A Maltese passport is the ninth 'most powerful' in the world

The Maltese passport has come in joint ninth place in a list of the world's most powerful passports released by Henley and Partners

The strength of the Maltese passport has dropped two places on the index compiled by Henley and Partners
The strength of the Maltese passport has dropped two places on the index compiled by Henley and Partners
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The Maltese passport has come in joint ninth place in a list of the world’s most powerful passports compiled by Henley and Partners, a global citizenship advisory firm.

Released on Wednesday, the index measures the world’s most travel-friendly passports, offering visa-free or visa-on-arrival access.

Malta is tied for ninth place along with New Zealand, Czechia, Canada and Australia with 183 points.

However, Malta’s passport has gone down in the index; having been ranked seventh in 2019.  

Japan for the second year in a row, tops the list out of 191 destinations.

Top 10 passports

  1. Japan
  2. Singapore
  3. South Korea, Germany
  4. Italy, Finland
  5. Spain, Luxembourg, Denmark
  6. Sweden, France
  7. Switzerland, Portugal, Netherlands, Ireland, Austria
  8. United States, United Kingdom, Norway, Greece, Belgium
  9. New Zealand, Malta, Czech Republic, Canada, Australia
  10. Slovakia, Lithuania, Hungary

Ranked among the worst passports are Afghanistan, followed by Iraq, Syria, Somalia and Pakistan.

Henley and Partners were awarded a concession by the Maltese government to sell citizenship to wealthy foreigners. The controversial scheme, known as the Individual Investor Programme, requires the individual to pay a sum of money and invest in property and government bonds in exchange for Maltese citizenship.

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