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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: 2026-10-15 · ▲▼ = rank change since the 2026 edition
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 15 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: the programme's official minimum amount (application and other fees not included), with the non-refundable part (donations, contributions) counted in full and recoverable investments (property, funds, deposits, business capital) at 25%. An investor route that exists in law but cannot be used in practice or is not being processed (for example, no approved investment vehicle and no application completed for years) counts as suspended, and the country is scored on its ordinary route. 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 / fewer visa-free destinations than your passport” is the net difference between the two passports' visa-free counts (destinations gained minus destinations lost); it shows the travel change 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.

Data rules: investment is the official minimum amount, without application or other fees (Swiss lump-sum taxation is estimated as ten years of the minimum annual tax; Monaco uses the deposit banks usually require). Tax rates are always the top rate, including the top short-holding rate for capital gains. Each annual edition (1 January) uses the visa and programme data of that date, this method and today's exchange rates.

Design choices: for citizenship by investment with no residence requirement, residence-based taxes are left out because the investor does not have to move; quality of life always counts, because it reflects the country behind the passport and the option to move there later.

Weight sensitivity: we test the ranking under other weightings (for example more weight on acquisition or tax, less on quality of life). Individual ranks move with the weights — the Hong Kong passport ranks between 4 and 23 across four weightings; this page uses the default weights above.

Method version 1.0, finalised on 16 October 2026 and not changed afterwards; only the data are updated. If a data source stops publishing, the closest replacement is used and the change is announced.

Sources: passport-index-data (visas) and Wikipedia visa-requirement pages (compared every month; changes are added once verified against official sources; for territories a silent page falls back to the parent country's rule), 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-NC 4.0. You may quote or reuse it for non-commercial purposes 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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