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Methodology

In today’s increasingly globalized world, people are looking to invest beyond their borders and obtain second citizenship or residency abroad. But how to pick the right country?

To help answer this question, several global passport rankings have been developed over the years, enabling individuals to understand how easily a passport can facilitate travel abroad with little to no visa restrictions. Yet, besides facilitating travel, there are also other, just as important benefits to acquiring a second passport, which Global Citizen Solution’s Passport Index Project seeks to address.

Global Passport Index

Global Citizen Solutions developed its own version of the Global Passport Index, devising a new methodology to measure the overall attractiveness of each country for relocation, investment, or dual citizenship purposes. Going beyond just analyzing the mobility score of a passport, we designed a quantitative tool offering individuals a comprehensive overview of mobility and country attractiveness across three standalone indexes: Enhanced Mobility Index, Investment Index, and Quality of Living Index. Each index enables users to filter results for individual country rankings.


Quantitative data was analyzed like composite indicators used by various international institutions and multilateral organizations such as The World Bank, the World Economic Forum and the Sustainable Development Report.

  • Enhanced Mobility
    Illustration
  • Investment
    Illustration
  • Quality of Life
    Illustration
Illustration
Illustration

Enhanced Mobility Index

With the Enhanced Mobility Index, we went beyond just counting the number of countries or territories a passport provides immediate access to (from unlimited visa-free access to restricted travel). We also gave scores to each country or territory considered as a ‘desirable’ destination.

The Enhanced Mobility Index is the first of the three indexes, carrying the most weight with 50% of the composite score.

Visa Requirement types and respective weights

  • Visas

    Weight

  • Visa-Free Access
    1.0
  • Visa-Free Access (limited days)
    1.0
  • Electronic Travel Authorization (eTA)
    0.9
  • On-arrival Visa
    0.9
  • Electronic Visa
    0.5
  • Visa Required
    0.00
  • Refused entry
    -1.0

To assess each destination, we used four weights based on our Quality of Living Index. Intuitively, if a country is desirable to live in, it should also be considered desirable as a destination.

So while visa-free access to a country with a high standard of living is given one entire point in our score system, the same visa-free access provides only ⅓ of a point if access is offered to a politically unstable territory.

Enhanced Mobility Index score formula

∑
Visa Requirement Type
✖
Quality of Life
Weight of Destination

Adopted lower limits and weights for determining destination based Quality of Life Index tiers

  • Quality of Life
    Index Tiers

    Lower limit
    score

    Weight

  • 1
    68.5
    1.00
  • 2
    60.1
    0.75
  • 3
    49.3
    0.50
  • 4
    N.A
    0.33

Investment index

The Investment Index provides a general assessment of a country’s economy so that individuals seeking citizenship by investment abroad can acquire a comprehensive overview of a country’s investment opportunities.

The following indicators were used to determine a country’s economic score within the index: the overall competitiveness and business environment, the economy’s strength, and level of personal taxation.

To assess a country’s business environment, six pillars from the World Economic Forum’s Global Competitiveness Index (GCI) were selected, including product market, labor market, financial system, market size, business dynamism, and innovation capability. Moreover, to analyze a country’s economic strength, we used gross national income (GNI) per capita expressed in US dollars, converted using purchasing power parities (PPP) as provided by the World Bank. Finally, the level of personal taxation was collected from multiple sources, referring to the highest personal income tax bracket at the national level.

The final country score applies a weight of 50% to the GCI pillar’s average score and 25% to each of the other two indicators.

Quality of Life Index

The Quality of Living Index looks at the overall quality of life a country offers. The focus is on aspects that enhance the attractiveness of countries as a primary place of residence for retirees, expats, digital nomads, and others seeking desirable living conditions abroad.

Several thematic areas were prioritized, and research was undertaken to identify reliable data sources with comprehensive country coverage. Six main weights of indicators are included in the index including: SDG (30%), Cost of Living (20%), Freedom in the World (20%), Happiness Score (10%), Environmental Performance (10%), and Migrant Acceptance(10%).

Meet the Research Team Behind the Global Passport Index

Dr. Roberto de Pinho

Dr. Roberto de Pinho

Hailing from Brazil, Roberto has an academic background in computer science and energy industry regulation. He’s spent the last decade working in Science, Technology and Innovation Policy and Indicators, with a keen interest in bibliometrics, scientific metrics, and data science.

Having collaborated with various institutions like OECD, UNESCO, and the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission of UNESCO (IOC), Roberto has produced policy-relevant studies, working papers, and reference documents, working with other international experts.

Whether designing a program from scratch or analyzing a problem, Roberto uses data as part of his day-to-day operations. Finding reliable sources is a critical component of his work, and his expertise lies in connecting meaningful data to science and innovation.

Vladimir López-Bassols

Originally from Mexico, Vlad spent his life shuffling between numerous countries before settling down in Washington D.C. as an independent consultant for international organizations like UNESCO and the World Bank.

With an academic background in maths and statistics, Vlad initially spent twenty years in Paris at the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), working on statistics and data in the science and technology sector. His specialty lies in simplifying complex technical work, harmonizing data from different countries and sources, and in turn, delivering statistical research with vigor.

Having worked with composite indicators before, Vlad was particularly inspired by Global Citizen Solution’s mission to create its own version of the Passport Index. For Vlad, it’s not just about data; it’s about connecting numbers to messages and creating meaning for the individual.

Vladimir López-Bassols

Disclaimer

Any views presented here are solely of the authors. They do not necessarily reflect the views of
Global Citizen Solutions or any institutions with which the authors are or may have been affiliated.