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The ACTUAL Best Citizenships of Each Continent · IMI Podcasts

• 0:00
  SPEAKER_00: Singapore's passport opens 192 destinations without a visa.
• 0:04
  SPEAKER_00: Yet, take a second passport and you lose it.
• 0:07
  SPEAKER_00: Passport rankings count borders and nothing else.
• 0:11
  SPEAKER_00: Choose by that number and you could lose a second passport or owe tax to a country you left.
• 0:17
  SPEAKER_00: So, which citizenship wins each of the world's seven regions?
• 0:20
  SPEAKER_00: We'll take all seven, from a winner almost nobody can get to the best pair of passports.
• 0:28
  SPEAKER_00: Every January, the Henley Passport Index ranks the world's travel documents.
• 0:33
  SPEAKER_00: It measures one thing, how many destinations you can enter without applying for a visa in advance.
• 0:39
  SPEAKER_00: That number is useful, but it says nothing about where you can settle, which taxes follow you, or whether you may add another citizenship.
• 0:47
  SPEAKER_00: Gareth Brooks, chief executive of Brooks and Partners, called the visa-free count a weak way to judge a passport.
• 0:54
  SPEAKER_00: The average traveler, he wrote, visits roughly 15 to 20 countries, or about 7% of the world.
• 1:00
  SPEAKER_00: So is the top of the index the best citizenship to own?
• 1:04
  SPEAKER_00: In two of the seven regions IMI ranked this year, the top-ranked passport loses.
• 1:09
  SPEAKER_00: IMI judged each region's winner on four tests.
• 1:12
  SPEAKER_00: Can you settle in other countries with it?
• 1:14
  SPEAKER_00: And may you add a second passport?
• 1:17
  SPEAKER_00: Does its tax follow you abroad?
• 1:19
  SPEAKER_00: And how do border officers treat it?
• 1:21
  SPEAKER_00: Seven regions, four tests each, and we start with the most powerful passport on the planet.
• 1:29
  SPEAKER_00: Singapore tops the 2026 Henley Passport Index for the third consecutive year, with visa-free access to 192 destinations.
• 1:38
  SPEAKER_00: Japan and South Korea share second place at 188.
• 1:42
  SPEAKER_00: The citizenship behind that passport is strong too.
• 1:45
  SPEAKER_00: Its tax system is territorial, with no capital gains tax, no inheritance tax, and a top income tax rate of 22%.
• 1:54
  SPEAKER_00: It ranks among the safest countries in the world.
• 1:56
  SPEAKER_00: On global indices for rule of law and economic freedom, it scores at or near the top.
• 2:03
  SPEAKER_00: Then comes the condition.
• 2:04
  SPEAKER_00: Singapore prohibits dual citizenship outright.
• 2:07
  SPEAKER_00: So accepting another country's passport costs you the Singaporean one.
• 2:11
  SPEAKER_00: For anyone building a portfolio of passports, that ends the conversation.
• 2:16
  SPEAKER_00: South Korea, tied for second, permits dual citizenship under certain conditions and may suit a multi-passport plan better.
• 2:24
  SPEAKER_00: Getting into Singapore is expensive as well.
• 2:26
  SPEAKER_00: Its global investor program, a residence route, asks for an investment of$7.78 million.
• 2:33
  SPEAKER_00: As a single citizenship, nothing in Asia beats it.
• 2:36
  SPEAKER_00: Paired with another passport, it fails the second test.
• 2:42
  SPEAKER_00: Region number two is North America.
• 2:45
  SPEAKER_00: And here, the passport everyone knows loses to its neighbor.
• 2:49
  SPEAKER_00: Canada ranks eighth on the index, with visa-free access to 181 destinations.
• 2:55
  SPEAKER_00: The United States is 10th at 179.
• 2:58
  SPEAKER_00: In late 2025, it briefly dropped out of the top 10 for the first time.
• 3:03
  SPEAKER_00: Travel is the smaller gap.
• 3:04
  SPEAKER_00: America taxes its citizens on worldwide income wherever they live.
• 3:08
  SPEAKER_00: It adds reporting on foreign accounts under the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act, known as FATCA.
• 3:14
  SPEAKER_00: Canadian tax follows residents instead.
• 3:17
  SPEAKER_00: Once you establish non-residency, you can stop filing Canadian returns.
• 3:21
  SPEAKER_00: Dual citizenship is allowed in Canada without restriction.
• 3:25
  SPEAKER_00: A Canadian passport draws little scrutiny at immigration desks, and the country's consular network reaches more than 150 countries.
• 3:32
  SPEAKER_00: The country also ranks in the global top 10 for quality of life, political stability, and personal safety.
• 3:39
  SPEAKER_00: None of this means the American passport is weak.
• 3:42
  SPEAKER_00: Over two decades, though, it fell six places, from fourth to tenth, the third largest decline on the index since 2006.
• 3:50
  SPEAKER_00: Add an increasingly restrictive entry posture toward foreign nationals, and the comparison tilts north.
• 3:56
  SPEAKER_00: Canada wins the region, and the tax test decides it.
• 4:02
  SPEAKER_00: The third region looks like a tie on paper.
• 4:05
  SPEAKER_00: New Zealand ranks sixth with 183 destinations, and Australia is seventh with 182.
• 4:12
  SPEAKER_00: Both belong to the Trans-Tasman Travel Arrangement.
• 4:15
  SPEAKER_00: A citizen of either country can live and work in the other indefinitely.
• 4:19
  SPEAKER_00: With rights that close, does the choice make any difference?
• 4:22
  SPEAKER_00: For an investor, a large one.
• 4:24
  SPEAKER_00: New Zealand has no capital gains tax, no wealth tax, no gift tax, and no estate tax.
• 4:31
  SPEAKER_00: Australia levies capital gains tax on most assets and puts a higher overall tax burden on its residents.
• 4:37
  SPEAKER_00: Dual citizenship is permitted without restriction as well.
• 4:41
  SPEAKER_00: Its Active Investor Plus visa offers residents through investment, with citizenship eligibility after five years.
• 4:48
  SPEAKER_00: That route has a price.
• 4:49
  SPEAKER_00: IMI's January list of the world's most expensive golden visas puts its balanced category at 10 million New Zealand dollars.
• 4:57
  SPEAKER_00: Pay it, and the citizenship at the end brings automatic access to the Australian labour market.
• 5:02
  SPEAKER_00: Few second passports come with a second country attached.
• 5:08
  SPEAKER_00: Region 4 is the first where the top-ranked passport loses.
• 5:12
  SPEAKER_00: Seychelles has Africa's top-ranked passport, 26th on the index, with visa-free or visa-on-arrival access to around 156 destinations.
• 5:22
  SPEAKER_00: Mauritius trails at roughly 27th, with about 147.
• 5:26
  SPEAKER_00: On citizenship, IMI picks Mauritius.
• 5:29
  SPEAKER_00: Its tax system is territorial, so foreign income that is never brought to the island is not taxed.
• 5:35
  SPEAKER_00: There is also no tax on capital gains, inheritance, or wealth.
• 5:39
  SPEAKER_00: The second difference is dual citizenship.
• 5:42
  SPEAKER_00: Mauritians by birth or descent may have a second nationality, a flexibility Seychelles largely denies its own citizens.
• 5:49
  SPEAKER_00: Mauritius has also built a well-regulated banking system, with double taxation treaties across Africa, Asia, and Europe.
• 5:57
  SPEAKER_00: For investors, it offers a residence path that can lead to citizenship.
• 6:01
  SPEAKER_00: Most African passports rank in the lower half of the index, which makes both countries outliers.
• 6:06
  SPEAKER_00: Seychelles wins on travel alone, and Mauritius wins the full package.
• 6:13
  SPEAKER_00: Region number 5 has the fastest riser in the history of the index.
• 6:18
  SPEAKER_00: The United Arab Emirates Passport ranked 62nd in 2006, and it is now fifth with access to 184 destinations.
• 6:27
  SPEAKER_00: That 57-place climb is the largest the Henley Index has recorded in its 20 years.
• 6:33
  SPEAKER_00: Today it outranks the passports of the United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, and the United States.
• 6:39
  SPEAKER_00: Diplomacy built it.
• 6:40
  SPEAKER_00: Since 2015, the UAE has signed visa waiver agreements with the European Union, Russia, China, Israel, and dozens of other countries.
• 6:49
  SPEAKER_00: Emirati citizens pay no income tax, no capital gains tax, and no inheritance tax.
• 6:56
  SPEAKER_00: So can an investor buy into it?
• 6:58
  SPEAKER_00: Its golden visa gives five-year and 10-year renewable residence, and it does not lead to citizenship.
• 7:04
  SPEAKER_00: Demand for that visa is enormous.
• 7:06
  SPEAKER_00: Dubai's residency directorate issued 47,150 golden visas in 2021, 79,617 in 2022, and 158,000 in 2023.
• 7:20
  SPEAKER_00: None of those visas is a path to a passport.
• 7:23
  SPEAKER_00: Under the nationality law, investors are among those who can be granted citizenship, but grants come by nomination through the rulers' courts.
• 7:31
  SPEAKER_00: There is no threshold to meet and no channel to apply through.
• 7:34
  SPEAKER_00: As IMI put it, the best Gulf citizenship is the best one to be born with.
• 7:39
  SPEAKER_00: For those who want a citizenship they can acquire in the region, IMI points to Israel instead, through its law of return.
• 7:46
  SPEAKER_00: Every winner so far comes with a condition attached.
• 7:49
  SPEAKER_00: Matching those conditions to your own life is the work IMI Sovereigns was built for.
• 7:54
  SPEAKER_00: It is IMI's private members' club for people going sovereign.
• 7:58
  SPEAKER_00: Its citizenship catalogue sets out every path to citizenship in 195 countries, from naturalization and descent to marriage and investment, side by side.
• 8:09
  SPEAKER_00: The sovereign score rates your position across 10 dimensions, with passport strength and tax exposure among them.
• 8:15
  SPEAKER_00: Through Ask the Experts, members reach vetted immigration attorneys and tax advisors, with no commissions and no sales pitch.
• 8:23
  SPEAKER_00: IMI Sovereigns does not sell programs or take referral fees.
• 8:27
  SPEAKER_00: Join at imidaly.com slash IMISovereigns and use the code SOV10 for 10% off your first month.
• 8:38
  SPEAKER_00: Back to the map and region number six.
• 8:41
  SPEAKER_00: Chile has the strongest passport in Latin America, 12th in the world, with access to 174 destinations.
• 8:48
  SPEAKER_00: Brazil and Argentina trail at 169 each.
• 8:52
  SPEAKER_00: On paper, five destinations separate them.
• 8:55
  SPEAKER_00: At the United States border, the gap widens.
• 8:58
  SPEAKER_00: Chile is the only Latin American country in the visa waiver program.
• 9:02
  SPEAKER_00: Chileans enter with an ESTE, the electronic system for travel authorization, instead of queuing for a visa interview.
• 9:09
  SPEAKER_00: Then come three blocks.
• 9:10
  SPEAKER_00: Through the Mercosur Residence Agreement, Chileans can settle across nearly all of South America.
• 9:16
  SPEAKER_00: Under that 2002 agreement, residence converts to permanent status on application, and the main test is a clean criminal record.
• 9:24
  SPEAKER_00: The Pacific Alliance links Chile with Mexico, Colombia, and Peru.
• 9:28
  SPEAKER_00: Chileans can also qualify for the APEC Business Travel Card from Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation.
• 9:35
  SPEAKER_00: It speeds entry to Japan, South Korea, Singapore, Australia, and a dozen other economies.
• 9:41
  SPEAKER_00: Chile permits dual citizenship, and naturalization takes five years of residence.
• 9:46
  SPEAKER_00: New residents can exempt their foreign income from Chilean tax for three years, renewable up to six.
• 9:52
  SPEAKER_00: IMI program pages compare residence routes like Chile's at imidaly.com slash IMI program pages.
• 10:00
  SPEAKER_00: For movement inside the Caribbean, IMI's September analysis points to Dominica and St.
• 10:05
  SPEAKER_00: Vincent and the Grenadines, both in the Eastern Caribbean Economic Union.
• 10:10
  SPEAKER_00: Since October 1, 2025, both also have full free movement with Barbados and Belize, with no work permit needed.
• 10:18
  SPEAKER_00: Of the two, only Dominica has an established citizenship by investment program.
• 10:25
  SPEAKER_00: The seventh region has the most crowded top tier.
• 10:29
  SPEAKER_00: Sweden leads Europe on visa-free travel, third in the world with 186 destinations.
• 10:35
  SPEAKER_00: Ireland ranks one tier below.
• 10:37
  SPEAKER_00: Fourth, with 185.
• 10:39
  SPEAKER_00: On raw numbers, Sweden wins.
• 10:41
  SPEAKER_00: And on citizenship, IMI picks Ireland.
• 10:44
  SPEAKER_00: An Irish passport gives settlement rights across the European Union.
• 10:48
  SPEAKER_00: Through the Common Travel Area, an arrangement that survived Brexit, it also gives full rights to live and work in the United Kingdom.
• 10:56
  SPEAKER_00: No other European Union passport offers both.
• 10:59
  SPEAKER_00: In all, Irish citizens can settle in 34 developed countries, home to 530 million people and about 20% of the global economy.
• 11:08
  SPEAKER_00: Dublin does not tax citizens who live abroad.
• 11:11
  SPEAKER_00: You can naturalize, move to a territorial tax country, and owe Ireland nothing.
• 11:16
  SPEAKER_00: At borders, the Irish passport draws little suspicion.
• 11:19
  SPEAKER_00: The country starts no wars, and it has more than 80 diplomatic missions for a population of about 5 million.
• 11:26
  SPEAKER_00: About 80 million people worldwide claim Irish descent.
• 11:30
  SPEAKER_00: Several million of them may qualify through an Irish-born parent or grandparent in the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, and Argentina.
• 11:40
  SPEAKER_00: Everyone else can naturalize after five years of residence, and that may lengthen.
• 11:44
  SPEAKER_00: A draft bill reported by the Irish Times would require two years of continuous residence, plus six of the preceding ten.
• 11:52
  SPEAKER_00: That comes to eight years.
• 11:53
  SPEAKER_00: And as of late September, the bill had not passed.
• 11:56
  SPEAKER_00: IMI's weekly newsletter tracks changes like this one at imidaly.com/slash newsletter.
• 12:03
  SPEAKER_00: No European Union member state grants citizenship by investment in 2026.
• 12:08
  SPEAKER_00: Malta repealed its investor citizenship framework after a judgment of the European Union's top court on April 29, 2025.
• 12:19
  SPEAKER_00: Ireland has gaps of its own.
• 12:21
  SPEAKER_00: It brings no Mercosur settlement, no Gulf access, no APEC business travel card, and no visa-free entry to Russia or China.
• 12:30
  SPEAKER_00: Chile covers the Mercosur and Asia Pacific gaps and adds Esther entry to the United States.
• 12:36
  SPEAKER_00: In return, Ireland supplies the European Union and the United Kingdom.
• 12:40
  SPEAKER_00: Together, Irish and Chilean citizenship have been called the world's most effective two-passport combination, covering Europe, the United Kingdom, North America, South America, and Asia Pacific.
• 12:52
  SPEAKER_00: Both countries allow dual citizenship without restriction.
• 12:55
  SPEAKER_00: Neither one taxes people for being its citizens.
• 12:58
  SPEAKER_00: The gap between the strongest and weakest passports now spans 168 destinations, the widest in the index's two decades.
• 13:07
  SPEAKER_00: Yet the passports at the top are not interchangeable.
• 13:10
  SPEAKER_00: Singapore's is powerful and inflexible.
• 13:13
  SPEAKER_00: And the UAE's is rising fast but closed to outsiders.
• 13:17
  SPEAKER_00: Ireland's is versatile and underestimated.
• 13:20
  SPEAKER_00: Chile's is the best value in the Americas.
• 13:23
  SPEAKER_00: So the right choice depends on where you want to live, how you earn your income, and which freedoms you refuse to give up.
• 13:30
  SPEAKER_00: The best passport for you may not have the highest number next to its name.
• 13:34
  SPEAKER_00: Knowing which citizenship wins each region is half the decision.
• 13:38
  SPEAKER_00: How a person acquires a new citizenship at all is the other half.
• 13:42
  SPEAKER_00: In the video on your screen, we go through the only 10 ways to get a new citizenship in 2026.
• 13:48
  SPEAKER_00: Subscribe and turn on notifications so the next one reaches you first.