INDEX 2018 STC PASSPORT - Global Residence Index
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STC PASSPORT INDEX STC PASSPORT INDEX 2018 2018 WHY DO YOU NEED A GOOD PASSPORT? GROWING YOUR WEALTH their nationals out safely and will dedicate As your business grows outside the significant resources if it means saving the frontier of your country and enters the life of a citizen. For many wealthy families global marketplace, the need to travel in emerging countries, a second citizenship becomes a necessity. You need to open can be a lifesaver. offices in Hong Kong, London or New York, meet clients in Paris in the morning and BANKING AND ASSET in Rome at night. Distances need to be PROTECTION shortened, time and effort reduced. When Fast-developing countries grow their your Toronto office is about to lose an economies at a rapid rate, but also expose important client, you might have to jump themselves to large fluctuations and risk. on a plane at the last minute to intervene. Currency depreciation and inflation can The ability to be in one part of the globe be the enemy of assets. Second citizenship one day and in another the next is key to can make it easier to open bank accounts conducting business. in stable and trustworthy places and enable businesspeople to mitigate the risk PROVIDING PERSONAL of holding all their assets in an unstable SECURITY economy. Safety and security are not a God-given right; this is provided primarily by The 2018 STC Passport Index ranks every political stability. When a country becomes country in the world based on the quality increasingly unstable and the central of their passport. Over 200 countries & government loses grip on lawlessness, territories are reviewed and updated on the first targets are the wealthy. an annual basis. The ranking also offers Businesspeople are seen as beneficiaries valuable information regarding the of the current regime are targets of hatred number of visa-free destinations, dual and threats. These threats can be extended citizenship and more. The STC Passport to their families, including children. A index was launched in 2016 and remains second nationality usually means you’re the only one that indexes visa-free on the first plane out of the country, as destinations according to their popularity certain embassies go the extra mile to get and authorized length of stay. >2 >3
STC PASSPORT INDEX STC PASSPORT INDEX 2018 2018 INTRODUCING THE 2018 RANKING The 2018 STC Passport Index has been For example, Barbados has a Visa-Free as countries can assign visa waivers to destinations like the UK, China or Russia simplified this year. We spent our time Count of 136, and Bermuda also has a tiny jurisdictions to increase their score don’t carry as much weight. Passports with finding the most accurate and simple way Visa-Free Count of 136. An inaccurate and give the illusion that their passport the label US & EU are the most valuable for a Global Citizen to evaluate the value passport Index would rank Barbados will enable you to travel to the places you and represent the “Gold Standard” for of a passport. Simply giving the number of passport as equal to that of the Bahamas. desire. passports. Generally speaking, visa-free visa-free countries one can travel can be In reality, however, the Bahamian passport travel to the US comes with an additional deceiving. Only a few countries are truly is more valuable than its Barbadian Our analysis of the travel world left us 130 other countries. In practical terms, valuable to those who are considering a counterpart because it allows visa-free with the conclusion that two regions are most passports with visa-free travel to the second passport. travel to the United States. This is one key to those looking to buy a passport: US also offer visa-free travel to Europe. reason why the visa-free score is deceiving, Europe and the USA. Other important THE 2018 STC PASSPORT RANKING Rank Rating Country STC Travel Score # of Visa-free Rank Rating Country STC Travel Score # of Visa-free 1 Gold (US & EU) United Kingdom 825 157 18 Gold (US & EU) Liechtenstein 816 148 2 Gold (US & EU) Finland 823 158 19 Gold (US & EU) Belgium 816 157 3 Gold (US & EU) Sweden 823 158 20 Gold (US & EU) Luxembourg 816 157 4 Gold (US & EU) Germany 821 159 21 Gold (US & EU) Netherlands 815 157 5 Gold (US & EU) Hungary 820 153 22 Gold (US & EU) Greece 815 155 6 Gold (US & EU) Slovakia 819 152 23 Gold (US & EU) Czech Republic 815 155 7 Gold (US & EU) Estonia 819 151 24 Gold (US & EU) Ireland 814 155 8 Gold (US & EU) Portugal 819 157 25 Gold (US & EU) Malta 814 153 9 Gold (US & EU) Slovenia 819 152 26 Gold (US & EU) Iceland 813 152 10 Gold (US & EU) Switzerland 819 156 27 Gold (US & EU) Latvia 808 151 11 Gold (US & EU) Austria 819 157 28 Silver (EU) Bulgaria 806 149 12 Gold (US & EU) Lithuania 819 152 29 Gold (US & EU) Poland 801 152 13 Gold (US & EU) Denmark 818 158 30 Silver (EU) Romania 800 149 14 Gold (US & EU) Italy 818 158 31 Gold (US & EU) Croatia 799 147 15 Gold (US & EU) France 817 157 32 Silver (EU) Cyprus 795 151 16 Gold (US & EU) Spain 817 158 33 Silver (EU) Hong Kong 668 141 17 Gold (US & EU) Norway 816 156 34 Gold (US & EU) United States 667 157 >4 >5
STC PASSPORT INDEX STC PASSPORT INDEX 2018 2018 Rank Rating Country STC Travel Score # of Visa-free Rank Rating Country STC Travel Score # of Visa-free 35 Gold (US & EU) Canada 656 156 73 Silver (EU) Trinidad and Tobago 574 124 36 Gold (US & EU) South Korea 655 159 74 Silver (EU) Costa Rica 571 123 37 Gold (US & EU) Japan 650 159 75 Gold (US & EU) Vatican City 571 129 38 Silver (EU) Macao 648 121 76 Silver (EU) El Salvador 570 115 39 Gold (US & EU) Chile 638 145 77 Silver (EU) Honduras 569 115 40 Gold (US & EU) San Marino 633 140 78 Silver (EU) Ukraine 567 124 41 Gold (US & EU) Taiwan 632 120 79 Silver (EU) Guatemala 567 114 42 Gold (US & EU) New Zealand 629 153 80 Silver (EU) Seychelles 566 130 43 Gold (US & EU) Australia 628 154 81 Silver (EU) Antigua and Barbuda 563 125 44 Gold (US & EU) Singapore 627 158 82 Silver (EU) Saint Vincent and the Grenadines 562 125 45 Silver (EU) Brazil 623 148 83 Silver (EU) Serbia 561 114 46 Gold (US & EU) Bermuda 622 135 84 Silver (EU) Colombia 557 105 47 Gold (US & EU) Andorra 621 140 85 Silver (EU) Dominica 556 115 48 Gold (US & EU) Monaco 620 146 86 Silver (EU) Saint Lucia 556 121 49 Silver (EU) Mexico 615 136 87 Silver (EU) Bosnia and Herzegovina 556 102 50 Silver (EU) Argentina 614 144 88 Silver (EU) Moldova 556 108 51 Gold (US & EU) Bahamas 614 136 89 Silver (EU) Nicaragua 555 106 52 Gold (US & EU) Israel 612 135 90 Silver (EU) Montenegro 549 108 53 Silver (EU) Malaysia 612 155 91 Silver (EU) Mauritius 547 108 54 Gold (US & EU) Marshall Islands 608 105 92 Silver (EU) Samoa 544 113 55 Gold (US & EU) Turks and Caicos Islands 607 135 93 Silver (EU) Albania 544 97 56 Silver (EU) Gibraltar 606 133 94 Silver (EU) Macedonia 543 111 57 Gold (US & EU) British Virgin Islands 606 133 95 Silver (EU) Solomon Islands 542 116 58 Gold (US & EU) Cayman Islands 606 133 96 Silver (EU) Vanuatu 541 117 59 Gold (US & EU) Palau 605 99 97 Silver (EU) Georgia 540 105 60 Gold (US & EU) Micronesia 605 102 98 Silver (EU) Tonga 539 109 61 Silver (EU) Uruguay 599 129 99 Silver (EU) Tuvalu 535 114 62 Gold (US & EU) Brunei 597 137 100 Silver (EU) Kiribati 535 109 63 Silver (EU) Barbados 596 136 101 Silver (EU) Timor-Leste 518 84 64 Silver (EU) Paraguay 594 119 102 Russia 369 109 65 Silver (EU) Panama 594 118 103 Oman 359 74 66 Silver (EU) United Arab Emirates 590 130 104 Turkey 359 107 67 Silver (EU) Montserrat 589 133 105 Kuwait 349 89 68 Silver (EU) Anguilla 589 131 106 Bronze (UK) Belize 297 86 69 Silver (EU) Peru 582 124 107 Qatar 290 84 70 Silver (EU) Saint Kitts and Nevis 577 127 108 China 290 66 71 Silver (EU) Grenada 577 120 109 Bahrain 289 77 72 Silver (EU) Venezuela 574 121 110 Belarus 288 73 >6 >7
STC PASSPORT INDEX STC PASSPORT INDEX 2018 2018 Rank Rating Country STC Travel Score # of Visa-free Rank Rating Country STC Travel Score # of Visa-free 111 Saudi Arabia 281 70 151 Zimbabwe 163 61 112 Thailand 272 75 152 Cuba 163 60 113 Ecuador 270 81 153 Bronze (UK) Malawi 162 65 114 Jamaica 268 80 154 Algeria 159 49 115 Bronze (UK) Maldives 264 77 155 Kenya 157 65 116 South Africa 260 92 156 Turkmenistan 156 53 117 Fiji 252 82 157 Nepal 154 39 118 Bronze (UK) Papua New Guinea 240 71 158 Iran 149 40 119 Armenia 238 61 159 Gambia 146 66 120 Bolivia 235 71 160 Mali 143 52 121 Tajikistan 234 58 161 Senegal 143 54 122 Guyana 233 78 162 Guinea 142 52 123 Kazakhstan 231 73 163 Cambodia 139 50 124 Bronze (UK) Nauru 227 73 164 Benin 138 57 125 Bronze (UK) Botswana 226 70 165 Myanmar 136 44 126 Kyrgyzstan 226 62 166 Uganda 135 64 127 Mongolia 225 56 167 Sao Tome 135 54 128 Azerbaijan 225 66 168 Gabon 133 52 129 Dominican Republic 225 65 169 Ivory Coast 132 54 130 Bronze (UK) Namibia 222 66 170 Sierra Leone 131 59 131 Morocco 221 60 171 Ghana 129 58 132 Tunisia 218 63 172 Togo 129 55 133 Jordan 215 48 173 Liberia 128 46 134 Lebanon 209 42 174 Burkina Faso 128 55 135 Uzbekistan 208 57 175 Niger 127 50 136 Suriname 206 70 176 Angola 123 47 137 Indonesia 204 67 177 Madagascar 123 52 138 Haiti 189 53 178 Comoros 122 48 139 Philippines 186 63 179 Sudan 121 37 140 Bhutan 183 53 180 Syria 120 29 141 Egypt 182 48 181 Mauritania 120 55 142 India 180 55 182 Guinea-Bissau 119 50 143 Lesotho 176 68 183 Mozambique 118 51 144 Kosovo 175 44 184 Rwanda 115 53 145 Laos 172 47 185 Yemen 113 35 146 Zambia 169 64 186 Chad 111 49 147 Swaziland 169 67 187 North Korea 108 40 148 Tanzania 167 66 188 South Sudan 108 39 149 Vietnam 166 49 189 Libya 106 37 150 Cape Verde 165 62 190 Congo 104 45 >8 >9
STC PASSPORT INDEX STC PASSPORT INDEX 2018 2018 Rank Rating Country STC Travel Score # of Visa-free 191 192 Equatorial Guinea Sri Lanka 102 99 45 38 HOW THE STC PASSPORT INDEX HAS 193 194 Burundi DR Congo 98 97 46 41 CHANGED SINCE LAST YEAR 195 Palestine 96 38 196 Central African Republic 95 46 We decided to make small modifications to simplify the rankings and the information 197 Ethiopia 94 40 provided. Here are the changes we made: 198 Djibouti 94 43 199 Nigeria 93 41 • “Same-day travel” has become “Visa-free”. It still includes visa not required, visa-on- 200 Bangladesh 87 38 arrival, electronic visa (eVisa) delivered in under 24h, and visa not required in transit 201 Cameroon 81 43 202 Eritrea 81 37 with an authorized stay of over 24h. 203 Pakistan 77 30 204 Iraq 76 27 •China has now been included as a “Visa not required on transit” for the qualifying 205 Somalia 75 29 countries. 206 Afghanistan 56 26 • The star rating has disappeared to make way for the Gold (US & EU), Silver (EU) or Bronze (UK) standards. • We removed the APEC Business Travel Card as a visa-free equivalent. > 10 > 11
STC PASSPORT INDEX STC PASSPORT INDEX 2018 2018 INTRODUCING WHY THE STC PASSPORT INDEX THE GOLD STANDARD IS MORE ACCURATE Our old star rating has been scratched this year to make way for a simpler, improved standard consisting of Gold, Silver and Bronze ratings. The “Standard” is meant for those Other Indexes rank passports solely on visa-free destination with the number of seeking another passport for travel purposes. It’s a simplified labelling of a passport their Visa-Free score, meaning they are international touristic arrivals. It enables that provides an easy-to-understand measure of its quality. A GOLD passport enables ranked by how many countries you can us to show the real importance each visa-free travel to the US and Europe. A SILVER enable visa-free to Europe. These two travel to without having to apply for a destination has in international travel. main standards will facilitate the classification of Citizenship by Investment programs visa beforehand. Visa-free score is an according to whether a country offers a “Gold” or “Silver” passport. Currently, Malta is the easy measurement, as it represents a But this is not the only thing that makes only Citizenship by Investment program offering the Gold passport; most other programs, clear number. Unfortunately, not every the STC Passport index more accurate. like those in the Caribbean, carry the Silver standard. country has the same importance as a Other passport indexes completely forget touristic or business destination; visa-free to weight the amount of time one can stay travel to Palau is not equal to visa-free visa-free in a jurisdiction; a visa-free stay to France. There is no way around that. of 7 days in Hong Kong should not carry # of Visa-free Dual Some countries are much more important as much weight as 6 months. We also Rating Country STC Travel Score Destinations Allowed to travelers than others, and other link indexed destination to the length of Gold (US & EU) Malta 814 153 Y Passport rankings fail to acknowledge authorized stay to ensure that both the Silver (EU) Cyprus 795 151 Y Silver (EU) Saint Kitts and Nevis 577 127 Y that by maintaining the anonymity of the importance of destination and its length of Silver (EU) Grenada 577 120 Y exact destinations by merely providing stay are accounted for in the score. Silver (EU) Antigua and Barbuda 563 125 Y a number. This is why we index every Silver (EU) Dominica 556 115 Y Silver (EU) Saint Lucia 556 121 Y Silver (EU) Moldova 556 108 Y Silver (EU) Montenegro 549 108 Y Silver (EU) Vanuatu 541 117 Y Turkey 359 107 Y Cambodia 139 50 N* Comoros 122 48 Y > 12 > 13
STC PASSPORT INDEX STC PASSPORT INDEX 2018 2018 UNLOCKING CHINA TOP 10 countries by touristic arrivals and touristic receipts: China has emerged as one of the 3 key If you look a lit bit closer, you realise that travel destinations, along with Europe in most cases, other foreigners can also be INTERNATIONAL TOURIST ARRIVALS and the US. Its importance as a business allowed to stay a few days in China without destination cannot be overstated, as many a visa, as long as they are in transit. (That million change % business people from around the world is, as long as the outbound flight's first Rank Country 2015 2016 15/14 16/15 buy or manufacture their products in stop or destination is in a different country 1 France 84.5 82.6 0.9 -2.2 China. This is why we have been trying to than the inbound flight's). In a worst-case 2 United States 77.5 75.6 3.3 -2.4 add China as a key passport-status feature, scenario, you are allowed to stay 24h in 3 Spain 68.5 75.6 5.5 10.3 as we have for the US and Europe. But we transit without a visa, at best 144h at the 4 China 56.9 59.3 2.3 4.2 didn’t – and here’s why. transit point. If you are only visiting a 5 Italy 50.7 52.4 4.4 3.2 6 United Kingdom 34.4 35.8 5.6 4.0 factory, that 24h might be enough, and 7 Germany 35.0 35.6 6.0 1.7 China’s visa policy is a peculiar one. On most airports in the Mainland will allow 8 Mexico 32.1 35.0 9.4 8.9 paper, not many foreign nationals gain the transit. You can also have multiple 9 Thailand 29.9 32.6 20.6 8.9 access to the Mainland without a visa. transit points in Mainland China over the 10 Turkey 39.5 .. -0.8 . When you look at the list of countries course of the 24h/72h/144h transit period. whose passport-holders are allowed to stay Nationals traveling with a certain passport 30 days or more, it is actually very small, are required to hold a visa even when in INTERNATIONAL TOURISM RECEIPTS as are the populations of those countries. transit (British Overseas Nationals, Hong They are: Kong, Macau, Taiwan). The rest are either US $ change % change % eligible for 24h or, for certain nationals, billion US $ (local currencies) Rank Country 2015 2016 15/14 16/15 15/14 16/15 • San Marino (90 days) longer (some exceptions apply). 1 United States 205.4 205.9 7.0 0.3 7.0 0.3 2 Spain 56.5 60.3 -13.3 6.9 3.8 7.1 • Mauritius (60 days) E.g. 3 Thailand 44.9 49.9 16.9 11.0 23.0 14.7 A Canadian national buying a ticket for 4 China 45.0 44.4 2.1 -1.2 3.6 5.3 • Bahamas, Barbados, Ecuador, Fiji, Vancouver – Beijing requires a visa to 5 France 44.9 42.5 -22.9 -5.3 -7.6 -5.1 Grenada, Serbia, Seychelles, Tonga (30 travel to Mainland China. 6 Italy 39.4 40.2 -13.3 2.0 3.8 2.3 days) A Canadian national buying a ticket from 7 United Kingdom 45.5 39.6 -2.3 -12.9 5.2 -1.4 8 Germany 36.9 37.4 -14.8 1.4 2.0 1.7 Vancouver – Beijing – Hong Kong does not 9 Hong Kong 36.2 32.9 -5.8 -9.1 -5.8 -9.0 • Brunei, Japan, Singapore (15 days) require a visa to travel to Mainland China. 10 Australia 28.9 32.4 -8.2 12.3 10.2 13.5 He/she is allowed to stay up to 72h in Beijing. > 14 > 15
STC PASSPORT INDEX STC PASSPORT INDEX 2018 2018 Here is a list of ports of entry with their maximum The countries eligible length of stay for the nationals of eligible countries: to the 72h/144h Maximum length Port of Entry Areas permitted to stay of stau Beijing Capital International Airport Beijing 72 hours Albania France New Zealand Changsha Huanghua International Airport Hunan Province 72 hours Argentina Germany Poland Chengdu Shuangliu International Airport Chengdu 72 hours Chongqing Jiangbei International Airport Chongqing 72 hours Australia Greece Portugal Dalian Zhoushuizi International Airport Dalian 72 hours Austria Hungary Qatar Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport Guangdong Province 72 hours Guilin Liangjiang International Airport Guilin 72 hours Belarus Iceland Romania Shanghai, Jiangsu Province Hangzhou Xiaoshan International Airport 144 hours and Zhejiang Province Belgium Ireland Russia Harbin Taiping International Airport Harbin 72 hours Kunming Changshui International Airport Kunming 72 hours Bosnia and Herzegovina Italy Serbia Shanghai, Jiangsu Province Nanjing Lukou International Airport 144 hours and Zhejiang Province Brazil Japan Slovakia Qingdao Liuting International Airport Shandong Province 72 hours Shanghai, Jiangsu Province Shanghai Pudong International Airport 144 hours Bulgaria Latvia Slovenia and Zhejiang Province Shanghai, Jiangsu Province Shanghai Hongqiao International Airport 144 hours and Zhejiang Province Canada Lithuania South Korea Shenyang Taoxian International Airport Shenyang 72 hours Chile Luxembourg Spain Tianjin Binhai International Airport Tianjin 72 hours Wuhan Tianhe International Airport Wuhan 72 hours Croatia Macedonia Sweden Xi'an Xianyang International Airport Xi'an & Xianyang 72 hours Cyprus Malta Switzerland Xiamen Gaoqi International Airport Xiamen 72 hours Czech Republic Mexico Ukraine In addition, the Special Economic Zones Hainan island is also a special zone that Denmark Monaco United Arab Emirates of Shenzhen, Zhuhai and Xiamen provide offers visa-on-arrival for a maximum stay visa-on-arrival for 3 days (5 days in of 15 days for certain western nationals Estonia Montenegro United States Shenzhen) as long as you stay in those arriving from Haikou Meilan International cities. Certain nationals, mostly from the Airport or Sanya Phoenix International Finland Netherlands Middle East and Africa, are not eligible. Airport. > 16 > 17
STC PASSPORT INDEX STC PASSPORT INDEX 2018 2018 APEC BUSINESS TRAVEL CARD In the past, we equated the possession of MAINLAND TRAVEL PERMIT We have maintained visa-free equivalence Methodology an APEC Business Travel Card to having for the Mainland Travel Permit for Hong visa-free status. We have removed that Kong & Macau residents and Taiwan feature from our calculations, along with nationals, which allows these nationals to The data presented here was collected The electronic visa delivery times its visa-free equivalence. The reason is that travel to the Mainland. We have done so in fall 2017, but includes all changes were taken from the relevant official although the APEC card is very convenient because these permits are accessible to all programmed in advance for the year 2018. government websites (see SOURCES on and facilitates visa-free travel to dozens those holding these passports, even if it website). of countries, the APEC BTC requires requires an application. They can be valid Visa Information was taken from the an application just like a visa, and it’s for multiple years and allow an unlimited International Air Transport Association There are discrepancies between the not accessible to everyone. Only certain stay in the Mainland. timatic website and from official IATA timatic website and information businesspeople are eligible to have APEC government websites (see SOURCES on provided by governments, which makes travel cards. website). it difficult to evaluate the reliability of > 18 > 19
STC PASSPORT INDEX STC PASSPORT INDEX 2018 2018 some information. Therefore, we cannot SCORE POINTS guarantee that all our information is Score points are a result of the ability to correct. Nevertheless, we spent additional travel visa-free to a given territory relative time looking into each country’s policy to to its importance as a destination and determine the visa policy of each, above the amount of time one is allowed to stay and beyond what is commonly known and there. The importance is based on the accessible on timatic. number of annual travelers to a given country (as compiled annually by UNWTO) STATUS and how long a traveler is allowed to stay GOLD: Visa-free travel to the US & EU in the jurisdiction. SILVER: Visa-free travel to the EU DUAL CITIZENSHIP Elaborates on the possibility of obtaining BRONZE: Visa-free travel to the UK dual citizenship. In some cases, you will need to refer to the notes on the website DESTINATIONS for more detailed explanation. We have included in our list of countries all the nations recognized by the UN, with LENGTH OF STAY the addition of Hong Kong, Macau, Taiwan Length of stay may include extensions and Kosovo. Our list of countries can vary or extended stays available for purchase with other passport rankings, thus giving on arrival. Length of stay is normally for different visa-free counts. tourist reasons, unless visa-free access is possible only for business reasons. VISA-FREE Visa-free travel includes all destinations accessible by visa-free travel, visa-on- arrival, electronic visas delivered in under 24h and visa-free on transit for lengths of more than 24h. Stays via transit allow the traveler to access the country without holding a visa, as long as its final destination is somewhere else. > 20 > 21
STC PASSPORT INDEX 2018 Stephane Tajick Consulting Disclamer 1414 Chomdey, 1033 Montreal, Qc Stephane Tajick Consulting and Best Development Group Ltd, (the ‘business’) is a provider of demographic H3H 0A2, Canada consultancy data for relocating purposes. www.stephanetconsulting.com The business, publishing this report, shall not be held liable under any law of tort or contract for the st@stephanetconsulting.com inaccuracy or misinterpretation of any statements contained in its website or articles, or obtained through use of any of its de facto representative media pages. While Stephane Tajick Consulting strives to ensure all www.globalresidenceindex.com info@globalresidenceindex.com information and specifications, including but not limited to visa policy and requirements. Any inaccuracies, misrepresentations or outdated information put forward by Stephane Tajick Consulting and any statement provided which is not addressed to you in direct communication with the business will not, to any degree, be cause for any claim to be brought against it. You hereby unconditionally waive your right to hold the business accountable for any such outdated information and accept that any information is liable to change without prior notice, including but not exclusive to visa requirement and length of stay which were not personally and expressly communicated to you. Changes in nation’s laws and regulations are subject to certain factors which lie beyond the control of the respective owners and/or representatives. You hereby unconditionally agree to hold harmless Stephane Tajick Consulting and all related bodies and representatives, whether direct or indirect, for all of the above inaccuracy or misinterpretation of any statements contained in its website
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