The Irish passport has been rated the ‘strongest in the world’.
A new 2025 global ranking issued by the Nomad Passport Index rates Irish citizenship at the very top, ahead of countries like Switzerland, Portugal, Malta, the Nordic countries, and New Zealand. Our nearest neighbours, the UK, were down in 21st.
And this is the very first time that the northern European country has held the solo No. 1 spot in the annual ranking from Nomad Capitalist, a Swiss-based tax and immigration consultancy firm. Ireland did come close in 2020, when it tied for the top spot alongside Luxembourg and Sweden – but now we are out there on our own.
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“Ireland shook up the rankings, thanks to the country’s strong international reputation, business-friendly tax policies, and overall citizenship flexibility,” said the company’s research associate Javier Correa. There are other rankings that look at single issues such as the ability to travel without visas – but Nomad Capitalist are the only ones to analyse five key criteria:
- Visa-free travel — 50%
- Taxation — 20%
- Global perception — 10%
- Ability to hold dual citizenship — 10%
- Personal freedom (freedom of the press, mandatory military service, etc.) — 10%
The high ratings that Ireland achieves on these factors mean having Irish citizenship or moving to Ireland is very attractive. You can see the complete list on the Nomad Capital site by clicking here.
The company behind the survey says the factors allow people considering a different, or additional, passport to rate the “true value” of citizenships around the world, and ultimately to “go where they’re treated best,” according to the index. This is the ninth edition of the list ranks 199 countries and territories using 20 sources, such as country tax authorities for tax rankings, and the World Happiness Report and the United Nations’ Human Development Index for perception rankings, according to the index.
Scores range from 10 to 50, except for the visa category, which is the number of countries that passport holders can enter without needing a visa. In the complete survey, Greece (tied for 2nd), Slovenia (tied for 13th) and Spain (tied for 32nd) rose in the 2025 rankings, fuelled by changes to each countries’ tax scores.
“In a turbulent year marked by shifting geopolitics and policy upheaval, Greece surged dramatically from sixth into joint second with Switzerland, reflecting its growing credibility among high-net-worth individuals, retirees, and global investors,” according to Nomad Capitalist. However, other countries — including Lithuania, Netherlands, Germany and Hungary — moved down the ranking. Notably, the UAE — which was No. 1 in 2023 and tied for No. 6 in 2024 — moved to 10th place in 2025.
