Czech passport ranks among top 10 most powerful in the world

Citizens of the Czech Republic have one of the most powerful passports in the world, tying for sixth place in a new ranking. The countries with the best passports according to travel service company Nomad Capitalist are the United Arab Emirates and Luxembourg, while the worst were Afghanistan and Yemen. The ranking looked not only at how many countries people could travel to, but also at the tax situation, dual citizenship requirements, freedom, and scrutiny while traveling.

Three countries tied for ninth place, so the top 10 is really a top 11, with nine of those countries in Europe. Aside from the UAE, the other non-European country was New Zealand, in eighth place.

“Maintaining a top 10 spot four years in a row, the Czech Republic is a popular expat destination with a rich culture. Located in the center of Europe, the nation joined the EU in 2004. Czech passport holders, therefore, enjoy a high degree of travel freedom. Plus, with proper structuring in place, you can also enjoy a considerable degree of tax freedom too,” Nomad Capitalist said on its website.

The country has been rising in the rankings. Czechia also tied for sixth in 2022, while it tied for eighth in 2020 and 2021. It just missed the top 10 in 2019, coming in tied for 11th place, and was as low as 15th place in 2018 and 19th place in 2019.  

Czechia tied with neighboring Germany, with both countries scoring 107 based on a weighted evaluation of the five criteria. “German passports bestow a high degree of travel freedom, though the tradeoff comes in the form of higher taxes than many of its European neighbors, though thankfully leaving the German tax system is relatively straightforward,” Nomad Capitalist said.

Slovakia, the other half of former Czechoslovakia, didn’t make the top 10, and tied for 19th place. Still, that was better than neighboring Austria, which ties for 25th place, and Poland, at 37th place. Hungary, which is not a neighbor but part of the Visegrád Group, tied for 33rd.

Other countries that might be of interest to expats include Ireland, which tied for fourth place, the United Kingdom, which tied for 30th place, Australia, at 38th place, and the United States, at 43rd place.

A separate ranking released in January by travel service company Arton Capital put the Czech Republic in the fourth-best group, based solely on the number of countries that a person could visit. The UAE was again in first place, followed by a dozen counties in the second group, and eight in the third group. Czechia tied with Hungary, Canada, the U.S., and Australia, among other countries in this index.

According to Arton Capital, holders of a Czech passport can visit 119 countries without a visa, and 45 more by getting a visa on arrival.  

A third ranking by travel consultancy firm Henley & Partners put Japan and Singapore in the first place, and Czechia in the seventh most powerful group of passports, along with Belgium, New Zealand, and the U.S., among other countries.