According to Experts.news, Malta has topped the Nomad Passport Index 2026 ranking of the world’s most valuable citizenships, prepared by Nomad Capitalist. The country scored 109 points and ahead of Ireland, Greece and Romania, which shared second place with a score of 108 points.
Unlike traditional passport rankings, which mainly take into account the number of visa-free destinations, the Nomad Passport Index assesses citizenship more broadly – as a tool for global mobility, tax planning, personal freedom and international reputation. The methodology uses five criteria: visa-free access, taxation of citizens, perception of the country in the world, the possibility of having dual citizenship and the level of personal freedoms.
The top ten rankings are as follows: Malta-1st place, Ireland, Greece and Romania – 2nd place, Cyprus – 5th place, Czech Republic, New Zealand, Italy and Bulgaria – 6th place, Hungary and UAE – 10th place. Thus, the top of the ranking is dominated by European countries, especially EU states, which combine high levels of mobility, the opportunity to live and work in the single European space and a relatively strong international reputation.
Malta scored 172 on travel, 40 on taxation and a maximum of 50 on international perception, dual citizenship and personal freedoms. This balance allowed it to come out on top, even though it was behind a number of other passports in terms of visa-free destinations.
An interesting feature of the ranking was Romania’s high ranking, sharing second position with Ireland and Greece. Romanian citizenship received 108 points, including 172 points on travel, 40 points on taxation, 40 points on perception of the country and maximum scores on dual citizenship and freedoms.
Singapore, which often tops the passport rankings for visa-free access, was only in 20th position in the Nomad Passport Index. Its passport has a high travel-175 score, but a low score for dual citizenship opportunities limits the final score. This shows a key difference in Nomad Capitalist’s ranking: it assesses not only the freedom to travel, but also the practical flexibility of citizenship for mobile people around the world.
The US ranked 43rd with 100 points. Despite its strong international perception and high level of mobility, US citizenship scores low on the tax criterion, as the US is one of the few countries in the world that applies taxation of citizens based on citizenship, not just residency.