The Most Desirable Passports On Earth Don’t Include America’s
Visa-free travel, tax avoidance, and international reputation are key.
A passport allows one to be a citizen of the world—but some think it should also work for you. As in, if you’re wealthy and well-traveled, it should be a bit like an exclusive invitation-only credit card: lots of benefits, lots of perks, lots of points.
That’s the view of Nomad Capitalist, a firm that recently ranked 199 countries corresponding to their “value of citizenship.” In addition to visa-free travel options, this ranking (PDF) uses a weighted approach that considers the amount of taxes a country levies on citizens who live abroad, along with the nation’s overall global reputation, civil and personal freedoms, and the ability to hold multiple passports simultaneously. And no, America, you’re not even in the top 20.