.
“During a turbulent year marked by the change in geopolitics and political upheavals, Greece has considerably increased from sixth to second place with Switzerland, reflecting its growing credibility among individuals, retirees and global investors”, according to a press release announcing the classification.
However, other countries – including Lithuania, the Netherlands, Germany and Hungary – have moved to the ranking. In particular, the United Arab Emirates – which was n ° 1 in 2023 and equal to n ° 6 in 2024 – moved to 10th place in 2025.
“Taxes recently introduced … have tarnished (the United Arab Emirates) for world entrepreneurs,” the statement said.
Countries that are at the top of other lists – such as Singapore and Japan – rank below in the list of nomadic capitalists. The two obtain low results for the double citizenship, which is limited in Japan and not recognized in Singapore. Japan is also slipped into the tax category, while Singapore has lukewarm scores for personal freedoms.
Singapore ranked 126 out of 180 countries of journalists without world freedom index for the 2024 borders and forces citizens and permanent residents to serve around two years in the army at the age of 18. The island nation, however, has the best “perception” scores.
The lowest passports on the list, classified from 195 to 199, are Pakistan, Iraq, Eritrea, Yemen and Afghanistan.
– Bella Stoddart of CNBC contributed to this report.
