Where do you find out about the latest European passport rankings? RIF Trust Passport Index has done all the number crunching for you. We’ve used the world’s only monthly-updated passport index to highlight the most powerful European passports.
Lilliputians Andorra and San Marino sit alongside the giants at the top table of European passport rankings. In 9th place, they both provide a passport that gives the holder visa-free entry to 168 destinations.
Did you know that with a Andorra passport you can travel to 96 countries sans visa? 39 destinations ask for a visa on arrival and you can arrange an eVisa option in advance in 33 countries.
Moving on to the San Marino passport, with this in hand, you can access 101 destinations without a visa. 35 countries require a visa on arrival and 32 destinations have an eVisa option.
HNWI fave Monaco offers a passport we rank 8th. You can enter 106 visa-free countries. There’s a visa-on-arrival arrangement in 37 destinations and eVisas apply in 30 other countries.
In the 7th slot is the Liechtenstein passport. You can enjoy visa-free access to 114 destinations. A Liechtenstein passport enables you to take advantage of a-visa-on-arrival option in 33 countries and eVisa offerings in 27 destinations.
4 passports occupy the 6th space. That’s Cyprus, Iceland, Latvia, and Malta. While numbers of visa-free, visa-on-arrival, and eVisa countries fluctuate, their passports speed your journey to 175 destinations.
5 Schengen states take the 5th position. They’re Bulgaria, Estonia, Lithuania, Romania, and Slovenia. There’s a variety of visa-free, visa-on-arrival, and eVisa benefits, with your entry level increased to 176 countries.
Croatia assumes the 4th rank. This passport secures visa-free travel to 116 destinations whilst 32 countries request a visa on arrival. You can arrange an eVisa in advance to access 29 more countries.
6 passports tie for 3rd. These are the ones awarded to citizens of the Czech Republic, Greece, Hungary, Norway, Poland, and Slovakia. The cumulative number of visa-free- visa-on-arrival, and eVisa destinations you can enter with each passport is 178.
7 super passports take 2nd place. Those are Austria, Belgium, Finland, Ireland, Luxembourg, Portugal, and Switzerland passports. The amount of visa-free-, visa-on-arrival, and eVisa countries you can visit with each passport is 179.
It’s also that 7 passports that come in level in 1st position. We’re talking Denmark, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain, and Sweden. Yet again there are variations in the number of visa-free-, visa-on-arrival, and eVisa destinations you can travel to, but each European passport makes eases your passage to 180 countries.
RIF Trust CEO Mimoun Assraoui appreciates the growing value of a European passport. “The US passport was the gold standard that everyone wanted to obtain,” Assraoui explains. “Today, the right to travel freely through the Schengen area attracts investors more.”
“Our clients are business people. To expand their operations, they require visa-free entry to the Schengen zone. Europe is also an amazing continent to explore in your leisure time. A European passport brings you and your family closer to Europe.”
Citizenship by Investment is your most immediate path to a European passport. Of the leading European passports highlighted above, Maltese Exceptional Investor Naturalization is the only applicable programme.
If you can wait awhile for European citizenship, it’s possible to naturalize after obtaining Residency by Investment. A Greek Golden Visa enables you to become a national following 7 years of residency. You’ll need to record 5 years of residency to naturalize with a Portuguese Golden Visa and 10, cut back to 2 if you’re from a Latin American country or the Philippines, with a Spanish Golden Visa.
Deciding which investment migration route to follow is not something you should do alone. You should consult an expert Residency and Citizenship by Investment firm like RIF Trust. So, contact us now and we’ll show you how to enhance your global mobility.