INDEX 2018 STC PASSPORT - Global Residence Index

 
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INDEX 2018 STC PASSPORT - Global Residence Index
STC
PASSPORT
INDEX
2018
INDEX 2018 STC PASSPORT - Global Residence Index
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.
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INDEX 2018 STC PASSPORT - Global Residence Index
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

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INDEX 2018 STC PASSPORT - Global Residence Index
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

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INDEX 2018 STC PASSPORT - Global Residence Index
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

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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.

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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

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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.
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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.

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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

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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.

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STC
                                                                                                                     PASSPORT
                                                                                                                        INDEX
                                                                                                                          2018

Stephane Tajick Consulting      Disclamer
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