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Ibetnoonehasthisname t1_j599p55 wrote

Reply to comment by dumpsternow in TIL Japan is considered the world's most powerful passport, with visa-free access to 193 countries. Singapore and South Korea are close behind with 192 countries. Syria, Iraq, and Afghanistan are the least powerful, all with visa-free access to 30 or less countries. by grandlewis

Post Brexit I think there's an argument for Irish passports to be considered the most powerful.

I believe it's the only passport in the world right now that allows full freedom of movement within the EU and UK due to the Common Travel Area. Irish citizens living in the UK (and vice versa) can even vote in national elections.

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Plinio540 t1_j59r8hv wrote

It's true it's the only passport which allows freedom of movement in both Schengen and UK. But that's just Schengen + one additional area/nation.

A Nordic passport allows freedom of movement in Schengen + Greenland. Ireland does not. With a French passport you have access to Schengen + collectives like French Polynesia and Saint Pierre & Miquelon. So it gets a bit fuzzy if all you are ranking is "freedom of movement".

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Ibetnoonehasthisname t1_j5o1qgi wrote

Sure yeah, but I don't mean that it's a valuable passport based solely on number of countries/territories.

I was thinking more that the Irish passports arguable value that it's the only passport that allows free movement within all of the EU plus the world's sixth (or is it fifth? Seventh?) largest economy, the UK.

No disrespect to Greenland or French Polynesia of course, I just think being able to up sticks and move to London as well as Amsterdam/Madrid/Munich/Paris basically whenever you want is arguably more economically or professionally valuable that being able to move to Tahiti. But I guess that does depend on your aims/lifestyle I suppose.

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