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Research · updated monthly

GI Passport Investment Index (GIPI) 2026

Traditional passport rankings only count visa-free destinations. The GI Passport Investment Index (GIPI) scores 199 passports the way an investor would: visa-free access, ease of acquisition, tax, stability and quality of life.

Data updated: 2026-10-14
Visa-free countriesEase of acquisitionTaxStabilityQuality of life
199 passportsSelect a passport for details

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Method

The GIPI score combines five pillars, each scored 0 to 100. Weights: visa-free countries 25%, ease of acquisition 25%, tax 15%, stability 15%, quality of life 20%.

Visa-free countries: destinations reachable visa-free, on arrival or by e-visa, half by count and half weighted by the destination's GDP. Ease of acquisition: total time to a passport (permit processing, required residence and naturalisation processing, capped at 20 years), days of presence required per year (capped at 365), whether current nationality must be given up, how discretionary naturalisation is (granted when criteria are met, discretionary but usually granted, or discretionary with low approval), language requirements, and the cost: money you cannot get back (donations, government fees, taxes) counts in full, recoverable investments (property, funds, deposits, business capital) at 25%. Tax: citizenship-based taxation always counts; worldwide taxation and the top income, capital gains and estate tax rates count in proportion to the presence the route requires, in full at 183 days a year and not at all for citizenship by investment without residence (setting up a habitual home there may still make you tax resident). Stability: visa-free access removed by major destinations in the last five years (removals in force count in full, formal reviews a quarter), and whether investor or naturalisation routes were closed, tightened or legally challenged; pending reform proposals count only lightly, so countries are not marked down just for having more reform news. Quality of life: global percentiles for homicide rate, education, health coverage, healthy life expectancy and governance.

Ranks follow the total score to one decimal place; equal scores share a rank. “More visa-free destinations than your passport” counts the destinations the new passport reaches without a visa in advance that yours does not; it shows the travel gain only and does not affect the GIPI ranking. The visa-free count covers destinations that need no visa in advance (visa-free, visa on arrival, or an electronic travel authorisation such as ESTA or eTA); e-visas applied for in advance are not counted. It covers 198 countries plus 30 territories such as the Cayman Islands, Bermuda and Guam, 228 destinations in all; a passport's own territories are not counted.

Sources: passport-index-data (visas), Wikipedia visa-requirement pages (territories; where a page is silent, the parent country's rule is used), World Bank, World Health Organization, UNDP, UNODC, and immigration and tax authority notices. Visa and economic data update every month; programme conditions are reviewed every quarter.

Disclosure: Global Immigrate advises on investment migration, including some of the programmes ranked here. The method, weights and sources are public, and scores are not adjusted for commercial reasons.

Licence: GIPI data is published under CC BY 4.0. You may quote or reuse it with credit to the GI Passport Investment Index (GIPI) and a link to this page.

This index is for reference only and is not legal, tax or investment advice. Programme conditions can change at any time; confirm current requirements with an adviser before applying.

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