UAE Passport Ranked Most Powerful In New Passport Index

The UAE passport has been ranked the most powerful in the world with a score of 110.50.

Nomad Capitalist revealed its updated list of the world's most powerful passports Wednesday, showing the UAE document nabbing the top spot after placing 35th last year.

The new ranking marks the first time the UAE passport has made it to the top 10 list of the Nomad Capitalist Passport Index. The significant jump is due to recent reforms making it easier for expatriates to apply for dual citizenship in the UAE, according to the tax and immigration consultancy firm.

"This is largely due to recent changes allowing foreigners to apply for dual citizenship," Nomad Capitalist said. "The travel freedoms afforded by a UAE passport, plus the country's business-friendly environment and enviable tax system, put the United Arab Emirates at the top of our list for 2023."

The firm also affirmed the credibility of its ratings, saying it takes factors other than visa-free travel into account. "Our ratings are based not only on the basis of visa-free travel, but also on international taxation laws, global perception, dual citizenship and personal freedom," the company noted.

The passport index was created to bring to light the best citizenships in the world, as per the Nomad Capitalist website. The firm ranks passports based on five factors, each corresponding to a distinct score. These factors include visa-free travel, taxation of citizens, global perception, granting dual citizenship and personal freedom.

Explaining the UAE passport's score, Nomad Capitalist said, "We relied on publicly available passport data and news sources to rank travel access. We calculate the travel scores by summing up visa-free, visa-on-arrival and ETA countries. Based on that data, we assigned United Arab Emirates a travel score of 181 as there are 116 countries that United Arab Emirates passport holders can enter without a visa and seven electronic travel authorization (ETA) destinations."

Meanwhile, the UAE document ranked 15 in the Henley Passport Index this year. Unlike the Nomad Capitalist Passport Index, Henley's rankings are only based on the number of destinations that document holders can access without the need for a visa.