Australia might be known as the lucky country, and it turns out we also have the second most expensive passport in the world.
It’s all based on how many countries a passport holder can visit without requiring a visa (most powerful) and how much a passport costs it’s citizens to obtain from an overseas consulate (most expensive).
The most expensive passport belongs to Syria, costing a whopping $500 for citizens to get a passport from an overseas consulate while Australia takes second place, with a passport costing $282.
Ahh, congratulations…we think?
In the most powerful passport ranks for 2018, the Australian passport was ranked at number 7, tied with the Greece, New Zealand for a third year running.
Arton Capital collected data and collated it in its Global Passport Power Rank 2017 which ranks each country their visa-free score.
World’s most powerful passports (based on number of countries you can enter without a visa)
Germany 177 (countries)
Singapore, Switzerland 176
Denmark, Finland, France, Italy, Japan, Norway, Sweden, UK 175
Austria, Belgium, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Spain, USA 174
Ireland, Portugal, South Korea 173
Canada 172
Australia, Greece, NZ 171
Czech Republic, Iceland 170
Malta 169
Hungary 168
While Germany quietly climbed the ranks, the US passport has fallen down since Trump took office. Most recently Turkey and the Central African Republic revoked their visa-free status to US passport holders.
Australia scored top marks in perception, dual citizenship and overall freedom, but lost points on visa free travel and taxation, despite the fact Australian passport holders receive “visa-free access or a straightforward e-visa or visa on arrival” to 171 different countries.
Last year’s winner, Singapore, made a notable decline into second place, tied with Switzerland.
“Visa-free global mobility has become an important factor in today’s world,” shared Armand Arton founder and president of Arton Capital at the recently held Global Citizen Forum in Montenegro.
“More and more people every year invest hundreds of thousands of dollars in a second passport to offer better opportunity and security for their families,” added Arton.
